The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,23

on the mythological’s wounds.

Jason and Delia moved closer to them. Delia's eyes were wide and admiring as she got a look at the mythological up close. "He looks like the pictures and sculptures we have of Rava."

"He's not a god," Eva said, shaking off the unsettling encounter with the Warlord and Battle Queen. "He's flesh and blood, which means he needs food."

"What kind of food do you suppose he eats?" Delia asked doubtfully.

Like Hardwick, she stayed out of easy biting range of the mythological.

Jason didn't show that consideration, stepping close to the winged horse and reaching his hand out to touch.

Eva shook her head. Had he learned nothing from this morning?

The mythological snapped at his fingers.

Jason stumbled away with a startled cry as Eva stepped into the spot where he'd been moments before. Her closed fist knocked the mythological's teeth away from her exposed throat.

"What have I told you about trying to bite my friends?" Eva snarled.

The mythological gave her a disgruntled look she could read as easily as if she'd heard him. Jason wasn't her friend so the rules shouldn't apply to him.

Interesting. The mythological played word games as easily as most humans.

"Meat," Eva said in answer to Delia's question earlier. "I'm going to assume he eats a diet rich in meat."

The others, with the exception of Hardwick, gave the mythological wary glances. Suddenly, Eva's appointment as his caretaker didn't seem like the prize they'd thought seconds before.

CHAPTER FOUR

Eva’s dreams were filled with clouds in the shape of trees and trees shaped like clouds when her blanket was abruptly ripped off her, dousing her with the early morning chill. She shivered and stared blearily in confusion as the impact of hooves close to her head sent her scrambling to her feet.

Eva's movements were jerky as she spun, intent on finding the beast threatening her.

The mythological stared at her, his eyes wide and his ears pricked forward. The incriminating blanket hung from his sharp teeth as he moved his head up and down.

Eva sucked in a breath, her eyebrows already pulling down in a severe frown at the unwelcome wake-up call. "What was that for?"

The mythological's expression was unrepentant as he glared at her.

Caia approached from the side, grabbing one end of the blanket and tugging on it. The mythological balked, refusing to let go as both tugged on their ends, neither willing to relinquish their prize.

It would have been funny to watch them battling it out over a simple blanket like two dogs over a bone, if it hadn't been the only blanket Eva owned, and terrible growls weren't rumbling from the mythological's chest. Sounds more suited to a nightmare creature who did its hunting under cover of darkness than a horse with wings.

It should have sent her scurrying for cover. Instead, she wavered between interfering and staying safely on the sidelines.

There was a loud rip as her blanket tore in half.

Both horses stopped, disappointment in their expressions as they stared down at their now broken toy. Caia dropped her half, already bored. The mythological pranced in a circle before draping the blanket over his back as if it was proof of his victory.

Finished, he looked back at Eva expectantly.

"That was my only blanket," she told him mournfully.

His head jerked slightly as his ears flicked. He glanced away, avoiding her eyes as guilt stole into his body language.

Eva waited, her expression grumpy.

He bent his head and rubbed one cheek against his foreleg before straightening and arching his neck. His tail swished behind him as he pretended innocence and indifference.

Caia stretched her muzzle out toward the blanket still draped across his back, moving stealthily and silently.

Her teeth were closing on fabric when he skittered out of the way with a victorious whinny. Caia's grab missed and she bit down on air.

She reared her head back, giving him a disgruntled look before trying to nip his flank.

He jerked out of the way just in time. He spun and showed her his teeth, a warning to not get ahead of herself, Eva figured. He'd let the normal horse play with him, but his patience had an end.

It seemed biting was that line in the sand for him.

"My blanket, please." Eva held her hand out for the blanket, keeping it there even when he tried to ignore her.

The mythological stared away from her.

"I know you can still see me." Horses had binocular vision. They didn't see so well directly in front of their nose or behind their tail—one of the reasons they tended