Page 28 of Promise of Darkness
Odd.
The sun is inching back below the horizon. It’s the worst time of day to be riding so fast, but there’s a sense of urgency about him this morning.
And he’s heading north. North toward the wyldwoods. North toward the crumbling wall that once guarded the realms of Seelie from the Unseelie. North toward the border.
Something is afoot.
Maybe it’s boredom. Maybe it’s too many days spent cooped up in this icy, echoing palace, where even the servants seem invisible, but it takes me precisely three seconds before I’m moving toward the stairs.
It’s not as though I’m stealing a horse from his stables. Hedidinvite me to ride with him, after all.
There are only four horses available, and while three of them are big, rangy brutes that look like they could run all day and not flag, it’s the smaller, daintier mare at the end that catches my eye.
“Here, girl,” I whisper, holding out my hand for her to sniff my fingers.
She whickers approvingly and butts her head into my shoulder, almost knocking me over. I guess we’re friends now.
“Good girl,” I say, returning with her saddle. “Want to feel the wind in your face?”
She’s surprisingly easy to bridle, and while I’d prefer to get to know her a little better before I mount, I’m aware that every ticking second leads me closer to discovery. Swinging into the saddle, I urge her into the main courtyard.
“What are you doing?” someone calls behind me.
Caught.
I wheel the mare, glancing up. Eris pauses at the top of the palace wall, a hand on her sword. She arches a brow, as if to sayget your ass back here.
Too bad I’m a rebellious princess who’s spent too long in her icy cage. I shrug, a smile warming me all the way through, and then I wheel the mare and give her her head. The swift clatter of her hooves over the drawbridge is echoed by Eris’s startled, “Hey!”
The wind whips past me, and snow flies beneath the mare’s heels. It feels as though she shares my eagerness. She’s utterly glorious, and for a second I forget the mission in the face of this glimpse of freedom.
Then the sight of hoofprints catch my eye. With the freshly laid snow, it’s ridiculously easy to follow the prince.
And he’s up to something, I know it in my bones.
Easing the white mare back into a canter, I swiftly follow the trail painted across the snow.
Eris is going to kill me if she catches me.
The thought is somewhat a cheerful one.
An ancient road heads directly into the craggy old forest ahead of me. It’s not like the forests of my mother’s lands. This one is old, and as I follow Thiago into the trees, I can feel the heavy, watchful sensation of it all around me. Old forests always seem somewhat alive, but this one hasweightto it. Every so often I catch a glimpse of runes carved into the mossy flank of a tree, and piles of ancient stones mark the path.
The Old Ones walked this forest.
I can sense their power lingering in the earth, and the hum of a ley line vibrates through the air. I’ve always been able to sense the ley lines, but this one almost seems to whisper directly to me, as seductive as the prince himself.
The mare eases into a walk, her ears flickering nervously, as if she senses my sudden wariness.
Maybe this wasn’t a good idea?
My sword’s at my side, and my mother’s iron dagger is sheathed at my hip, but there could be anything lurking beneath these trees.
I’m almost ready to turn back when I come across the prince’s stallion, tied to a tree.
He’s here.
I leave the mare in a clearing a hundred yards away and slip along on foot. Whatever he’s up to bodes no good for my people. My mother’s always suspected he has ties to the Unseelie and that he’s working to thwart the alliance. If I can deliver proof to her, then…
