Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,106

no apparent reason.

I nearly frowned as the drone assigned to Leila zoomed in on her.

What is she planning?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Leila

I watched as the rest of the contestants disappeared down the broad, paved road. If the previous races were any indication, they’d all stay on this road as it traveled south, until it turned and went east.

From there it varied hugely as the riders branched off into what they thought were the best streets—or the secret places where they could cheat, like the Lord Umer whom King Solis had mentioned.

But I planned to turn off immediately.

Even though we were completely hemmed in on the east by lakes, there was one way out. One way that nobody took because they either didn’t know the area, or because it’d be too terrifying for any horse to travel.

But I know the night mares, and I believe in them. Let’s just hope they believe in me, too.

Once the last rider and mount passed about three blocks in front of us, I gathered up the reins. “Okay, my beauties. Let’s show everyone just how amazing you are. Group up!”

I cheekily waved to the drone as the night mares rearranged themselves into two rows of three. Eclipse was on my right and Solstice on my left with Blue Moon and me in the center. Behind us, Comet, Twilight, and Nebula guarded our backs.

I nudged Blue Moon into a trot, which the rest of the night mares copied, and immediately turned off the road, following a side street that circled back behind the stores, restaurants, and cafés that lined the lakeside and opened into a long but thin parking lot.

The night mares clattered across the parking lot, and I fought to keep my breathing steady even though my palms were fast getting sweaty.

We reached the lakeside, which—although it had a boardwalk—didn’t have a beach, just a steep dropoff since the lake was about ten feet lower than the street.

But bridging over the gap and arching down to the water was a sturdy boardwalk the city had put in about a decade ago thanks to the funds the Curia Cloisters had dropped into a gigantic city beautification project—AKA one of the supernaturals’ efforts to buy goodwill among the people when humans were still unsure if supernaturals were safe or not.

The lake—the horribly named Fairy Lake—actually only started a few blocks north, and at this portion the lake was pretty narrow. So narrow, in fact, the boardwalk cut straight across the water and bridged the lake to connect to a bike path that sliced between Fairy Lake and the other lake that pressed against downtown Magiford. Following the bike trail would drop me off in the downtown area—just a few blocks up from the finish line—and it would cut a significant amount of distance off the ride while providing a safe area and good footing for my night mares to gallop down.

But first we had to get there.

The boardwalk was narrow—made for foot traffic and bikes—but it was passable by horse…if you could get any horse out to the middle of the lake without it losing its mind.

I took a deep breath. We can do this. I know them.

“Single file—space yourselves, and walk carefully. Blue Moon and I will lead.”

I clicked to Blue Moon, and he obediently walked up to the wooden bridge that marked the start of this water-crossing boardwalk. His hooves thudded dully on the wood as he took the first few steps.

When we reached the part of the boardwalk that started to tilt down toward the water, Eclipse started, breathing loudly as her footfalls added to the boardwalk.

This thing should be able to hold us all, I thought as Blue Moon tossed his head. I’ve seen the city bring multiple bobcats and four-wheelers out here for maintenance. The bigger issue is if the night mares can stay calm.

Blue Moon obediently marched on, and when I twisted in the saddle to look back, Solstice had already entered the boardwalk. He tossed his head, and his movements were tense, but he followed. Behind him, Nebula got on, her ears pinned but her head slightly lowered with a mulish sort of stubbornness.

We’re doing it. We’ll make it, and as long as we get good time on the bike path, we’ll make it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rigel

“She is insane!” Lord Linus hissed. “What is she thinking?”

King Solis gaped in silence, though he gripped the wooden fence tightly enough to make it creak.

I stared at the TV screens, the least shocked as we watched Queen Leila