Page 23 of Their Chosen

“Let's hit the road then. I can't wait,” I replied snappily. “After you.” I gestured for him to lead the way. He smirked at me, seeming genuinely amused, and then headed out the door. I followed after Lennox and exited the Commander's home just behind him.

As we entered the bright sunlight, I shielded my eyes, pausing at the top of the steps to take stock of my surroundings. As my eyes adjusted, I discovered about twenty other fae all, on horses waiting and watching nearby. Four horses were standing at the bottom of the stairs, each with their reins held by one of the Commander's men, their uniforms different from those on the horses.

Arryn stood next to his horse, preparing to mount, Lennox strode quickly to take the reins of his own horse, and Baer waited next to me. “Are you ready, Killer?”

“It's not like I really have a choice,” I replied, not debating which one of the last two horses was meant for me, one was a gorgeous red tone with a dark mane and feet, the other white.

Thankfully, Baer didn't respond, just prompted me into motion with a touch to my back. I descended the stairs slowly and allowed him to pass me. He veered toward one, and I headed toward the last one, the large white mare with gray legs, nose, mane, and tail. She was beautiful but much larger than any of the horses I had ever been on. The power in her coiled muscles was evident as she shifted restlessly, held back only by her choice. She could have easily overpowered the fae holding her reins.

As I approached, I held my hand in front of her nose, allowing her to scent me. I turned to the fae holding the reins. “What's her name?”

He startled, unprepared for me to speak to him. “Um...uh...Her name is Meadow?” I nodded, the name suiting her, and took the reins from him, throwing them over her head.

“Any day now, Princess.” I ignored the asshole and prepared to mount, only to realize the stirrups were much too high for me to reach on my own. I'd need help unless I could find some way to get a running start and leap onto her back. I stood there for a moment, trying to find any other way to mount, but came up empty. Successfully thwarted by the lack of useful equipment around, I turned, about to ask the fae who was holding the reins to help me up, only to find Arryn right behind me.

“Let me help,” he said, allowing me to keep some of my pride.

“Thank you.” I made sure to meet his eyes so he knew how much I meant it. The last thing I wanted was to appear helpless, especially in front of Lennox, and I was grateful to Arryn for noticing. He stepped forward and placed his hands on my hips as I turned back to face Meadow. His grip tightened as he drew close behind me, and I fought the urge to lean into him, heat settling in my core at his proximity.

He inhaled sharply, hesitating only a moment before lifting me easily. I threw one foot into the stirrup and swung the other over, but as I settled into the saddle, I noticed my feet didn't reach the stirrups. Short people problems were a real thing.

Arryn, obviously seeing my predicament, adjusted the first stirrup so my foot could rest easily. “How's that?”

“That's perfect. Thanks.” He went to the other side and quickly adjusted that one as well. When he was done, he met my eyes again briefly before swiveling back to mount his own horse.

“Are you finally ready?” Lennox bit out.

“Ready whenever you are.” I smiled sardonically, but it didn't meet my eyes.

Arryn turned his horse first and rode over to one of the soldiers, giving him instructions. Two of them rode ahead, leading us out of the fort, or outpost, or whatever they called it. I shadowed Baer, deciding to keep close to him, squeezing Meadow's sides gently to start her walking.

The other half of the soldiers fell in behind us as we followed those in the lead through the gates and onto a small dirt road. Once we had all exited, the pace picked up, and I squeezed Meadow's sides to increase her speed, settling into an unsteady trot. As I relaxed in the saddle, I couldn't help but wonder what I'd face at the capital. So far, things really hadn't been too different. They might have been a little outdated from humans, with no technology, but most everything had been comparative otherwise. Well, except for that whole magic thing, but I hadn't seen much of that either.

Maybe if I was lucky, things wouldn't be too hard to adjust to. I wouldn't hold my breath though; a gut feeling was telling me that I hadn't really seen anything yet.

Chapter Eleven: Rhowyn

I glanced up at the sky for the tenth time in as many minutes, hoping to catch sight of the sun or anything to tell me how long we had been riding. The trees towered over us, taller than any I had ever seen before, their foliage completely blocking out the sky and thankfully providing shade after enduring the first stretch of hot weather.

Apparently, we’d entered the Summer Quadrant, and it was almost as hot as Texas. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, but there was no breeze or shade to provide respite until we’d entered the forest we were in now. Which was great several hours ago, but now that my thighs were chafing from rubbing against the saddle while also trying to maintain this steady canter, I was ready for a break. My horse had a short stride, her steps choppy and quick, causing my butt to bounce a lot more in this unforgiving seat. My thighs screamed at me when I tried to stand in my stirrups to ease the jostling ride, already exhausted from basically holding a squat position for hours. All in all, I was miserable and wondering when we'd rest from this torturous pace.

I gritted my teeth, biting back a groan as my ass slammed into the saddle again, harder than intended, but I refused to be the only one to complain. Lennox would never stop with the princess comments if I did.

I tried to stand slightly in the saddle again, but my thighs shook and trembled until my knees buckled, causing me to slam into the saddle again. This time, I couldn't prevent the gasp that escaped my lips at the sudden chafing and pain. Yoga pants were never intended to be worn for long horseback rides. Let's just say there's a reason all cowboys wore blue jeans, not yoga pants or shorts. I should have changed when I’d had the chance, but I had no idea we'd be riding for hours non-stop at this pace. Wrongly, I had assumed we’d take some other form of transportation. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to say anything.

I glanced up again, this time finally spotting a break in the foliage, allowing me a quick glance of the sky, still a perfect, cloudless blue. Their world was stunning, and if I wasn't hurting so bad, I'd be in complete awe. Everything was untouched by technology or greed, and the colors of the diverse plant life, in contrast to the sky, was so very vivid, more so than on Earth. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the lack of air and light pollution, or if this was just how their land was. Whatever the reason, I was astonished until I started feeling the pain again.

I gasped again, gritting my teeth. I caught Arryn glancing at me from the corner of my eye, and I tried to hide my pain and discomfort, but I wasn’t sure if I had been successful. I didn’t know how much more I could bear, my muscles unused to this kind of abuse, despite being an athlete and fighter. Because of my career choice, I had a high pain tolerance, and for me to want to cry right now, said a lot. No one else seemed to be feeling the same. Of course, they were all used to this because, so far, it seemed to be their only mode of transportation. When I’d said I knew how to ride, I’d also left out that it had been almost ten years since the last time I had. I could only imagine how I’d feel when it was time to stop and I had to get down and walk. I really didn't think my legs would hold me, but I'd be damned if I let Lennox, or the others, see my weakness.

There was still no end in sight to this forest that surrounded us, but I finally noticed that the air was cooling down. Hopefully, we'd find a place to stop for the night soon. Although, I hadn't seen any towns or even other fae outside of our group. Surely, they planned on staying at a hotel or inn for the night. I desperately needed a hot shower to relax my sore muscles if I had any hope of riding tomorrow as well. Just as I realized it was close to nightfall, based on the temperature alone, Arryn spurred his horse onward to catch the front of the group. I watched as he exchanged a few words with the two soldiers at the front of our line, who nodded in response.

He turned his horse around and rode back to my side, slowing his pace again. He spoke to me so softly that I barely caught his words. “We'll be stopping for the night soon.” I turned toward him, unable to hide the relief on my face, catching the pained look on his own. Unable to speak for fear I'd start crying or give away the fact that I was miserable, I nodded.

Glancing away before I revealed everything to him, my eyes landed on Lennox, who was riding in front of me. I'd caught myself more than once staring at his back, and oh, what a nice backside it was. He filled out the blue jeans he was wearing, not having changed either. Just another beautiful part of the scenery, even if it was poisonous. His hips were narrow, thighs powerful, and his broad shoulders tapered as if intentionally directing my eyes to his ass. I had to admit his physique provided a very nice distraction from my current discomfort, not that I would ever admit that to him. He knew exactly what he looked like and what his body did to a woman. There was no way to deny just how attractive he was, but his personality really sucked, which completely ruined it for me. But I could appreciate a work of art without feeling the need to buy it for my home.

While I studied the lines of his body and the way his muscles flexed as he rode, I completely missed the fact that our pace had drastically slowed. Meadow didn't, not distracted like I was by the obnoxious asshole in front of us, and slowed suddenly without my prompting. At the change in pace, I slammed forward in the saddle, squeezing my thighs to prevent myself from falling and gasping loudly at the intense pain. I recoiled from the agony, and my feet landed on Meadow's sides harder than I’d intended. I blamed the fact that my thighs were basically rubber by this point, so I couldn't get them to do anything even if I had wanted to.

Meadow mistook the touch of my feet as her cue to speed back up, jumping forward and to the side to avoid the other horses, racing away from the group. I barely managed to stay in the saddle as she broke away, running full speed past the line of soldiers.

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