Page 29 of Pippa of Lauramore
Once again, he kneels in front of me, and I offer my foot. As he slides the boot on, his thumbs travel up my calf. “How does it feel?”
I blink, my cheeks growing warm.
“Pippa? Does the boot feel all right?”
“Perfect,” I answer.
He knits his eyebrows. “Are we going?”
“Of course,” I say when I realize I’m still sitting on the bench, staring at him. I leap up, and then I feel lightheaded from the swift movement.
Knowing Archer will follow me, I march through the door.
We race through the trees,darting down rabbit trails only we know about. While going around a bend, I push Willowisp past Archer and laugh as I pass.
“You’re getting slow!” I yell over my shoulder as I lower myself on Willowisp’s neck and fly into a meadow.
We race to the boulder that stands at the end of the clearing, and I shriek with joy when I win. Willowisp prances and shakes her mane, proud of herself.
My hair falls out of its braids, and I pull the pins free and shake it out, tossing the red and gold mass over my head. Archer and his horse join us moments later. I flip my hair back and grin at him.
“I won,” I say smugly.
“You cheat.” Despite his words, he’s grinning. Archer is freer in the forest than anywhere else, and I like him this way.
I drop from Willowisp’s back to stretch my legs, and I put my hands on my hips. “How did I cheat?”
“You jumped the creek instead of going around to the bridge.” He joins me on the ground. His light brown hair is almost blond in the sunshine. He’s only four years olderthan I am, and here in the forest, he looks as young as he is.
Archer groans as he stretches his back. He’s gained muscle in the last few years. He still has the tall, lean build of an archer, but he’s strong from sparring with Alexander and the rest of the knights. It’s no wonder the garden maids giggle when he passes.
I sit on a fallen log, remove my boots, and stretch my toes.
Archer looks in the distance. “I think we’re getting close to the competitors now. We’ll have to be careful.”
“How will we find Galinor?”
“Do you have something of his?” Archer looks away.
I think hard, wondering why we hadn’t exchanged tokens. I shake my head. “Nothing.”
He nods, satisfied with my answer. “We would have to go back for a hound anyway.”
I hadn’t thoughthowwe’d find Galinor. I figured we’d stumble on him if we rode long enough. But with thirty competitors, the odds are good we’ll run into one of the others first. If it were Irving, Bran, or Dristan, that would be all right. If it were Lionel or Rigel—well, it wouldn’t be good.
“We’ll have to rely on my hawk,” Archer says. It circles in the sky watching for mice.
“How will she help?”
“She’ll alert us when we come near people, but she can’t lead us to Galinor.”
I bite my lip, thinking. “Galinor didn’t like the terraces. I think he’ll make his way to the valley where he’s more comfortable.”
“They don’t have mountains in Glendon,” he agrees. “We’ll start there.”
I feel better now that we have a destination. The breeze feels good, and I close my eyes and let my mind wander.
“What is it?” Archer asks when I’ve been quiet for several moments.
