CHAPTER 81 Enchanted Carrots

CHAPTER 81

Enchanted Carrots

Rufus

Thirty Minutes Ago

“Donna is staying over here.” Marigold brought me to a sparkling clean stable that stretched along the western side of the compound. It had eight empty stalls and two open doors with a free-range cultivated meadow for horses.

The mare I was looking for was happily cooling herself in the shade of a tree. Summer was here, and it was bright. There was another horse, a black stallion, who was eyeing Donna nervously from the other side of the green.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

Bronwynn’s mother sighed. “It started out pretty harmless, actually. And then she kept accepting more and more jobs. She expressly made it clear that she would tell Brownie in her own time … That time just hasn’t come yet.”

“But … how? She’s a horse .” Even after spending all this time with the mare, I found it hard to suspect a bonded companion would go behind their partner like this. Granted, Donna was an exceptional horse.

“As I said, it started out small.” Marigold waved a hand at the black horse. “Pascal had injured his tail and was on recovery when we got a request to send a letter of reference to Drendil’s royals. They were interested in hiring a few assassins, and Persia had already set sail. Without Pascal, it was going to take weeks … Donna overheard us posting the quest on the board and walked over to accept it herself. She was going with Brownie to my parent’s house in Drendil, and it just lined up.”

“When was this?” As far as my Bronwynn intelligence network—as in, the fan club —had been able to tell, Donna had become Brownie’s bonded companion four years ago .

Marigold thought for a second. “About two years ago.”

“Who usually rides Pascal?” I asked.

“No one; he’s a hippocamp and travels by sea,” Marigold explained. “We have people in the ports who receive his deliveries. He’s pretty smart, though not as intelligent as our mysterious mare over here.”

We’d stopped outside the paddock, and Pascal wandered closer to say hello. He didn’t actually say hello, but he greeted Marigold with a sniff. After carefully observing me, he turned away and went to browse for grass.

Donna had seen us arrive, but she was content to relax in the shade.

“Why are you telling me all this and not Bronwynn?” The memory of Bronwynn happily boasting about how her family was so supportive of her life as a bard separate from the assassination business sat heavy on my mind.

And now, I had another secret between me and the minstrel. My stomach lurched, and my gut tightened.

Marigold stepped into the meadow, and her foot was immediately covered in happy plants that moved to hug her soft shoes. The woman smiled down at the grass but kept walking. To me, she said, “We will discuss with Donna about her latest deliveries and tell her it’s time to come clean.”

I trudged along behind her, trying to be careful of the nicer wildflowers in the meadow. “Alright.”

“Donna!” Marigold reached the mare first, standing in front of her with both hands on her hips. She was human and barely came up to the mare’s shoulders, but the ferocity in her stance had the mare double-take and pay heed.

They stood staring at each other for a second, and I wondered if Marigold could speak to animals like her daughter.

“Have you,” Marigold suddenly asked, “noticed anything interesting about your shipments?”

Donna blew through her nostrils and stuck up her nose, imperious.

“I’m not saying that. You’re one of our best,” Marigold stated. “We’ve just noticed that someone’s been making molten ash vane, and it might be one of ours, so we’re here to ask what you know.”

The long look that Donna gave me, from my feet to my eyes, spoke volumes.

“Guild Master Derek has approved his involvement. So?” Marigold waited for the mare to answer her question.

Donna eyed me one last time before whinnying loudly and nodding her head like a person might. The mare walked up and extended her face, lipping Marigold in the ear. The woman let her, frowning.

“You think they’re coming from the Hollow?”

Donna turned away and walked back to her shady spot.

“One more thing,” Marigold said.

Donna gave her a side-eye before settling back in to enjoy her noonday sun .

“It’s time you tell Brownie you’ve been working for us as an undercover contract delivery mare,” Marigold announced. Donna blew air out of her nose and started eating some grass. The human continued. “You’ve had long enough, and now it’s affecting poor Rufus too. We’ll give you some time, but this is your last chance. If you don’t say anything, we will.”

“I’ll agree to wait”—the words were dragged out of me by the expectant look of my future mother-in-law—“until the end of the Apple Blossom Festival. But no longer than that.”

Donna stared at us for a long time, but we held firm against the displeased horse. Finally, Marigold stated, “We are going to lunch, so we’ll leave you to think about things.”

Before I left, I said, “And Donna?”

The mare snorted. I didn’t know what that meant, but I continued. “Thank you for the poisoning lead. If you think that the poisoner is from the Hollow, then I’ll use every resource at my disposal to uncover the truth.”

Donna flicked her tail once then turned away and set to grazing. But I felt, somehow, that she was pleased I’d thanked her.

I followed Marigold back. Before we reached her house, I asked another question that had been playing on my mind. “What was the quest reward that convinced Donna to work for you? And have her come back for more quests?”

“Enchanted carrots, of course,” Marigold replied over her shoulder as she opened the door to her home and welcomed me in. “And a bag of golden-grade oats.”

I recoiled. “She’s been going behind her bonded companion’s back, for some carrots? ”

Marigold didn’t seem to find anything wrong with this, stressing, “ Enchanted carrots. ”

I was risking another secret ruining my relationship with the most amazing woman on the continent … for carrots.