Thal slips off his horse and moves to my side. I bat him away but he merely grins. “Stand still,” he instructs as I finally give in to his help. He holds his hands out, laced together. I place my boot on one reluctantly and he heaves me upward.
Yelping, I manage to stop myself from being flung over the opposite side of the saddle. I settle onto my mount, slipping my boots in the stirrups. This is only the second time I’ve ridden a horse before, and the tall beasts are just as frightening as they were before. “Thanks,” I say, looking down at Thal’s grinning face.
“Have you ever ridden before?” He asks, already slipping back into the saddle.
“Once,” I admit, ignoring the snickers from the other mounted soldiers. “It didn’t go well.”
“How did you ever get anywhere?” The Fae woman asks.
I glance over my shoulder. “Cars.”
Their brows furrow and they mouth the word. “Metal beasts that spew black smoke,” Thal explains.
They wrinkle their noses in disgust and I shrug. The woman moved to my side and held out a hand. "Syren," she says.
I take her hand and give it a firm shake. “Verity. Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” She cocks a brow.
“Getting me here,” I say softly and wave my hand towards the fortress. “For giving me a chance.”
“Thank the gods I did, or it would have been my head,” she says bluntly.
I turn back to Thal as Syren returns to her place in the ranks. He smiles easily. “Making friends, already?”
I glance at the fierce Fae woman with sharp cheekbones and blazing gray eyes. “Perhaps.”
“Listen,” Thal murmurs, leaning closer. “Stay near me, I’ll protect you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I say coldly even though my nerves are already tingling.
"How about a friend?" He asks, cocking a brow. "It's going to be difficult out there and these demons aren't house cats like your little pet there."
Serus bristles, already settled on my horse’s rump. “Neither am I.”
“I’d like to hear about how you two met, someday,” Thal muses, amused eyes on Serus.
“Maybe I’ll just show you,” Serus counters, narrowing his eyes.
“Stop it,” I murmur to him.
Serus turns his head away, curled into a spiral in the sun. I look towards the gate, already open wide for us. I’m itching to leave, to get away from the traces of Erzur that are everywhere here. My stomach clenches thinking of dinner the night before, of the cruel way Altair let me learn about his new engagement. His new love. I feel a wave of nausea, like the ones I’ve been battling since the dinner, and tamp it down. Soon, I’ll be out of the fortress and in the clean, crisp air of the countryside. There will be nothing to remind me of the beautiful, ebony-skinned woman whose eyes I want to claw out.
A dark smile splits my lips as I relish in the anger and hate I feel towards her. A part of me whispers that it isn’t her fault; that my anger should be directed towards another. And it is. But my heart always seems to make that anger burn down to glowing ashes when I think of him.
“Heads up,” Thal murmurs and I know his words are just for me when I see Altair striding towards us, Erzur in tow.
I bite my lip, glancing towards the gate and wishing I could just gallop through it without a backward glance. Erzur’s dark brown eyes are on me and I feel a flash of rage. I know she would be pleased to see me run like that from her. So I stay, willing my shoulders and face to relax just to spite her.
Altair and Erzur stop in front of us and I try not to notice how well the tunic he wears clings to his chiseled chest. I look away when his hazel eyes gaze into mine, lit with fire. I can’t. I can’t bear the painful aching it starts in my chest or the way my body seems to lean towards him of its own accord. Instead, I stare at a small freckle on his cheek, just below his lower lashes.
“Ready?” He asks, eyes darting between the soldiers and me.
The soldiers answer enthusiastically, “Yes, Your Grace!”
I nod, still not bearing to meet his gaze. I watch his eyes rove over the armor and the Bloodbane cloak before settling on my fingers. I’ve left the gloves off so I can feel the wind and sun on my skin. I know he’s looking at the empty spot on my finger where the engagement ring used to sit. Sadal took it from me and its lost now. My heart pangs at the thought.
"I'm sure Thal has already filled you in on your purpose and where you'll be traveling," Altair continues, forcing his eyes away. "Spare them no mercy. And pile their stinking carcasses high to be burned so our people may know what we do."
“Alright, maggots,” Thal jokes. “You heard your King.”
The soldiers laugh. Somehow familiar with Thal’s leadership. They turn as one towards the gates but Thal pauses beside me. I swallow thickly, my throat feels too tight. I don’t know when I’ll be back or when I’ll see Altair again. But I know that when I do, Erzur will still be by his side. My chest feels suddenly restricted by the armor and I try to hide my shaky, shallow breaths.
“Verity.” Altair’s voice echoes towards me, little more than a whisper. I flinch when his cool, elegant fingers close over mine. He passes something cold and small into my palm and I close my fist around it. Desire and pain flood through me as I finally meet his hazel eyes. I blink back any tears that threaten to spill; I will not cry in front of Erzur. “Be careful.
