Page 126 of A Broken Throne of Bronze

Viridian is my mate. And I love him.

I love him.

I can’t believe it took me this long to realize. Looking back now, I see that Viridian made it perfectly obvious, even though he never blatantly spelled it out for me.

Now, I am even more sure that I have to get back to Keuron.

To Viridian.

“Loren, I—”

“Don’t.” The word is a soft blow of defeat.

My face is hot with something akin to shame, but I respect him enough not to push him. More roughly than I intended, I brush past Loren. Despite what he said, I expect him to argue with me, to beg me to reconsider. To say something, anything.

But he doesn’t. And I don’t look back.

Maybe I should. Maybe I should try to make things right between us. But I know if I do that, it’ll only leave me feeling more torn than I already do. I can’t give Loren what he wants. Not anymore.

So, I leave him there. He’ll get over me, I tell myself. He’ll move on.

And I will, too.

Firm in my resolve, I head for the stables. Only, this time, I’m not going there to meet anyone. Or to sneak around under the cover of darkness.

No, this time, I have a new purpose.

I’m going to steal a horse.

Chapter Thirty-Three

As I approach the stables, I slow my pace and keep my body close to the buildings that line the street.

Across the way, the tavern emits a dim glow. The sound of drunken laughter that spills from cracks in the door, on the other hand, is anything but faint.

I roll my eyes.

It’s like I never left.

Renewing my focus, I narrow my eyes ahead. The stables are dark, save for the one lantern that always hangs outside. There’s no light coming from the stable office next door.

Good. That means there’s no one here to stop me.

Crouching, I creep forward and sneak in through the back, the way I used to when I would meet Loren here. Horses stand in their stalls. Most are filled, except for two or three that aren’t occupied.

Scanning the walls, I find a spare saddle that one of the stable boys must have left laying around. Carefully, I pick it up and approach the closest stall. The horse expels air through its muzzle when I do.

I hold out my palm to keep the creature still, and to my surprise, it does.

Nerves thrum through me, my blood buzzing with adrenaline. I silently pray to any god that will listen, begging that no one hears me. Or sees me walk out of here with a horse.

I unlatch the stall door and step inside. Then, I raise the saddle and set it onto the horse’s back. After fumbling with it for some time, I manage to secure it in place. Tugging gently, I lead the horse out of its stall and onto the street.

Poking my head out before the rest of me, I walk back up the street, the way I came, slowly pulling the horse along.

As soon as I’m able, I turn left, bringing us out of sight, should anyone in the stable office wake up. I’d be a fool to think I have much time before someone finds out one of the horses is missing.

So, I have to ride. I have to leave. Now.

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