They gave me an unrepentant look and urged their mount forward. “I’m going to scout up ahead while we still have some daylight left.”
“We’ll be fine, Alaric,” I said with a confidence I didn’t entirely feel. “Vail knows what he’s doing.”
This seemed to relax Alaric enough that he no longer had a death grip around my stomach. Small victories.
I didn’t miss Vail stiffening slightly at my words, as if he was surprised that I had such confidence in him, but despite our problems, I didn’t doubt Vail’s skills at all. He’d spent most of his life traveling these lands, and he was still alive to tell the tale.
“What do you think Kieran is doing?” I asked, trying to keep Alaric’s mind off the ever-darkening sky.
“Don’t you meanwhohe’s doing?”
His words struck a sharp blow just as he intended, and I clenched my jaw against the pain. I’d forgotten with all the camaraderie we’d built up over the last couple of weeks that no one was as capable of wounding me with his words as Alaric.
He had the advantage of knowing me well enough to strike at my weak points, and Kieran was very much my weak point.
I concentrated on the feeling of the horse moving beneath me and the reins made of braided rope in my hands, and gradually, the pain ebbed.
The doubt remained, though. Was it selfish of me to want both Roth and Kieran but not want to share them with anyone else? I hadn’t even broached the topic with Roth, but I was fairly confident that, unless someone else walked into thatlibrary sprouting Unseelie poetry, I had them to myself for now.
But Kieran was… well… he was gorgeous and well-liked by everyone. I knew that he had lovers in basically every House across Moroi territory. Moons damn him. He probably had lovers in Furie and Velesian territory, too.
He said he only wanted me, but what if he changed his mind while he was away? Would he really turn down an invitation to someone else’s bed?
I continued to stew in my self-doubt as we traveled on in silence, only vaguely aware of the rising tension between Vail and Alaric.
“I’m sorry,” Alaric blurted out. “That was a cruel thing to say.”
“It’s fine,” I said stiffly, still too absorbed in my own fucked-up head to say anything else.
“Alaric was being a dick,” Vail said sharply. “Everyone knows how Kieran feels about you. That boy is stupidly loyal. Even to those who don’t deserve it.” I inwardly flinched but before I could respond, Vail kicked his horse into a canter, leaving us behind.
“Are you sure you’re okay with traveling with him at night?” Alaric asked quietly. “I realize that you and I have our problems, but I’m pretty sure that Vail would be happy to see you dead.”
I stared after Vail’s retreating form, mulling over Alaric’s words. “At least I know where I stand with him so I can watch for his knife in the dark.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Samara
“Easy, boy,”I quietly soothed the dark bay gelding as he danced nervously beneath me.
He’d been fine when we’d left the outpost hours ago after swapping out our mounts, but something had been unsettling him for the last few miles. Vail’s and Nyx’s mounts were also tense, but they were both large draft horses who weren’t as inclined to panic.
Still, the horses were clearly sensing something we weren’t. When I voiced my concerns to Nyx, they didn’t seem all that worried.
“All kinds of beasties prowl the forests at night,” they said simply. “Most of them aren’t a threat to us, but they would happily snack on the horses if they could. As long as we don’t leave the horses unattended, the less dangerous predators will leave them alone to find easier prey elsewhere.”
“Unfortunately, the horses tend to draw in the more lethal monsters,” Vail said. “They’ve learned that horses usually have riders.” He eyed my gelding when it snorted loudly again. “I’d been hoping we’d procure quieter horses for this portion of the ride.”
“Is there another outpost we can go to and switch to a quieter mount?” Alaric asked.
He’d been holding on so tightly around my waist that I was pretty sure I’d have bruises tomorrow. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything though because I knew he was just nervous about our situation… plus, I kind of liked having his grip on me like that.
Vail shook his head. “Not without going far out of our way. There’s not much in this area; all of our strongholds are either further north or along the coast. No reason to have outposts where nobody travels, and it’s too dangerous to grow crops.”
“Why don’t we pick up the pace for a bit?” I suggested. “This boy is wasting energy prancing around. Might as well let him run.”
Alaric let out a low groan but didn’t disagree.