Chapter 37 #2
The crowd gasped, and I snapped out of the wild daydream, ripping my gaze away from the princess to look at the ring instead.
Kahn had knocked Darell onto his back again, but this time he was straddling his chest and throwing punches into his face which had already knocked two teeth out.
Marik started up the count as Darell failed to rise and I looked over at my old captain, my muscles tensing with the anticipation of the orders my body always expected from him.
But I was unrecognisable thanks to Kyra, and it was a relief knowing this man who had haunted so much of my waking life no longer held me at his service.
Darell didn’t rise again, and Kahn kept hitting him far longer than was necessary as he played with his food, a vicious kind of grin pulling at his mouth as the pain of the lord ignited some dark fire in him.
Kahn finally stood up, raising his bloody fists into the air as the crowd cheered for him and Darell was left unconscious on the sand, blood splattering the golden grains around him from his tenderised face.
Kahn had stolen the round easily and he was awarded a staggering eighteen points while Darell took a mere three.
Marik whistled to some of the servants and a towering black horse was guided into the ring, pulling a stretcher along behind it.
My heart lifted at the sight of Gallow, my horse wearing a fine golden bridle with his mane and tail braided neatly for show.
I wasn’t too far from where Darell’s body lay and as Gallow sniffed the air, he lifted his head and looked right at me, stamping his front hoof. “Yu-thar.”
The word sparked inside my head and my mouth lifted at his name for me. I supposed he had rarely heard my true name before, but I had often been addressed as ‘you there’ when I was wanted for some duty or another.
The little horsey accent he put on those words were endearing and I was glad he could recognise me.
Of course, it was less endearing when he started trotting right towards me, yanking the bridle out of the servant’s hands and dragging a half-conscious lord on the stretcher after him.
He didn’t stop at the front row of seats either, he knocked several people aside as he clambered clumsily up the stands towards me and Darell went tumbling out of the stretcher with a strangled cry.
“Gallow, you fool,” I hissed, rising in alarm and moving to grab his bridle before he could trample someone.
He rubbed his nose against my face with a stubborn determination and I petted the star between his eyes.
“Apple,” he demanded inside my head, and I cursed as the servants came to grab him.
“Get hold of that beast!” Marik barked as the crowd shifted away from Gallow in fright.
“I have him,” I called, steering my horse back down over the stands and drawing him onto the sand where Darell had passed out again. “I possess a slight animal Affinity that sometimes causes beasts to act out of turn. Entirely my fault.”
I inclined my head as I held the reins out for Marik to take, but he snatched them from my grip anyway and shoved them into the hands of one of the servants who was scrambling about trying to get Darell on the stretcher again.
We’d drawn a lot of attention away from Kahn who was now up on the platform receiving his rosette, and I could feel the princess’s eyes pinned on us too.
Marik looked me up and down with distaste. “Aren’t you Count Nazari’s guard?”
“Yes, sir.” I lowered my gaze in submission only to feel a roaring in my chest which told me I didn’t have to submit to him anymore. So I raised my eyes again, though my back was ramrod straight under his scrutiny, too many years of training beating this perfect posture into me.
“Then I will be reporting your insolence to him,” Marik said icily.
“Insolence, sir?” I questioned before he could turn his back on me. I never spoke back to my captain, but I had wanted to a thousand times, and now I was not his to command. The thrill of that truth sent a shiver of excitement through me. “I simply returned your horse to you.”
“Yes, and the rogue animal shall receive punishment for its misgivings, and you shall likely receive the same for yours.” He sneered, snapping his fingers at the servant holding the reins of my horse.
“Tie the beast up outside its stable in full sunlight. No food or water for two days.” He dismissed the servant with a wave of his hand and the man drew Gallow away as he pulled Darell along on the stretcher behind him.
My muscles tensed and my teeth locked together as that punishment fell on my animal, and I found myself stepping into the personal space of my old captain with a threat in my movements.
His eyebrows arched as he took in my aggression and anger flared through his gaze, the kind which would have once seen me kneeling on hard stone while my back was torn open by the strike of his whip.
“Stand down,” he spat, but I didn’t move a muscle, feeling the audience’s attention on us growing. “You dare to defy the Captain of the Osarian Guard?”
“Is there a problem, Captain Marik?” Princess Austyn called before I could respond and I turned, finding her striding across the sand while her maids hurried after her.
Magdor looked like she’d just swallowed a bee as she watched her go, leaving Kahn still kneeling on the platform, forgotten in favour of this unexpected drama.
“Not at all, Your Highness.” Marik bowed, but I bowed lower, keeping my eyes on the ground as my heart pounded fiercely in my chest. “Please, return to the shade. There is no need for you to risk sunstroke for the sake of a rogue guardsman.”
I felt Marik’s eyes on me and heard every note of accusation in those words, certain he was wishing he could be the one to punish me himself.
“I am sure I can handle a moment in the sun, Captain,” Austyn said dismissively. “You are Count Nazari’s man, are you not?”
A lump pushed at the base of my throat as I hesitated, knowing it was respectful to raise my eyes now that I had been addressed directly.
But I feared that the moment I looked at her, she would see the truth of me, her eyes able to cut through the magic hiding my face and beyond.
Perhaps she would see right into the depths of my wicked soul where all my darkest fantasies of her were housed.
“The princess is speaking to you, guard,” Marik said sharply.
Old habits died hard as I responded to the bite in his tone, standing straight and lifting my gaze. And there she was, so close to me, so familiar and so gods-damn captivating.
A small frown creased her brow as she looked at me, and I could have sworn my cover was blown from the way her eyes traced my face, her throat bobbing in some reaction I couldn’t quite read.
“Forgive me,” I started, but she spoke before I could go on, our eyes never breaking from each other’s. There was an energy in the air that had my heart thrashing in the confines of my ribcage, and it was so potent that I had to wonder if she sensed it too.
“You are forgiven. Captain, you are the one causing a scene over a horse.” Austyn’s amber gaze snapped onto him accusingly.
“The horse knocked Lord Darell from his stretcher, Your Highness,” Marik stammered and I relished the way he reddened before her.
“Yes, and the sky is blue, and the grass is green. Was there anything else?”
“The captain seemed to feel that the animal should be punished,” I said, my tongue running away with me despite knowing I should have been keeping my silence, but my love of Gallow drove me to insanity it seemed, and I was unable to stop now that I had begun.
“Is that so?” Austyn asked, flicking a frown Marik’s way and he stiffened.
“It is my duty to ensure that any horse within the royal cavalry is adequately trained,” he spluttered. “A few days in the sun without sustenance will surely serve to remind the beast of its place and-”
“You intend to leave the animal standing beneath the blazing sun without food?” she gasped, and her maids echoed her horror, Jacinda placing a hand to her heart and looking in danger of fainting.
“Or water,” I added, unable to hide the growl in my tone.
“Surely an animal is incapable of understanding such a punishment?” Austyn protested.
Marik’s eyes had turned hard like two sharp stones and despite his deference to the princess, he did not back down.
“Apologies for any concern this has caused you, Your Highness.” He shot a dark look at me like he was even more eager to see me punished now.
“But I have been in control of the royal cavalry for many years, and I know the best ways to train a horse. A creature cannot behave like that and be allowed to remain within the ranks of our elite-”
“Count Nazari is in need of a horse,” I blurted, seeing the threat of the knacker’s yard flashing in Marik’s cruel gaze.
“I am certain he would be willing to purchase the beast and resolve the issue that way. He is not a man put off by free spirits or impulsive acts, so I am certain the steed would be a good fit.”
“Your employer is a fan of free spirits?” Austyn enquired with a small scoff, though there was curiosity in her gaze too.
“Indeed, he is,” I agreed, unable to take it back - though now I was regretting the words as she seemed to be more interested in them than I would have assumed.
“Well, that sounds like a perfect solution to me,” she said abruptly. “Now can we get on with our day?” she demanded and Marik gaped at her, speechless while a smug smile fought to tilt my lips.
“Y-yes, of course. My apologies, Your Highness.” He bowed low and I did the same, stealing a final glance at her as she swept away and returned to the stage, leaving my blood pumping hard and fast.
“Return to your seat,” Marik snarled at me before turning and marching away.