Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar

“Well, I’m not going to Valdemar. Or anywhere. I’m happy here. It’s home.”

:Home is where your heart is. And, I, Dear One, am your heart.:

Lubonne rolled his eyes, sighing. “No, ma’am. I’m pretty sure my heart is that familiar beating thing lodged firmly in my chest.” He started back down the road toward his parents’ mansion. “Please. The sooner you leave me be, the sooner you find your rightful partner.” Without another glance, deliberately deaf to the drum of hoofbeats, he headed toward home.

And Carthea followed.

A nudge awakened Lubonne with an abruptness that sent him leaping from his bed. Blankets tangled around his legs. His foot mired on a misplaced bedsheet, and he tumbled to the wooden floor. The familiar sights and smells of his bedroom surrounded him, but those seemed to disappear as he focused on the one oddity: a furry white head shoved through his only window. Carthea stared at him, head cocked, twin puffs of breath smoking in the cold air.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lubonne scrambled to his feet and attempted to wrap the blankets around himself. In the process, he wrenched a corner from directly under his foot and wound up sprawled on the floor a second time.

:I’m sorry,: Carthea sent. :Did I wake you?:

In a whirl of surprise, anger, and uncertainty; feeling awkward as a toddler, Lubonne resorted to sarcasm. “No, no. I’m still asleep. I’m thoroughly accustomed to massive animal heads popping through the window to shove me onto the floor.” He rose more carefully and twisted the blankets around his half- naked body. He could barely comprehend the discomfort he felt beneath her stare. Surely a mare, even one intelligent enough to speak, had no intention of judging or worrying about a human’s exposed privates.

:You don’t have to mock me. I can read your moods, you know.: Only then, Lubonne realized that she had sent him more than just words. He read a mixture of emotions radiating from Carthea as well. She was clearly young, little more than a filly, uncertain, and definitively frustrated. :And you don’t have to talk at me. You’re quite capable of Mindspeech.:

I am? Lubonne shook the thought aside. Of course, I’m not. I’ve never heard Herald Walthin or his stallion. I’ve certainly never mastered reading what any woman is thinking.

:That’s because you’ve only just met me.:

Lubonne squawked and covered his head, as if this might protect his mind from the Companion’s intrusion. “Get out of my mind!”

:You have other Gifts, too. Strong ones, in fact. You’d just never realize them without a Companion to enhance them.:

“No, no, no!” Lubonne wrapped both arms around his head, trapping the blankets in place with his elbows. “Stop enhancing me. Quit bothering me. Go away!”

:But—:

Lubonne would hear nothing more. “Go away!”

The horsy head retreated from the window and disappeared into the night. Lubonne replaced his sheets, respread his blankets, and tried to get back to sleep.

Servants, decorators, and cooks filled the mansion, and Lubonne escaped into the stable as quickly as decorum allowed. Though excited about his upcoming engagement party, Lubonne withered under the constant flurry of questions. He had no opinion on the menu, saw no need to add flourishes to the already spectacular decor. He had selected his suit weeks ago. What others wore did not interest him; he would not refuse a friend fresh from a spar, sweating profusely and swathed in filthy rags.

To Lubonne’s relief, the groomsman, Vannath, had his bay mare saddled and bridled. Smiling, he stirred the star on her muzzle, revealing pink skin beneath the spot of white fur. Idly, he wondered if Carthea’s hide was pink throughout and swiftly banished the thought. He wanted nothing to do with the creature who named herself his Companion. “Ready for a ride, Rinny?”

“All ready, Master Lubonne,” Vannath replied.

Giddy with anticipation, Lubonne joked, “Why, Rinny, old girl. Your voice has deepened. You sound positively masculine.”

Vannath chuckled dutifully. “I knew you’d want to get away from that, sir.” He gestured vaguely toward the manse. “Engagement party preparations.” He shook his grizzled head. “It’s no fit place for man or beast.”

Lubonne agreed. “Wall-to-wall womenfolk. They actually seem to enjoy it.” He stepped into the left stirrup and swung his right leg over Rinny’s red-brown back to settle into the weathered saddle. “Well, I’m off to find Honoria. Better make sure she’s still crazy enough to agree to marry me before we seal the engagement.” He walked the sturdy bay from the stables and into the late-morning light.

Vannath’s voice chased him. “Good luck, Master Lubonne.”

With a backward wave of acknowledgment, Lubonne trotted across the grounds. He dared not look at the mansion, hoping no one recognized him from behind and demanded his return. He rode, unaccosted, to the gate and bent for the latch. Years of practice allowed him to swing it open and closed without dismounting, the latches bent and battered from all the previous efforts of himself and his three brothers. A perfectly measured push sent it swinging back into place, and he heard the satisfying clang of its proper falling and engagement. No dismount necessary this time. He mentally applauded himself. Yes.

Rinny stood placidly and patiently while he worked. Accustomed to the brothers’ antics, she took loud noises, fidgeting riders, and waving sticks and swords in stride.

:Insecurity is not a crime.: Carthea’s voice came out of nowhere.

Lubonne nearly crawled out of his skin. Instinctively, he whirled, only to find the Companion just off Rinny’s left flank. “What?”

Carthea stepped out fully from behind the neighboring smithy. :Some of our most heroic and gifted Heralds initially believed themselves unworthy.:

“I’m not insecure.”

Every eye in the street went suddenly to Lubonne, reminding him he was no longer alone. He waved cheerily to a friend headed for the tavern and tipped his hat toward the smith’s young wife. Carthea had said he could use Mindspeak, and this seemed the perfect time to try it. He focused heavily on each word. :I . . . AM . . . NOT . . . INSECURE!:

Carthea shook her head, falling into lockstep with Rinny. :Stop shouting. I heard you the first time.: She timed her steps to the bay’s, so that it sounded as if one giant horse walked the cobbled street instead of two smaller ones.

Lubonne reined toward the woodland path, preferring to take the back route to Honoria’s home over trying to explain the presence of the Companion to every passerby. He could imagine getting stopped every few steps as someone new admired the white mare and questioned him about her presence. He tried to put together mental words without the emphasis, wondering how much thought the creature could read. :I’m sure I told you to go away.:

:You did.:

:But you’re still here.:

That being self-evident, it scarcely needed acknowledging; but Carthea obliged him. :I am.:

:Why?: It surprised Lubonne how easily Rinny accepted the presence of a strange horse. Usually, such a meeting would result in sniffling, sharp whinnied challenges, sometimes even a bit of mock battle.

:Because, Chosen One, you are my heartmate, my soulmate, my lifemate.:

Lubonne suppressed a scream. As they moved from cobbled road to wooded dirt, he returned to regular speech. It felt more natural. “Exactly how many times, and in how many ways, do I have to say ‘no’? Find another heartmate, Carthea. I’m not it.”

:But you are.:

“I’m not.”

:And you have to undergo your Herald training.:

“I don’t.”

:You must come—: