Page 139 of The Courting of Bristol Keats
But Bristol was missing, and the fresh hair was there, waiting to be used. He had no choice. A flame had already risen from his palm, and by the time his officers rushed into Bristol’s room, he had already breathed in the first plumes of smoke.Aramascue odemas.
He heard Quin groan when he saw what Tyghan was doing, but Tyghan remained focused on what he was seeing. “She’s going over a bridge,” he told them. “It’s—” He tried to identify which one it was, but she was only looking down at August’s mane. Finally, she glanced to the side and he saw a pub he recognized. “Tatha Bridge. She’s at the end of Tatha. Call for horses,” he ordered.
“Already done,” Kasta answered. “They’re waiting at the sea cliff. Melizan and Cosette will join us there.”
“Is she with anyone?” Quin asked.
And that’s what confused him. He couldn’t see anyone forcing her along. “I don’t think so. Unless they’re riding behind her.”
“Maybe someone found out she’s bloodmarked,” Cully speculated aloud. “Kormick? Do you think he’s behind this?”
Tyghan wasn’t sure. He had already backtracked to the day she closed the portal, who was present, who might have talked, who might have been spying on them. Or perhaps Kormick changed his mind about her being useless. His mind ran wild.She’s a passionate creature, isn’t she?He forced himself to focus on the images behind his eyes.
“She’s leaving the bridge,” Tyghan said, but then he saw her fingers take hold of August’s thick mane, her perspective changing slightly to a higher position. “No,” he whispered. “Don’t do it. No—”
“What’s happening?” Kasta demanded.
The landscape became a rush of color. “She’s given August free rein. I can’t see anything. It’s all a blur.”
Quin voiced what they were all thinking. “Fuck.” It took years of training to master a Tuatha destrier at top speed. It was dangerous for a novice like her to even try.
“We’ll never overtake her,” Kasta said.
Now Tyghan had no choice but to stay and carefully trace her path so they could find her when she stopped.
Long seconds passed, Tyghan still breathing in the smoke, though there was little to see.
“Wait,” he said. “She’s at the fork. She’s going north.”
Cully groaned. “Only thing at the end of that road is the Wilds.”
Once Bristol and August passed over the bridge, she dug her feet into the stirrups, putting her weight in her heels, and leaned forward. She let go of the reins and wrapped her hands in August’s thick mane instead. His pace quickened to a canter as if he knew her intention. She had never ridden him at top speed before without Tyghan at her back, and she hoped she knew the right way to do it. If she fell off, she was doomed. She swallowed, hesitating for only a second, then whispered the command for speed to him. “Mind the road, but ride the wind.”
In seconds the countryside became a smudged haze, the road barely distinguishable from the rolling hills around her. Wind roared past her ears in a deafening hum. In only a few spare seconds she saw the fork approaching. “North!” she said, giving August’s mane a gentle tug with her left hand, hoping he understood. She was relieved when he followed her command. The landscape raced past in all shades of green, and in a short minute, the blur of road ahead disappeared into the huge black mouth of a forest.
“Slow!” she ordered. This was where she was to meet the mysterious someone who would take her to her father.
“She’s stopping,” Tyghan said, relieved that she hadn’t fallen off. He described her cautious approach to the dark woods, her eyes scanning the shadows.Good, he thought.Be afraid. Turn back.But she wasn’t moving.
And then he saw it. A figure emerged from the shadows. “No. Run, Bristol.Now.”
The others inched forward. “What is it?”
“There’s someone on a horse,” he told them. “I’m certain the rider is glamoured. The color of the robe, the glimmer, something is off. She’s talking to him.”
“Brae taspian machor,” Tyghan whispered.Show your true nature.But the spell to uncloak glamour was useless. He couldn’t force Bristol to see through it, and right now he could only see what she saw.
“She’s going into the forest with him.”
CHAPTER 95
Bristol’s mind jumped between fire and blades. Which should she use? She thought about the unexpected explosion of fire in her bathtub and found the idea of burning someone to a crisp—even a potential enemy—repulsive, so her hand eased toward the knife on her belt. As he came closer, she still couldn’t see the horseman’s face. A cloak and hood shrouded most of his body.
“I wouldn’t,” the horseman said, seeing Bristol reach for her knife. “Trust me, my magic is swifter than your blade—and far more lethal. But it’s all a waste of energy anyway. I’ve been hired to lead you, not harm you. Unless necessary. Will it be necessary, Miss Keats?”
She shivered at the mention of her name. “No,” she answered. “It won’t be necessary.”
“This way,” he said, turning his horse back toward the woods.
