Page 39 of A Legacy of the Light

“She’s a beaut, isn’t she?” he says, offering the horse a sugar cube that she happily takes.

“Yes. Does she have a name?” I ask, stroking her nose again, enjoying the coarse feel of her coat under my hand.

“Mabel,” he replies and the horse huffs under my hand at her name.

“Well, nice to meet you, Mabel. I’m Elsie,” I introduce myself to her, and Tavish tries to smother his laugh with a cough.

I look over my shoulder with a questioning look. “They understand us, you know. Maybe not our words, but our feelings and our emotions.”

“I know. They’re intelligent creatures. Seelie in Elfayne have an affinity with horses. The wild ones are considered sacred. Do you ride?”

“I used to, but I haven’t for a long time.”

“Would you like to join me for a trek tomorrow morning? I have some time free, and Mabel could use a good run.”

My heart soars at his offer, but the day's encounters, me and him in his kitchen, and the drunk man in the alley, stop me short. Today showed me how out of my depth I am, how much stronger Seelie are than me, and just how much I need to be careful.

He must sense my hesitation with his special senses since he continues, “I’m sorry if you were uncomfortable this morning. I didn’t think how having breakfast with only me would make you feel. You seemed a little on edge in the kitchen.”

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” I pause awkwardly, stroking Mabel’s nose again. “You’ve been so nice to me, and it’s a lot to take in, being here,” I begin.

“I can understand that,” he interjects, looking at me intently.

I pause again, not knowing how to proceed. I’d like to be his friend, and he said he wants that, too, but I’m a mess and being my friend isn’t easy. The fact I only have Rach now shows that.

“I’m at a disadvantage here and I don’t know how to handle everything. I hope you were sincere when you said you wanted to be my friend, because I could use one.”

Tavish considers what I said, and offers me his hand. “Friends?”

I take it and smile softly. “Friends,” I agree.

He feeds another sugar cube to Mabel and scratches behind her ear.

“Will you come for a ride tomorrow, then?” he asks again.

“Can I let you know?” Despite me wanting to take Mabel out, I recognize that I’m in a spiral, and feel like I need some semblance of control back before spending any more time alone with him.

“Sure. Is everything okay? You seem quiet. You were telling me to piss off just a few hours ago,” he teases. Tavish leans against the wood between the stalls and crosses one ankle over the other and I subtly tuck my hand behind my back.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell him, my tone betraying just how not fine I am.

“Now I know you’re lying. Friends don’t lie,” he challenges.

“It’s nothing, really. Reyne stepped in before anything bad happened.”

The light disappears from Tavish’s face and he pushes from his resting place, standing at his full height.

“What do you mean, Reyne stepped in? What happened?” His tone is dark and full of violence. And for the first time, I’m a little scared of him.

I take a step back and he inhales sharply. “What happened, Elsie?” he probes again.

“Umm, some drunk guy came at me outside the cafe where we stopped for lunch. He thought I was the lost princess, and told me I’d get what’s coming to me. He grabbed me and pulled me into an alley, but Reyne intervened before he could do anything, and then he left. It wasn’t anything major, but it shook me a little.” I clasp my hands to stop the slight tremble in them.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asks me, his voice still dark.

“He didn’t hurt me,” I lie. “I’m fine now. I think,” I add.

“He was probably drunk off his ass. Aside from the color of your hair, there are no similarities between you from what I remember of her.”