Chapter 29 Auria
North Wind ran like the wind. Maybe it was his unicorn heritage, but I felt perfectly safe in his saddle, despite the fact that he ran so fast that my cloak hood and hair flew behind me, whipping behind us. South Wind ran a few paces to our right, just as fast.
The wind was terrible, but my horse radiated heat.
I leaned closer to his body and spent the hours trying to think of a bargain or a challenge that I could beat a fae queen at.
When the sun was well past its height, the inside of my thighs started burning.
I tried sliding my hand in between my leg and the saddle like a cushion, but it didn’t help.
I leaned forward and touched North Wind’s back. “Can we stop for a short break?”
A few paces later, he stopped.
Ivodar pulled up next to me. “Is there a problem, my lady?”
I shook my head. “No, I just need to stretch. I—” My face flushed. Was this a normal problem for riding?
“You’re sore.” Ivodar figured it out.
I winced and nodded.
“That’s to be expected. Grab your salve, and I’ll help you down.”
Brielle’s salve! It all made sense now. I pulled it out of the bag and jumped off North Wind at the same time Ivodar hopped down. I landed in a crouch—a painful crouch—and straightened up. “I can jump down. It’s mostly just falling. I might need help getting back up, though.”
Ivodar nodded and turned away from me. “Rub that cream anywhere that’s sore. I’ll grab a snack while we’re stopped.”
* * *
We were riding hard again in less than ten minutes. Every muscle in my body was tired, but Ivodar thought we would reach the footbridge by nightfall if we could maintain this pace. And that meant one more step closer to Bylur.
The hours passed in a blurry haze. I couldn’t think about bargains and challenges anymore because my mind turned to mush.
I’d just been awake for too long to do anything that required logic or reasoning skills.
When North Wind stopped, I didn’t know if it was because he thought it was a good idea or if Ivodar had called out to him.
I leaned forward and rested my head against the horse. After spending the entire day with him, he wasn’t scary any more. And my muscles were tired enough that I might have leaned against him even if I was still afraid of him.
“My lady?” Ivodar’s worried voice came from near my left foot. “Are you hurt?”
I sighed and sat up to look at him. “Not really. I just want to sleep.”
He waved to my left, and I turned to see a two-story cottage settled into blossom-covered trees with no leaves. “If you can walk some thirty paces,” he said, “I’ll make arrangements for a room.”
I swung a leg over the saddle, grimacing from the pain of the saddle burns, and slid down to the ground.
I landed a lot harder than I had earlier in the day, but I didn’t care.
I clenched my teeth and followed Ivodar up a cobblestone path to the door.
He opened it for me, and fresh bread smells distracted me from my sores.
I’d already eaten all of Kusan’s pastries, even though Ivodar thought they should be parceled out over the next four days.
“Did you bring money, Ivodar? Because if not, I might need to acquire some of that bread through methods I no longer endorse.”
He chuckled. “I asked Lord Dedalus if he thought it was inappropriate to take some of Bylur’s money, and he provided me with a pouch he found in the study. He said it was yours anyway, but you were not organized enough to plan for it.”
I walked farther into the inn. “He really hates me.”
Ivodar closed the door behind us. “No. He would not have been so helpful if he hated you. Honestly, I’ve never seen him help anyone besides his sister as much as he’s helped you and Bylur. You should consider him an advocate among the nobles, if not a friend.”
His face flushed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you what to do.”
I was too tired to care. I settled myself onto a bench by the door. “All I can think about right now is that bread and a room with a bed. I’d be very grateful for either of those.”