Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

WINNIE

" E leanor, for the love of the goddess, your horse better find another to ride in front of or I'm pushing it off a cliff."

Laurent laughed heartily. "That's my cue," he said before kicking his horse into a canter to ride ahead next to Grimm and Aggie, Augustus and Anne at their flanks.

"It's not my fault the damned beast keeps passing gas!"

This time, Tomás was the one to laugh. "Switch me places, Winnie." He pulled the reins, slowing his horse so Winnie could ride in front of Eleanor.

Sorscha came barreling toward them on her steed, a cloud of dust in her wake that Aggie began shouting at her for creating. After a verbal battle and a fussing of reins, Sorscha convinced her horse to turn and walk in stride next to Winnie's .

"Can we speed this uuuup?" she whined. "Asa is only a day ahead of us!"

"We can't make time speed up, Sorscha," Winnie snapped. Travelling by horseback in the accursed heat was on the list of her least favourite things. "Our party is massive, therefore slow." Not to mention the amount of magic they were using to cloak everyone.

Sorscha turned and sneered at the carriage jostling behind a few rows of soldiers and Druids. "If some of us weren't having to travel like royalty , maybe we'd be faster."

No one had even attempted to argue with Tindle when he insisted on a carriage, nor Dulci when she insisted she would be joining him within it. There had, however, been quite a squabble between Gaius and Arielle when he insisted she ride with them. That particular debate had been solved by Seleste, who said she and Arielle could ride the bench seat, and lead the horses pulling the carriage.

King Frederic, however, was also in a carriage of his own, and Grimm had rather liked the plan of a decoy, should their magic falter at any time and the travelling party found out. That did begin an argument, as Tindle was not inclined to enjoy being fodder for a mad king. Grimm had merely given him the option to travel by decoy carriage—since he insisted on one—or stay behind and miss all the excitement.

And everyone knew Tindle could not pass a chance to witness drama.

Winnie looked back at the two carriages. Seleste had begun the journey chatting animatedly with Arielle, but the further they rode, the more stricken she'd begun to look.

Out of nowhere, a form fell from a tree onto the back of Winnie's horse and Sorscha screamed. It was Laurent—howling with laughter.

"Serves you damned right!" Eleanor spewed at Sorscha through her own hysterics. "After you did the same thing to me, falling onto Gaius' horse last Autumn!"

"That was ages ago, little niece. Get over it !"

Laurent wrapped one arm around Winnie's waist, the other hand sliding up and up— She clamped her hand over his, nails digging in. "It is too hot for this," she growled.

He only snickered into her hair, nuzzling her ear. "The reaper says we'll stop near Bellvary tonight. There is a manor in the country there, where the king will live out his days."

"Ooooh," Sorscha hummed. "Do we get to stay there, too?"

"That seems to be the plan."