Page 39 of The Billionaire's Royal Challenge

Alexander offered her a nod. “I’ll be as fast as I can.”

He tugged the reins of his massive horse, pulling him to the side. The hooves of her own horse thundered under her as she pushed the animal to continue at the hard pace.

“Come on, Sapphire, we must catch them.”

The horse’s nostrils flared as she galloped at full speed. Her smaller frame meant she’d need to run faster to gain ground.

In front of them, Nate struggled to hang on to his wild steed, slipping sideways.

Elena’s heart skipped a beat as she watched the scene unfold from afar, unable to do anything as she still remained too far behind him.

“Nathan!” Her voice, barely audible over the pounding of hooves, failed to reach him. She pressed her heels into Sapphire’s sides, urging the horse faster, her heart pounding in her chest.

She pressed her lips together, her muscles tightening as the horse finally inched closer to Nate’s.

“Yes, that’s it, Sapphire. Faster. Just a little more.”

Ahead of them, Phoenix darted sideways on an unruly path, allowing her to gain more ground.

Within seconds, she’d caught up to them, the nose of her horse reaching the tail of Nate’s.

“Nathan! Try to pullback on the reins.”

He offered her a terrified glance as he sought to grab them, his hands desperately trying to find the cord while he also hung on to the animal.

It was no use. He wasn’t knowledgeable enough on horseback to bring the animal to a stop. She leaned over, trying to reach the reins herself, but she couldn’t manage to grasp them.

She’d have to do something desperate. With a steadying breath and her heart pounding hard, she kept Sapphire running alongside Phoenix.

She shifted herself in the saddle, preparing for the move. After another breath, she leapt from her horse onto the back of Nate’s and scrambled to get her legs around it. She reached around Nate, blindly searching for the reins.

When she found them, she curled her fingers around them and tugged hard. The horse slowed its panicked gallop, fighting her initially, but finally giving in to the command.

Her heart continued to pound even after the horse slowed to a canter before finally slowing to a stop with a whinny and a neigh, bobbing its head.

“There, there, Phoenix. It’s quite all right,” she said before she blew out a long breath. “Nathan, are you okay?”

“Uh,” he said, his voice shaky, “I–I think so.”

He twisted to face her, his eyes still wide and panic still etched into every line of his face. Alexander appeared in front of them, his shoulders slumping as he noticed they had stopped. “Where is Sapphire?”

“She ran. She should stop herself, but can you fetch her?” Elena called back.

He nodded and turned his horse in a circle to set off in search of Elena’s. Elena rubbed Nate’s shoulder before she dismounted, keeping a firm hold of the reins.

“I’m going to steady him while you dismount.”

He bobbed his head, looking terrified to move.

“It’s all right, Nathan, I’ve got a firm hold of him.”

Nate swallowed hard before he swung his leg over, reaching the ground and nearly collapsing on it. “I don’t know what happened.”

She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer into an embrace. “He panicked. Sometimes it happens. I’m sorry he did whilst you were riding him.”

She pulled back and studied him. “Are you certain you’re not hurt?”

“Only my pride,” he answered with a frown. “I’m not doing too good with anything so far, am I?”

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