Page 39 of Kiss of Ice

“What the fuck are you… hey!”

Ren had gathered the reins and swung herself onto Mistral’s back. Her dress rucked up around her thighs but she was oblivious.

“See you in an hour.”

She dug in her heels and urged the horse into a gallop.

Sixteen

She covered the first few kilometres at a full gallop, revelling in the stallion’s speed and power. Mistral’s muscles bunched beneath her thighs as they rocketed through the green meadows of the palace estate, Ren’s hair streaming behind her like a silver pennant.

She slowed to a trot to allow the horse a breather as they travelled through the woodland. The estate was beautiful. She inhaled the scent of jasmine and rose. Birdsong filled the air and somewhere in the distance, a deer leapt away into the undergrowth.

A face peering from a broad oak startled her. A thin young man sat on a branch, a wreath of leaves circling his head. A dru, she realised. The male counterpart to the sylph-like dryads that inhabited certain trees. She nodded courteously as she passed beneath.

Halfway through the woods the path towards the boundary markers diverged. One route continued to meander through the trees – wide, safe, but ultimately a much longer journey. The other headed towards the natural valley that bisected part of the estate. The path bordering it was narrow and treacherous, but much shorter. Without hesitation, she guided Mistral towards it.

She took an intake of breath when she saw just how precarious the path was. It hugged the very edge of a gully which had been worn away over the years by a fast-moving stream. Eventually, she knew, its waters would join the River Nush that ran all the way down to Nurhan and on to the Ocean of Whispers. She eyed it thoughtfully.

Just here, the stream didn’t look particularly deep. But she knew appearances could be deceiving. Below the surface there would be rocks and boulders that could easily snap an ankle or twist a knee. And the banks on either side were steep. Falling in probably wouldn’t kill her but getting out would be tough. Not to mention humiliating. Kam would never let her live it down.

Taking the gully path was a risk. But she trusted Mistral. The stallion was nimble and sure-footed. And besides, she badly wanted to show Kam who was the better rider. She kicked the horse into a canter.

The track was narrower than she would have liked but she knew Mistral wouldn’t stumble. She kept her eyes trained forward and adjusted her balance to match the stallion’s gait. They flew along the path.

High above, though she wasn’t aware of it, she was being followed. Kam glided silently, his jaw tight with anger and his eyes flashing green. How dare she presume she was a better horseperson than he? And to put herself in danger like this… it was intolerable.

He considered swooping down and simply lifting her from the stallion’s back. But that might startle both horse and rider, and he didn’t want to risk making them slip.

In his mind’s eye he flashed back to another horse and rider. A plunging ravine. Torrential rain and a landslide. The woman hanging over the drop. Both of them, falling.

He’d caught her. He’d been the beast then and he’d curled his massive body around hers as they plummeted, shielding her from the crashing, bone-jarring descent. And soon after that, she’d kissed him for the first time.

No. She kissed the beast, not you.

Kam shook the memory off, realising as he did so that he hadn’t dreamed of Nat last night. Unusual. But maybe not surprising, given he had so many other things on his mind right now. Like the thoroughly exasperating woman below him.

He glanced down at Ren again. She was a good rider, he admitted grudgingly. Even without a saddle or stirrups her balance was perfect. He just had to hope she didn’t break her foolish neck. If anyone was going to break it, it would be him.

His heart caught in his throat as he saw the tree across her path. There was no way round it. She’d have to stop, he thought. She’d have to pull the horse up, admit defeat. She’d have to…

Ren dug her heels in and Mistral soared over the obstacle. She leaned low on his glossy neck, relishing that moment of silence as they hung weightless in the air. And then they were down on the other side and Mistral’s hooves were drumming the ground again.

She could see the markers. The edge of the estate came into view, the boundary where the palace land ended and the neighbour’s fields began delineated by a row of standing stones. She glanced at her chronometer. They’d been riding for just shy of an hour.

“C’mon, boy,” she muttered and squeezed her calves against his heaving sides. Mistral was breathing hard but she knew he had the heart of a lion. He responded with a final burst of speed.

They made it to the markers with a few seconds to spare. Giddy with exhilaration, Ren slid off Mistral’s back and flung her arms round his neck.

“Fastest horse in the empire!” she laughed, kissing his nose. Mistral snorted, his foam-flecked coat shiny with sweat. Then he bent down to snaffle some grass.

A shadow fell over them. Shielding her eyes, she looked up to see a figure descending, white wings stretched to either side. Outlined in a halo of sunlight, he looked like a golden god. Like an angel.

For a moment, Ren couldn’t breathe. She watched Kam land a few feet away and thought she’d never seen anything more beautiful.

And then she caught sight of his face.Fuck.She backed up a few steps.

“Before you say anything, just remember you thought your record couldn’t be beaten. I wanted to prove you wrong.”

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