“Of course,” Esau said.
“All right. Mara, would you like to go with them? I’ll send Leif to you as soon as he arrives.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather not wait any longer than I have to. Besides, I’m still in training,” she said, glancing at Onora.
Janco perked up at that comment. “I can show you this sweet little self-defense move.”
“I hope it’s not the one you used to fight off Svend,” Ari said drily. “’Cause you ended up in a mud puddle with broken ribs after you tried that one.”
“Svend doesn’t feel pain,” Janco protested. “It would have worked if—”
“Time to saddle the horses,” I said, stopping the impending argument.
After everyone was ready to go, I kissed my father goodbye. We arrived at the travel shelter two days later, near sunset. The shelter was located in the Stormdance lands just to the west of the main north-south road. The road hugged the western border of the plains and extended from the Citadel all the way south to Booruby, the capital of the Cowan Clan’s lands.
The disappointment and concern was universal when neither Leif nor Valek waited for us inside the small wooden structure. All that greeted us were two rows of uninhabited bunk beds, a cold stone hearth and an empty stable. If all had gone well in Fulgor, they should have beaten us here by two or three days. Perhaps it took Valek longer to find Leif than expected.
Keeping positive despite the heavy weight of worry pulling at my heart, I decided that since we were safer in the plains, we would camp out of sight of the road and check the shelter at random intervals.
Janco looked at the bunk beds with longing before we left.
“The ground in the plains is softer than that thin straw mattress,” Ari said to his partner.
“I know. It’s just the idea of sleeping in an actual bed.”
“You can stay. Just remember to scream really loud so we can hear you in the plains and escape,” Onora said.
“Ha. You’d miss me. It’d be way too quiet,” he said.
“Nothing wrong with quiet,” she said. “Unlike—”
“Watch it. Or I’ll...”
Onora waited, but when the threat failed to be voiced, she asked, “You’ll what?”
“I’ll sing every campfire song I know—loudly and off-key.”
“So? You sing everything loudly and off-key.”
I ignored them as I directed Horse back into the plains and asked Kiki to find us an ideal spot before full dark. Onora teasing Janco was a good sign. Each day she spent with us, she’d relaxed just a little bit more. Soon she’d be a true member of our herd.
Once we set up camp and ate supper, we created a schedule to check the shelter. I planned for the four of us to take turns, but Mara insisted she be included in the rotation.
“I need to practice being dangerous,” she said.
“All right, but you’ll have to go with Onora a couple times first to learn how to best approach the structure without being seen,” I said.
“Okay.”
“What about the Sandseed protection?” Ari asked. “Won’t that mess up Onora’s sense of direction?”
“We’re close enough to the border that it shouldn’t be a problem. And if they’re not back by a certain time, I’ll send Kiki to find them.”
“Rescued by a horse.” Janco snarked. “I can’t decide if that’s humiliating or just plain sad.”
Kiki snorted and whacked Janco on the head with her tail.
“Ow! That stings.”
“Be glad she didn’t kick you,” Onora said.
We soon settled into a routine, taking turns cooking, hunting and checking the shelter. One day turned into two.
Then three. The first day of the heating season dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud stained the sky, and the scent of living green floated on the air. Too bad the mood at our camp wasn’t as pleasant. A fog of worry tainted all our actions and the few comments.
Four days without a sign of them. Fear and panic mixed and simmered in my stomach. No way it would have taken Valek more than a couple days to find Leif. Unless my brother had gotten captured by the Cartel. To keep Mara occupied and, if I was being honest, to distract myself, we kept training with Onora. Ari and Janco also took turns teaching Mara self-defense as I practiced the skills they’d taught me over nine years ago.
Onora asked me how long we were going to wait.
I clamped my mouth shut before I could snap at her that we’d stay until they arrived. “Fisk knows we’re here,” I said. “He’ll send word if he hears anything.”
She drew a picture in the soft ground with a stick.
Drawing in a breath to calm my nerves—an impossible feat, but at least I could say I tried. “If they don’t appear by tomorrow night, I’ll send Ari, Janco and Mara to catch up with my father and Nutty.”
Onora met my gaze. “And us?”
“We’ll travel to Fulgor.”
“The boys won’t like that.”
“No, they won’t. But my father needs help with the spores. And he’ll need protection.” I frowned, hating to admit that he might not be safe in the Zaltana homestead. “There could be a few clan members working for the Cartel who might try to stop Esau or sabotage his efforts.”
On the fifth day, I couldn’t keep still as the desire to move, to do something, anything pulsed through my body with a mind of its own. I kept checking on Kiki at various times throughout the day.
This time, she nuzzled my neck in comfort, then glanced at her back, stepping close to me.
“You want to get some exercise?” I asked.
A nod.
I called over to Onora. “I’m going for a ride. Be back soon.” I grabbed Kiki’s mane and mounted. It’d been a while since I rode bareback.
Onora appeared next to Kiki. “Is this wise?”
“We’ll stay in the plains. No one can catch a Sandseed horse in the plains,” I said.
“Unless they’re riding another Sandseed.”
Insulted, Kiki snorted.
“Sandse
ed horses are good judges of character.” I patted her neck. “They wouldn’t let a dishonorable person ride them.”
Onora’s posture remained rigid.
“Do you really think Kiki would let anything happen to me?” I asked.
She blew out a breath. “All right, but don’t be gone long.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“You can joke. I’m the one who will be in trouble if you’re hurt.”
I looked at her.
“Yeah, I know. No one would blame me. Ari and Janco keep telling me I’ll have more success herding snow cats than protecting you, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.”
That was actually sweet. Kiki gave her the horse equivalent of a kiss on her cheek. Surprised, Onora touched the wet spot.
“Thank you,” I said. “We won’t be long.” I nudged Kiki with my knees.
Kiki broke into a gallop. Holding on to her copper mane, I enjoyed the fresh air blowing in my face as she raced over the rolling terrain. Without warning, she switched to her gust-of-wind gait. The ground beneath us blurred as her stride smoothed. We flew in a river of wind.
I doubted she sensed danger. Perhaps Kiki had just missed the speed. She couldn’t use the gait when we traveled with the others. And the plains were the only place she could truly fly.
Eventually she reverted back to a canter, then slowed to a walk. Her sides heaved as sweat darkened her coat. We remained in the plains, but I didn’t recognize the area until I spotted a familiar clump of stunted pines.
Alarmed, I stopped her and dismounted. “Why did we come so far? Did someone chase us?”
She turned her head to the right. I squinted into the sunlight and spotted a distant brown cloud of dust that meant riders. My first thought was of danger. We needed to hide. Except if they had followed us, why would Kiki stop here? Kiki didn’t wait for me to make up my mind. She walked in their direction. I hurried to catch up.
When we crested a mound, all worries melted. Two horses headed our way. I recognized Rusalka and Leif in front, but when I focused on the unfamiliar second horse, my apprehension reappeared in a heartbeat. Not Valek, but Devlen and Reema.
A thousand awful scenarios played through my mind about why Valek wasn’t with them. By the time they drew closer, I was all but convinced he’d been captured. Or killed.