23. The best possible wingman #3
“They were another gift from our goddess,” I said but quickly added, “or so diluted history records like to say. Along with our nytefire, Mina gave our ancestors these incredible creatures to see that they were never alone and never without strength as they made their new place in this divided world.”
Mina had, after all, crafted her steeds from the three things most familiar to her—the night sky, the bones of the dead, and veins of brilliant azurite. My wife-to-be just didn’t need to know I knew those were more than just the words of a fable passed down through time.
Enora, thankfully, pondered that for a lengthy moment before she asked, “How long have you had him for?”
“Since he was a foal.” There was probably a less depressing way to quantify that timeframe, but for reasons unknown to me, I added, “He was one of the few things I was allowed to take with me when I was exiled. A strange act of benevolence from my father, but one I was immensely grateful for.”
The act was one I also questioned for decades.
Apollo had been a gift from my mother, an offspring from a line bred by her family, only a few years before my father had decided she was a heretic.
Both times I’d been imprisoned in the years that followed, I grieved the inevitability of slaughter Apollo would face.
Eyes wide, the princess stared at me. “But that would make him…”
“Nearly as old as I am, give or take a decade or two.” I smiled. “They are an exceptionally hearty and long-lived breed. If everything goes as it should, I doubt I’ll ever need another steed again in my life.”
Enora had worn a look of awe for so long, I was half-convinced it would never leave her face again. She turned her attention back to Apollo and planted her hands on her hips, chuckling, “Well, you don’t look a day over seventy-and-some, do you? What a handsome boy.”
“I really thought my time in the Wastes would have aged me more than that, you know?” I mused from behind her. “Not a lick of humidity in that air, I tell you, and those dust storms are nothing to—”
“Not you.” Enora cast a refreshingly amused glance back.
I lifted my hands in defense and backed a step away, leaving the princess to dote on Apollo.
She talked to him in a hushed tone as she gave him a full muzzle-to-tail inspection, and he soaked in every damned minute of it, looking like he was near falling asleep on the spot.
He was going to be absolutely insufferable after this, and I knew that wholeheartedly.
But there was something incredible about watching the drastic shift in Enora’s behavior around my equine companion.
A short time ago, she’d been ready to separate Jasper’s limbs from his body—and I think she would have without my intervention—but that woman was nowhere to be found now.
No, she was smiling and talking in the gentle tone mothers reserved for their small children in moments of adoration.
I found myself awestruck, even though my chest ached a little.
I’d have to find Enora a suitable foal from the stables soon, one she could see reared exactly as she wanted, a lifelong companion, just like I had in Apollo.
I had a sneaking suspicion that my faithful steed would have no complaints if the princess took him on loan for the foreseeable future, though.
“I don’t mean to interrupt…” I said after Enora had taken a third appreciative sweep around. “But we should probably make our way back sooner rather than later, unless you’d like to get stuck in a downpour. I know Apollo wouldn’t.”
My steed chuffed his agreement, and Enora glanced up at the darkening clouds on the horizon. “Right. Will you give me a little boost up?”
I had a feeling that would be the case, as much as I selfishly hoped it wouldn’t. Grimmorian steeds were much taller than any of their relatives, and, even with the stirrups set low for my legs, the princess didn’t stand a chance of pulling herself up there on her own.
“We’ll get you a little rope ladder next time,” I chuckled, a little strained, as I motioned for her to go ahead. “Just grab the saddle and—”
“Save the instructions for someone who needs them,” Enora shot back and left me hurrying to grab her by the waist and hoist her up as she damned near swung herself onto his back. I was beyond impressed, but I couldn’t stop flexing my fingers around nothing.
“You’re a lot stronger than you look,” she chuckled, and I didn’t even look up.
“I’ve heard that before,” I huffed, staring at my hands. “You’re…”
“I’m heavier than I look, I know,” Enora sighed and tipped her head back. “Get on, Your Majesty. Let’s get moving.”
That was not even remotely what almost fumbled out of my mouth, even though she was right.
I’d learned that when I’d been stuck carrying her out of the damned war room after Jasper dumped her there, and after the initiation, even though she clearly had no solid memory of either.
Despite her stature, Enora was built of well-honed muscle, and I respected that immensely.
No, I’d almost fumbled out that she felt nicer to touch than I thought she would be.
As if that was a compliment. As if that would even make sense to her.
Clearly, I was running myself a little thinner than usual, and it was starting to show.
The last thing we needed to discuss was how long it’d been since it had felt nice when I touched someone.
I hauled myself up on Apollo’s back behind her in silence for fear of what a mess I’d make.
But clearly, Enora did not find the act of sharing a saddle to be quite as…
intimate an endeavor as I did. Which, given her former profession, made an abundance of sense.
Still, none of that rational thinking did anything to stop me from going stiff as a fucking fencepost when she sank back against me and planted her hand on my thigh to steady herself.
She noticed too.
A beat of sharp laughter vibrated through her chest to mine, and she dug her fingers into the muscle of my thigh. Beneath us, Apollo chuffed, as if he, too, found it humorous.
“Don’t ride with others often, do you, Your Majesty?” she chirped back in my direction.
“No, Miss Wynn,” I gritted out, adding as much drawl to her title as she had to mine, “I don’t make a habit of it.”
“Shame. Do you fly with others? I feel like that could be quite romantic in the right setting, with the right person.”
Mina, help me. All I was trying to do was get a hold on Apollo’s reins without pressing every damned inch of our bodies together, but Enora wouldn’t stop squirming and digging her fingers into my leg as she tried to twist and look back at me.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “No, I don’t.
It’s a very…private activity.” The last thing I needed was to have to spend the rest of our ride explaining to Enora why it was something I only did alone, which would quickly spiral into why she hadn’t seen a single set of wings around other than Eilir’s. “And would you just stop already?”
She blinked up at me, feigning innocence in her hazel eyes. “Stop what?”
With my arms hovering clear of her body, I nudged Apollo into a trot. “Stop squirming around like something bit you on the ass.”
That innocence morphed into something I could not read for the life of me. “Am I making you uncomfortable, Maksym?” she chuckled as she turned her attention ahead, but it was a remarkably humorless noise. “You’ll have to let me know if you find me less revolting once our wedding rolls around.”
I stiffened. “I do not find you revolting, Enora. Not at—”
The wicked woman took advantage of my moment of befuddlement and seized Apollo’s reins, guiding our steed into the start of a full-on gallop with the ease I should have expected from her.
“I know that,” she tossed back at me, and I glimpsed the edge of her smile. “But, no offence, I’ve just been itching for a proper ride, and you don’t look like you’d know what that meant if it bit you in the ass, Your Majesty. Now, hold on.”
Without even a second to parse a proper retort to that incredibly low blow, I let out a string of curses and wrapped my arms around Enora’s waist, lest I see myself blown clean off Apollo’s back as blue nytefire kicked up around his hooves and he tore down the pathway back to the Keep.
As much as I didn’t entirely want to admit it, Enora’s awestruck gasp and unbridled laughter were the most refreshing things I’d heard in an eternity.