Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,107

lead the night mares—by all accounts uncontrollable beasts—out over the water, taking them far away from land against all their instincts.

“Mmert!”

Recognizing the sound, I turned and was not at all surprised to see the Paragon standing next to us, cradling a basket that held his overweight and bald cat.

“Those are the night mares? Those creatures?” The Paragon shook his fist at the screens. “I spent hours—no—days corralling you uncooperative monsters, and with just a flutter of her eyelashes Queen Leila can lead you out over open water? Like a bunch of peaceful lambs? That’s not fair! You rotten ingrates!”

Fax struck the ground with his hoof, and I set a hand on his neck as I watched the screens.

Leila and her deadly pets were almost to the halfway point of the boardwalk.

The drone fluttered down to get a better shot, and from this angle you could see how nervous the night mares were.

They tossed their heads, swished their tails, and their ears were ever moving as sweat streaked their hides. They were so nervous, the sweat had created a froth on their legs, and a few of the animals drooled red and snorted sparks.

I hope you know what you’re doing, Queen Leila.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Leila

The night mares were terrified.

Behind me, they snorted and tossed their heads. Sweat dripped off their necks, shoulders and chests, and at one point Comet charged a few steps, barely stopping before she slammed into the rail.

We were in the middle of the lake now, as far away from land as we’d get.

My stomach had numbed in my fear, and I knew that if the night mares didn’t calm down, we’d be in a very dangerous position.

Blue Moon’s hide twitched, but when I put a hand on his shoulder he calmed, his ears perking.

“It’s okay, buddy,” I murmured to him. “We’re going to be fine.”

He exhaled deeply, and his steps became surer.

Relieved, I twisted around in my saddle to look at the others.

Nebula stopped. She planted her front feet, and her whole body shook as she was unable to take another step.

Behind her Twilight rolled his pale yellow eyes and shrieked; his breathing was twice as fast as it should have been as something white dripped from his nostrils.

The others weren’t faring any better.

I have to reassure them.

My heart twisted at the sight of my scared horses. “Eclipse, Solstice, Comet, Twilight, Nebula, we’re going to be okay, I promise.”

The night mares perked their ears as they listened to my voice.

“I will never let anyone harm you. I will never send you off without me,” I vowed. “I’m here with you, and I promise we’re going to get through to the other side. Don’t look at the water, watch me.”

Nebula exhaled hard, then rocked forward into a shaky walk.

Up and down the line, the night mares tucked their chins, their eyes fixed on me as they followed.

It was then that I really understood the depth of their intelligence—and the intelligence of fae creatures.

They were trusting me. They’d listened to my words and were choosing to override instinct because I asked them to.

I don’t deserve them.

They clopped across the boardwalk, and I talked to them the whole way, my voice getting stronger and surer the closer we got to land.

Blue Moon shuddered with relief once he stepped off the wooden boardwalk and onto the dirt walking trail.

Eclipse tucked her butt under her and scurried after us, Solstice just a few steps behind her.

The horses breathed easier once they stepped on to land, and they inspected the bike trail. Wide enough for one car, the trail traveled both north and curved to the south and east—the portion we wanted to travel.

It was walled in with shrubs and a little wooden fence, but it was a much wider and more secure path. And—most importantly—it was a long, abandoned stretch of good footing.

“This is it, my beauties!” I called to them as the last night mare reached land with a relieved huff. I glanced up at the drone hovering above us, which emitted a high-pitched whirl as it buzzed around us. “Let’s show everyone what you have!”

I cued Blue Moon into a canter, and he ripped loose.

I swear I felt a dark and wild magic ripple around us as he lengthened his stride, his hooves thundering against the dirt path.

I leaned low over his neck, every muscle in my body tightened. I squeezed Blue Moon with all the muscles in my legs and pushed down in the saddle stirrups as wind ripped at my