Page 34 of Hot Zone

She stared at him doubtfully, waiting for him to explain further.

“A small goat trail winds up the cliff face. Your mare is surefooted enough to do it, and Polaris has done it before.”

“In the dark?” she asked.

“Well, no. But Polaris is a fine beast.”

“And you’re willing to trust your life to him?”

He answered quickly and without hesitation. “Absolutely. And your Cygna is also an excellent horse. They will look out for us.”

“Forgive me if I don’t share your optimism.”

He replied confidently. “You’ll see.”

They walked quietly until a stone outcropping loomed just ahead of them. True to his word, no sentries or lookouts were posted nearby. Tessa stared up skeptically. He set Polaris’s feet on the first rise of the narrow path, and then turned him completely loose, to choose his steps as he willed.

“Loosen your reins and give the mare her head. She will navigate the path more safely than you ever could.”

“You’re sure about this?” Tessa muttered, following his example and dropping her reins all the way to the knot tying their ends together.

He nodded firmly. “I am.”

“No. I mean about going with me.”

He glanced over his shoulder in surprise. She gazed back soberly. “If you want to return to the palace now, you still can. You can tell them I forced you to come with me but that you escaped. You can blame the attack of the eight assho—uh, princes—on me. Artemesia thinks highly of you. She’ll believe you and back you up with Xerxes. You don’t have to throw away your life like this for me. After all, you’re probably not meant to do that anyway.”

He frowned. Meant to…That was a strange thing to say. “I am the master of my fate. I do not wait upon the pleasure of the gods to dictate my course.”

“Of course,” she replied hastily. “Ignore me. I’m just babbling. But I’m worried about you going with me. I can manage on my own from here.”

“The same way you managed against those boys back at the palace?”

“That’s different. That was eight to one.”

“And who’s to say you won’t end up facing the same odds or worse out here?”

“The idea is to avoid bumping into anyone out here.”

“And how, exactly, do you propose to do that? You’re fleeing before three hundred thousand soldiers, and racing right into the jaws of the entire Greek army. This peninsula is narrow and mountainous. You have limited choices in where to go.” He glanced back at her and caught the frown wrinkling her brow. “You need me. Therefore, I stay.”

“Doesn’t Artemesia need you? What about Xerxes?”

He shrugged. “My place is not with them.”

Her frown deepened, but she did not reply to that. He turned his attention forward as the trail grew steeper and narrower. He continued to leave Polaris completely to his own devices to find the best path up the broken, rocky slope. But he reached out with his mind to strengthen the bond between his horse and Tessa’s, so the mare would unhesitatingly follow the big stallion’s lead.

Rustam needn’t have bothered. The mare was as in tune with his horse as her rider was with him. Odd. How had that happened? Or had Tessa’s extraordinary aura already affected her horse, as well?

All of a sudden, the tumbling of loose stone broke the silence, and Tessa cried out behind him.

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