Page 35 of Veiled Flames
The rest of the men in our wagon exit, moving well down the road and away from the powerful horse. Most stand with their backs pressed against the cliff face to avoid any risk of plummeting.
Returning inside the wagon, I remove the lid from one of our water buckets and offer it to the horse. Instead of drinking, he bobs his head, agitated, favoring one of his front hooves. He’s far too distressed to let a stranger touch his leg. Instead, I hold the bucket within his reach and wait.
Finally, the stallion dips his nose, and as he drinks, he raises his lame hoof off the ground. Triumph floods inside me.
“Wheel came off one of the servants’ wagons,” Egon announces as he appears again at the back of ours.
Tynan’s horse neighs. He rises onto his hind legs, and the reins whip away from where Tynan looped them over the rung.
“Holy thrix!” Egon says as he scrambles away from the horse, staggering toward the cliff’s edge.
“Careful!” I lunge for Egon.
We grasp each other’s forearms. We’re going to fall to our deaths.
But I bend my legs, digging my heels into the rough road, grateful my feet found large stones to brace against. Egon’s eyesare full of terror, and I can only imagine that mine are too. He’s holding my arms so tightly, if one of us goes, we both will.
Egon tugs on me, and I’m forced to take a step toward him, toward the cliff. But it helps him gain his balance. I’m still pulling his much heavier weight back when he releases my arms, and I nearly fall onto my bottom as I stagger back.
“Holy thrix, Rosshall!” A moment of gratitude flashes in his eyes but quickly vanishes. Then he heads toward the other boys, shaking his head. “Runt nearly killed me. Should have let him fall off the cliff.”
My heart nearly pounds out of my chest. Egon is four or five stones heavier than I. If we’d grabbed each other’s arms a moment later, he would have pulled me over that cliff, but I acted without thinking.
I have no time to process my brush with death. Or Egon reversing our roles in what happened. Tynan’s stallion, no longer secured, continues to buck, backing along the path and pushing the group of men farther away from the wagon.
How can I calm him?
My apple. I still have one stashed in my rucksack. Retrieving it quickly, I approach the horse slowly, holding out the sweet, crunchy treat and praying to Othrix that he’ll take it, as he eventually accepted the water.
He stops bucking for a moment and snorts. I approach slowly, extending the apple and murmuring softly, saying nothing in particular, but using a soft soothing tone. The stallion takes the apple, and as he does, I slide my hand onto his strong neck, gently stroking.
“You’re safe,” I whisper softly. “I won’t hurt you. And I can help with your sore hoof.” I’m sure he doesn’t understand my words, but I hope that he’ll understand my tone.
His heart rate is slowing, he’s no longer bucking, and so I slowly let my stroking hand roam lower, moving down toward his lame leg.
Just as my hand reaches his knee, the horse bends his leg, exposing his hoof for me. I lack a proper pick but quickly retrieve a dagger from my jerkin. If I’m careful, this dagger will do the trick.
Immediately spotting the stone, I carefully remove it and release his leg. The stallion snorts as his hoof hits the road. Slowly rising, I take hold of his reins and lead him back to the wagon, and then loop the reins back over the rung, securing it with a proper hitch.
“Get away from my steed!” Tynan grabs my shoulder and yanks me away from his horse.
“I was just?—”
Tynan pushes me—hard. I fall back onto the road but quickly scramble to my feet. Fury burns inside me as I wipe small stones from my palms.
“Did you try to steal my steed, boy?” Tynan towers above me. “Is that your cowardly way of escaping death by dragon?”
I raise my chin. “If not for me, your horse would be long gone!”
He lunges forward.
I step back, instantly angry at myself for not holding my ground. “I didn’t try to steal your horse. Isavedhim.” I glance behindme. Surely one of the other candidates will defend me and explain what happened. Where is Samyull?
Tynan takes advantage of my momentary distraction. Grabbing my upper arms, he lifts me off my feet and slams my back against the cliff face, holding me there and glaring into my eyes. He’s close to two heads taller than me, and my feet are far off the road.
The impact knocks the breath from my chest. And I’m loath to admit that his eyes play a role in that too. The vibrant greens twist and swirl, as if they have minds of their own. And the contrast to the indigo curls, spiraling around his head, only serves to emphasize the vibrant colors of both.
His eyes are flashing with something beyond cruelty, something I can’t quite understand, but it draws me more deeply into them and makes me flutter inside. My cheeks heat as shallow rapid breaths return to my chest.
