weren’t improving as quickly as she had wanted them to. That was mostly because she was obviously a worse judge of horses than she’d thought herself. She’d taken to calling her mount Plodding Clod—which he perhaps resented—because he’d had absolutely no interest in her terrible haste. Keeping him in a canter had been almost impossible. His trot had been a horrible thing that not even her decent riding skills could compensate for. She couldn’t help but think she would have made better time and been less weary if she’d used her own two feet.
She looked up at the darkening sky and decided she’d had enough for the day. She was only a few hours into her ride across the plains of Ailean, which was something of a two-edged sword. She had left forests and hills behind, which made it more difficult for anyone to follow her unseen, but being out in the open left her less unseen herself. There was a line of trees in front of her that shimmered with something that spoke quite strongly of illusion. It was a pleasant illusion though, so she felt somewhat safe in making for the spot.
She told her horse to stop, but he, being who he was, completely ignored her. She finally wrestled him to a halt, then dismounted.
He reared. The moment his feet touched the ground, he ripped the reins from her hand and bolted, displaying a gallop she could have certainly used long before then.
She stood there and gaped as he carried off not only her pilfered gold but her borrowed sword and all her food. His hoofbeats faded so quickly into the distance that she imagined she wouldn’t manage to catch him without considerable effort, if at all.
She turned and looked around her, half expecting to see something horrible leap out at her from the trees. There was nothing save that strange glamour that was woven into the last of the winter grasses at her feet and hanging like a curtain from the bare winter branches of the trees before her. There were spots in the grass that were burned, as if someone had recently made a great bonfire there. She could only hope they hadn’t chosen to remain behind to see who might come along and admire their work.
Well, there was nothing to be done but seek shelter for the night, then regroup on the morrow. She had started off her journey with only a handful of coins, her meager store of courage, and her skirt pulled over her head to be used as a cloak. At least now she had a decent cloak to keep her warm and a pair of elegant and useful knives stuck down the sides of her boots. Things could have been much worse.
She took a deep, calming breath, then walked through the trees, trying to ignore how quickly twilight had fallen and how much darker it was in the trees than it had been out in the open. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her and walked silently to the stream she could see glimmering in front of her. She knelt down at the water’s edge, then had a long drink whilst there was still enough light to manage it. She sat back on her heels and rested her hands on her knees. Perhaps she would find a bit of peace after all.
Or so she thought until she heard the crack of a twig behind her.
She suppressed the urge to shriek. Truly, she was finished with the dark and magic and things she couldn’t possibly fight any longer. She managed a deep, quiet breath, then pulled the knife from her boot with a badly trembling hand. She took it by the tip, took her courage in hand, then rose, turned, and flung the blade at the hooded figure standing ten paces away in a single, fluid motion.
Curses filled the air.
Sarah closed her eyes, because she was fairly sure the curser wouldn’t see her at it. Apparently, Ruith’s bastard brothers were as poor at judging his condition as she was at judging horses, for Ruith was most certainly not dead.
He was also not rushing forward to proclaim his joy at seeing her alive. He merely turned without comment to fetch her knife that she could see quivering in the tree behind him. He pulled it free, then walked back toward her and handed it to her wordlessly before he squatted down and had his own drink. Judging by the time he spent