Page 108 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured.
“It’s also a carefully kept secret,” Zandyr whispered from behind me. My body ached to lean back into him. “It only appears once a year, when the waves retreat enough to allowpassage. We have about one hour left until the moon reaches its zenith and the beach vanishes.”
“Amazing.” Even the breeze smelled sweeter, with a flowery scent that couldn’t have come from the ocean itself. “Pity we can’t get married here.”
Zandyr’s sigh mixed with mine. “We need to put on the spectacle every Blood Brotherhood member is waiting for.”
A comfortable silence fell between us, punctured only by the angry waves.
“I was right.” I stared at the infinite dark blue ocean before me, with only rough cliffs tufted with small bushes daring to break its angry surface. It was so different than Marea Luminaria’s serenity. This sea was as violent as the Clan that ruled it. “I’m a long way from home.”
“Perhaps the surprise will help ease the longing,” Zandyr said.
I frowned. There was nothing and nobody here.
Then I heard it.
The sound of hooves hitting the ground at a maddening pace. My head whipped to the rocky edge of the beach.
Clouds crowded the moon, a rumble of thunder in the distance. But I could recognize that wild golden mane blowing in the wind anywhere.
“Zorin!” I cried, uncaring who heard me. I tore my hand from Zandyr’s and raced to meet him, sand and shells flinging behind me.
Zorin ran next to the black horse that had pulled my carriage on that first day. They both had long, luscious hair, and their chests held up proudly.
With adrenaline pushing my feet to their limits, Zorin and I met in the middle of the beach. He gently nudged his head against mine, neighing. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his coat.
“You’re alive.” I stared into his eyes. That beautiful, patient gaze that had kept me sane all those long years. “Gods above, you’re alive.”
Zandyr approached, patting the black horse’s neck. A mare with an attitude, raising her muzzle at my gorgeous Zorin as if looking down her nose at him. Her coat was the exact opposite of his, dark and shadowy like the night itself, with flecks of silver running through it.
“Don’t mind Madrya, she’s territorial,” Zandyr said.
Zorin huffed a neigh at her. Proud as ever, my sweet, beloved, pompous Zorin.
“How did you find him?” I asked, voice choking with the tears I didn’t let fall; old habits died hard.
“Let’s say we met in the middle. He was already on his way to you, halfway across the continent, trying to get into our territory.” Zandyr nodded at Zorin. The stallion bared his teeth. “He refuses to go beyond Phoenix Peak’s wall, though. Madrya knows these lands, she can guide him.”
Zorin stomped the ground with one mighty hoof. Madrya did the same. They were having an argument if I ever saw one.
I palmed Zorin’s cheeks, gently caressing him. “How, in all of Malhaven, did you discover my location?”
Zandyr stepped closer. Zorin eyed him suspiciously.
“I suspect the same way he did it the first time,” Zandyr said. “This is no ordinary horse. Neither is Madrya.”
I wasn’t surprised. No stallion I’d ever come across in grandpa Constantine’s stables had held so much wisdom in their eyesorlooked like they had galloped straight out of a fairytale.
“They’re nazdrans, rare magical horses that stay hidden from us mortals. Rumors say their society is growing near the Bone Bridge, protected by the dragons. Though Madrya refuses to confirm that.” Zandyr scratched his mare behind the ears. “One arrives for the most powerful Clans every other generation,attracted by our magic. Madrya came for me. Zorin came for you.”
“But…it doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t he go to Allie? She’s the heir.”
“Nazdrans don’t care about our Code. Perhaps he felt something in you that called to him. We don’t understand their magic–and they are not sharing.”
Madrya and Zorin exchanged a quick glance.
“Are you laughing at us?” I asked with a big, toothy grin. I couldn’t help it. Zorin was alive. He was here. Nobody would put him in danger again.
