Casteel kept his eyes on me as he mounted the other horse, who turned out to be named Teddy. I almost laughed when Casteel frowned at the name.
“Ready?” he asked once he held both reins.
Holding on to the horn of the saddle, I nodded. “I hope Setti doesn’t get jealous.”
“He will if he sees you.”
Saying goodbye to Coulton, Casteel led us out of the stables. The first couple of steps sent my heart pounding because it felt like I would fall at any second. But Casteel talked me through it, reminding me that it was no different than when he was behind me.
Casteel went through the basics of controlling a horse as he led us around the side of the fortress and along the crumbling wall.
“To get a horse to stop, you close your fingers around the reins, squeeze, and pull back slightly. The horse will feel the tug and know to stop,” he said, showing the technique. “You can also use your legs,” he explained, showing what he meant. When I nodded, he continued. “To get a horse to walk, you squeeze with your legs again, but you do it here.” He pointed at the side of the horse. “Or you push with your seat—leaning forward. Anytime you want the horse to listen to the command, you lift the reins. That’s a signal to them that a command is coming. Want to try it?”
I nodded. Keeping hold of the saddle, I waited for Casteel to lift the reins, putting light tension on Molly’s halter, and then I pressed my knee against the area Casteel had pointed to. Molly lumbered forward.
Smiling, I turned to Casteel. “I did it.”
He stared at me. “And now I want to kiss you, but I can’t because you’re on your own horse.” The corners of his lips turned down. “This was a bad idea.”
I laughed.
“A really bad idea.”
As we traveled around the side of the fortress, he went through some more basic commands while having me stop and start Molly. I grew more confident with each try, and so focused on the horse, I didn’t even notice that we’d cleared the fortress until I looked up and saw a thicket of trees ahead. We entered them slowly, and Casteel navigated both horses down the earthen path.
“Coulton had a strange reaction to you,” he said as the bushy leaves filtered the sun.
“He did, but I think he was being honest. His reaction wasn’t something negative. I know because I used my gift.”
“I realized that when you stepped forward. Very smart of you to do that.”
“I…being able to read emotions to gauge someone’s intentions isn’t infallible,” I said, starting to grow used to being in the saddle alone. “But most people can’t hide their emotions from themselves.”
“It gives you an upper hand. It’s what gave the empaths the upper hand.”
“You’re not worried that I read your emotions?” I peeked over at him.
“I’d rather you use everything you have in your arsenal than be worried about what you’re picking up from me.”
“I think most people would prefer that I not do it.”
“I’m not most people.”
No, he was not.
“You asked earlier if Spessa’s End was my idea. It was a combination of mine and Kieran’s,” he said after a few moments, surprising me with his willingness now to talk about this place. “We came here often when we were younger, along with my brother.”
I already knew that those trips also included Shea, but I kept that to myself.
“It’s just a day’s ride through the mountains, and half of that from there to Saion’s Cove, a city in Atlantia,” he went on. “We came here a lot—Malik and me. More than our parents ever realized. We’d inspected every inch of this land, finding all its secrets while our parents believed we were in the Cove. They would have had our heads if they’d known how many times we crossed over into Solis.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous, though?”
“That was what made it so alluring.” A brief grin appeared. “But even when Spessa’s End was once populated, the Ascended didn’t travel the road east all that often. Not many knew who we were, and while here, we could just be brothers.”
Instead of Princes of a fallen kingdom.
“Anyway, Kieran and I both realized the potential of this place with the fortress and the Rise being largely intact.” Casteel shifted in his saddle, holding the reins lightly in his grasp. “With this land being so close to Atlantia, it’s important.”
I didn’t think that was the only reason why it was important to him.
“It took a bit to convince my father and mother. They didn’t think it would give us enough to bear the risk, but they eventually relented. Although my father has become increasingly supportive of taking back all the land, my mother has been the voice of caution. She doesn’t want another war, but she knows that we cannot continue as we are. We need this land. We need more, but for now, I hope it will give us enough that if the risk one day presents itself, it will be worth it.”
I considered that, and something occurred to me. “Then Spessa’s End is a part of Atlantia.”
“All of Solis was once Atlantia, but I’ve reclaimed this land. This is Atlantian soil.”
My heart stammered as I looked over at him. “Does that mean we could…we could be married here?”
“Yes.” He held my gaze for a moment and then looked ahead. “But that’s not what this afternoon is about, Poppy.”
“I know,” I said, but my heart still pounded with the knowledge that this was Atlantian soil. That marriage may come sooner rather than later.
A shout from ahead startled me, and my jump caused Molly to lurch forward. Casteel steadied the reins.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “What was that?”
“Training, I imagine.”
“Training?”
He inclined his head toward me. “Even though the risk is low, we watch from the Rise, and we train those who can defend the city if need be.”
Interest more than piqued, I faced forward. We rode to the edges of a field that had been cleared of grass. A large stone pavilion sat on the other side of the open space, butted up to the dense stand of trees. White and golden curtains rippled in the breeze, rolling and lifting gently, revealing a handful of people seated inside.
But it was what I saw standing in the center of the glen that left me speechless.
Women stood on the flattened land, at least a dozen of them, dressed like no woman would dare in Solis. Wearing black pants and sleeveless tunics, the sun glinted off the golden rings encircling their upper arms.
“Who are they?” I asked.
“Them?” Casteel inclined his head toward the group. “Remember the women I told you about the night I found you on the battlements of the Rise?”
I did. “Women who could cut a man down without blinking an eye.”
“You failed to mention the other part.” He looked at me, a teasing smoke-filled smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “About being less magnificent—”
“I didn’t forget,” I cut him off. “I chose not to mention it.”
He chuckled, but before he could explain further, a mass of movement snagged my attention. Men dressed the same as the women poured out from the shadows of the surrounding trees, racing across the field. The women were vastly outnumbered. There had to be three to four times more men.
The women turned, all but one, who stood apart from the others, closest to the approaching men. A tall blonde, her hair pulled back in a thick braid. She was watching us, seemingly unaware of the behemoth of a man, larger than even Elijah, racing toward her, a golden sword raised—
She turned at the last second, my lips parting as she caught the man by the throat. Letting out a long, wavering cry that was taken up by the other women, she drove the man down, slamming him into the ground. Dirt exploded on impact, hanging in the air as she gripped his arm, twisting until he dropped his sword. It seemed to fall into her waiting hand, and within a heartbeat, she had it pointed at his throat.
I looked out over the clearing, and only the women stood, each of them weaponless at the start, having disarmed the men. Now, they held swords or spears, pointed at the men’s throats or far more interesting areas.
“They are the kingdom’s elite, each one skilled and deadlier than the one before,” Casteel said, and I could feel his gaze on me. “They are the Guardians of the Atlantian armies.”
Unable to take my eyes off the women, I watched them extend their hands to the men. They helped them to their feet.
“They are the last of their bloodline, born into a long succession of warriors who will defend Atlantia to their last breath.”
“And they’re all women?”
“They are.”
The Guardians and the men took notice of our presence. The tall blonde stepped forward, placing her closed fist over her heart. The other women followed suit while the men bowed from their waists. Casteel acknowledged their gestures by placing his fist over his heart.
I was absolutely awestruck as Casteel nudged our horses around the edge of the field, grateful that he had control of Molly. My eyes were still glued to the women as they handed the weapons back to the men. I just…it was almost like I couldn’t believe what my eyes were telling me. To grow up in a society where the sharpest object a woman was permitted to handle was a knitting needle, I was stunned. And I was fascinated as one of the women showed a man a better way to grip the sword.
“They’re training them, aren’t they?” I asked.
“Yes,” Casteel answered. “The Guardians always train our warriors, here and beyond the Skotos.”
“So, there are more?” I watched a wolven with black and white fur prowl out from the pavilion, approaching the blonde. The wolven nearly reached her chest.
“There are about two hundred of them left,” he said as the Guardian smiled at that wolven. “But one of them is equal to twenty trained warriors.”