Page 26 of The Mirror and the Curse

She returned his smile. “Both. Just a precaution.” So that, if White obeyed, Fidelio couldn’t claim Kai had cued him.

Back in the center of the paddock, she closed her eyes, crossed her arms, focused her mind on White, and silently asked,Please turn and face the other direction.

White made a ruffling snort, and when Eddi opened her eyes, he was turning around. Once he faced the opposite direction, he looked directly at her.

Eddi’s heart seemed to fill her chest.Thank you.

His ears twitched, and he nodded, tossing his head up and down.

Eddi glanced first at Kai, whose face was still but for a slight upward curl of his lips. Then she turned to Fidelio. Who looked dumbfounded.

“No way.”

“And this is only my fourth lesson,” Eddi reminded him.

At that moment, Flurry landed outside the arena, prancing in place.

“Ready to fly?” Kai asked, his gaze on Eddi.

“Yes.” She hurried over to hug White. “You are the best, big guy.”

While Kai prepared Flurry for flight and returned to the stables for their parachute packs, Fidelio approached Eddi. “You really believe your horse turned around because you asked him to?”

“I know he did. He didn’t have to. He could have continued to pretend he can’t hear me, but he didn’t.”

“Then you’ve reached your goal, right?”

“Not yet. My next task—an even more daunting one—is to convince White to communicate back to me, the way Flurry does with Kai.”

“That horse . . .” His dark eyes gleamed with appreciation as he studied Flurry in the morning light. “Gorgeous filly. I wouldn’t mind owning a foal from her someday. She belongs to your trainer?”

“No, she’s a wild fterotó who lives in the mountains north of the lake. She comes to fly with us because she wants to.” Eddi briefly explained how Kai and Flurry became friends.

“Okay, so he tamed a wild winged horse.” Fidelio shook his head, looking frustrated again. “That’s pretty cool, but Eddi . . . My family has raised winged horses for three generations now. They’re animals. I mean, sure, they’re kind of fantastic animals, but to believe they can communicate mentally with you is . . . Well, it just sounds to me as if you’re fooling yourself into believing something you want to be true. Are you sure that short guy isn’t using magic on you or the horse? All staff members have magic.”

Irritation flared, but she carefully quelled it. “Kai isn’t using magic on me. He isn’t allowed to use magic on guests even if he wanted to.”

The prince shook his head. Then his face brightened. “Your lesson time must be nearly up by now. Why don’t you and I go get breakfast and make plans for the day?”

Her first reaction was delight at being asked, but then she remembered the previous evening. Since she could hardly demand to know why he’d attended the movie with Raquel instead of her, she asked instead, “Why did you come down here this morning?”

His big brown eyes warmed. “To see you, of course. And to check out what’s going on with your lessons. And I’m glad I did. Eddi, I know you want to believe the best of people, but I’m serious: that guy had to have used magic to turn your horse around. We should report him.”

“It’s Kai, not ‘that guy,’ and he didn’t know what I was going to ask, remember?”

Fidelio rolled his eyes. “Maybe he used magic to listen in when you told me. Eddi, if you’ll wait another week or two, Ruggero will be here, and we can do early-morning flights to practice for the race and have a lot of fun together.”

Remembering the night before, she asked, “What about Raquel?”

He shrugged. “She and the others will be part of our group practice sessions, of course, but my friendship with her doesn’t affect you and me.”

Eddi really wanted to believe him.

When Kai returned, Fidelio gave her a leg up. “Think about it, Eddi. Don’t believe everything you’re told.” He stood beside White, his hand on her boot, his expression earnestly concerned. Despite her irritation, she knew he meant well.

“I’ll think about it. You’d better move back now.”

“Fly safe.” He gave her his brightest grin, then turned a wary glance toward Kai.

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