earning anything. He didn’t care that the accident cost Jonas far more than he’d ever gained from the circus. Didn’t care that it had been Mr. Notley’s insistence that they travel despite the weather that had allowed the accident to occur in the first place. Didn’t care that the way he continued to pile extra jobs on Jonas’s shoulders was preventing her brother from healing.
She and Jonas had scraped together enough money to pay for a physician’s examination, and the diagnosis had been simple—a broken coccyx. The only known remedy was rest, something that was difficult to find when one lived and worked in a traveling circus.
Sophia pulled the paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. After hundreds of prayers, God had finally answered. One month. For one month she would have steady income, a place to stay, and food to eat. Somehow, she would find a way to share it all with Jonas, and maybe, just maybe, it would be enough.
Please, God, let it be enough.
“Are you ready, faerie queen?”
Her twin brother gave her a lopsided grin that she couldn’t help but return. A sense of peace wormed its way through her uneasiness. She could do this. For him. For them. They had no one else in the world but each other. How many times had Jonas sacrificed in the past six years, making choices simply so they could stay together?
Now it was her turn. All she had to do was abandon common sense in order to believe the job offer was meant for her. One month and then they would have a little bit of money and a wealth of new opportunities.
A white horse head popped over Jonas’s shoulder, dragging a long, silky mane across his face. He spit the strands from his mouth and gave the horse’s nose an affectionate stroke. “Your magical steed awaits.”
Sophia shook her head as she climbed atop the costume trunk. The heavily embroidered panels of her skirt swirled about her legs as she shifted them to the side and mounted the horse in one efficient movement. It took Sophia a moment to shift herself into the proper position on the horse’s bare back, but soon another layer of peace smothered her trepidation.
The back of a horse was the only place she knew she belonged. Even if her father hadn’t pulled her up into the saddle with him before she could walk, she liked to think she’d have eventually found her way to the majestic animals. They were in her blood.
Jonas handed her the thin reins. “I walked her through a full halt like you asked. She shouldn’t rear up this time. The passage looked rough in the performance, though. Not that anyone else would notice.”
“I think it’s because I’m kneeling on one leg when we do it,” she murmured, wishing, not for the first time, that the abilities of the horse and its meticulous training didn’t have to be enhanced by grand schemes on her part.
“That sleeve is big enough to hide a whip,” Jonas said, giving the long tail of her wide sleeve a flick. “Perhaps you can replace the other leg aid that way.”
“Maybe.” She sighed and fingered the panels of the embroidered skirt. “Or if I re-drape the skirt, I could ease my leg down farther.”
Jonas nodded. “There should be more space in the next village, and you can work with her. I can use the longe as well, make sure she understands the adjusted command.”
“Hmm.” Sophia nudged the horse into a walk and guided her to the end of the wall. It didn’t matter if the next village had a large open area. With this new job, they wouldn’t need it.
The idea made her giddy.
How many times had she sat at the end of the dividing wall, listening to the crowd enjoying moves she’d trained other horses to do and pleading with God to somehow make this the last time she would have to go out and perform?
Countless. At least, she’d stopped counting long ago, instead giving all her focus to that prayer in that moment.
This time, her prayer was different. Thin wisps of gratitude stuttered through her mind. Would God want her thanks? Could she really claim this was the miracle she’d been asking Him for when she was practically lying to obtain it?
What was done couldn’t be changed. Not showing up tomorrow would leave the man without a rider for his race. For now, she would just be grateful. If things went poorly, she could