Page 20 of Storm of Shadows
“I put it on your tab.”
I roll my eyes. Of course he did.
After I order something for breakfast and pay for everything, we leave the tavern. The bill is higher than I hoped, especially Natharius’s ale. At least I see my deposit of two silvers returned.
We find a stable on the outskirts of town and buy two of their fastest horses. I’m not sure I pay a reasonable price for the horses, since I’ve never bought any. In fact, I’ve never ridden one. With Nolderan being a small island, there was no need to learn.
That makes mounting my horse quite the challenge. Natharius slips onto his with regal grace and makes it look easy. I suppose he’s had over a thousand years to practice. I also wonder whether Void Princes ride horses in the Abyss, or whether they ride some sort of fire breathing demonic steed.
I try to mimic the same movement and hook my boot through the left stirrup and hoist myself onto the saddle. Unfortunately, I lack Natharius’s grace and end up falling in a mound of hay. Thankfully, it’s fresh and I don’t end up covered in horse poo.
Natharius brings his horse to a halt outside my stable. His dappled mare looks over the door and snorts, looking just as unimpressed. At least Zephyr, who perches on the edge of the water trough, looks concerned for my wellbeing.
“Having some trouble?” Natharius asks.
“Not at all.” I push myself onto my feet and try to mount the horse again. This time I’m successful, even if it’s far from elegant.
My gelding seems a lot taller now I’m on his back. The hay sways beneath. I reassure myself I’ve jumped off the Aether Tower twice, which must be at least a thousand times his height, and give his flanks a sharp kick. Apparently it’s much harder than I intend, since he bolts through the door and Natharius has to move his horse aside to avoid our collision. I pull and pull on the reins, and eventually my horse halts at the end of the street.
I grimace. Riding will be much harder than I expected.
Natharius trots up to me on his mare. He raises a silvery brow, his eyes glinting with amusement. “You can’t ride.”
“Of course I can’t ride,” I snap. “I grew up on a small island.”
“Oh dear,” he says with mock pity. “It seems all your plans are thwarted by your inability to ride a horse.”
I grip the reins and glare at him. My plans will not be ruined by something so trivial.
“You’ll ride for us both,” I say through clenched teeth. Having to ride with such a loathsome creature is far from ideal, but I will do anything to destroy Arluin and free Father.
The Void Prince heaves out a sigh. “How bothersome.”
I go to slide off my saddle, but then realize I’ll probably fail at dismounting as well and end up landing facedown on the cobblestones. So, I teleport off my horse.
The sudden burst of aether sends my horse into a frenzy, and he rears up. I barely catch his reins before he gallops down the street. Luckily, he calms down after a few strides. When I look back, Natharius is even more amused.
I storm over to the stables with my horse in tow, and Zephyr follows me, not wanting to be left alone with the Void Prince. Thankfully, the stable master refunds me the silver I paid him when I explain I can’t ride. Then I have the humiliating task of walking back to Natharius and extending my hand to him so he can help me up.
The Void Prince hauls me up onto his mare, his slender fingers pressing into my waist, and sets me down in front of him.
He flicks his reins, and then we’re off, riding through the streets and out of Lenris Port.
seven
BeyondLenrisPort,theterrain turns into plains. Our mare’s hooves beat against the dirt track, which is wide enough for oxen bearing wagons. We pass plenty of travelers on our way, and they carry an assortment of goods: from grain to spice to silk. Sometimes Zephyr flies behind us, other times he perches on our mare’s back, behind Natharius and the saddle.
It doesn’t take long before my legs ache. A burning sensation scorches my thighs. If I were to check, I’m sure I’d find my legs severely bruised. And that’s only from a few hours of riding. To reach Gerazad, I have at least ten days of this. I can only hope my body will become accustomed to riding long before then.
I’m probably making it all worse by trying to keep still. Mostly because if I fidget, the Void Prince will know how uncomfortable riding makes me and will mock me for it. Or worse yet, he’ll start riding erratically to torment me with every bump and sharp turn. Another reason for my stillness is because I wish to touch him as little as possible. The dark magic oozing out of him is so unbearable it makes my skin crawl. At least he doesn’t smell awful. I was expecting him to give off the scent of death and destruction, but he smells like charcoal and myrrh.
Soon the road steepens and then we’re riding up rolling hills. Rain drizzles down and quickly turns into a heavy downpour. The thick drops splatter across my robes, turning the indigo fabric to an inky shade and making it stick to my skin. My hair clings to the back of my neck with the dampness. A winter wind rolls over us, sharp and bitter. I suppose I should be glad the sky isn’t attacking us with hail.
Not once do I complain about our travel conditions. I could conjure an aether shield to shelter us from the rain, but neither Natharius, Zephyr, nor our horse seem bothered by the weather. I don’t want to be the only one who can’t tolerate a bit of rain.
We stop at late noon, when the heavy clouds are darkening and the sun waning, and let our mare drink from the gentle stream trickling past. The water is almost bursting from the banks from all the rain. Natharius dismounts first and casts me an exasperated look before helping me down. Despite his expression, I consider this to be a major improvement. After all, he helped me without any orders. He doesn’t comment on it, and neither do I. He gathers our mare’s reins and leads her down to the stream to drink.
I make for the nearby oak and stand beneath its thick canopy of leaves and branches to get a moment’s respite from the rain. Zephyr perches on the branch above and gazes down at me with his bright eyes.