Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As silently as possible, I strap a dagger to my thigh and don my heavy black cloak. I poke my hand into the pocket, ensuring the leather pouch of coins is still safely stashed where I put it earlier. Both tokens dangle from the ribbons I looped around my neck, hidden beneath my shirt.
With one last glance at my sleeping roommates, I ease open the door and peek down the hallway. Once I’m certain no one’s watching, I steal toward the alicorn stable. Curfew already came and went, but no one intercepts me on the way. Even if they did, Abel told me that first-time offenders just get sent back to the dorms with a warning. My jittery nerves don’t seem to get the message.
I creep inside the dim structure, my eyes taking a moment to adjust.
The door to Thorne’s room is closed. I send up a silent prayer that he’s in his instructor quarters instead. Or a heavy sleeper.
With measured steps, I head toward Zephyr’s stall. Though I probably woke him up, he’s on high alert when I reach him, ears pricked forward.
He snorts in greeting, and the alicorn in the adjoining stall lets out a high-pitched whinny.
“Shhh. We’ve got to be quiet.” I keep my voice low as I rub Zephyr’s silvery nose. “And…I’m going to need a huge favor.”
Saddling him in the dark takes a small eternity, but I manage the job without making too much noise. Before leading the alicorn outside, I give the place one last cursory glance and breathe a sigh of relief. No guards in sight. No grumpy flight instructor ready to rip my head off either. Just a barn full of sleepy alicorns.
Outside, I try to work up the nerve to mount the massive creature. This all sounded feasible in theory. Borrow an alicorn. Fly to Royce. Return and slip back into bed before anyone notices I’m gone. Now that the moment of truth has arrived, though, the flying part of my plan churns my stomach.
“You can do this.” Though the words are more for me than for Zephyr, I keep my voice soft and soothing as I pat his neck. “We’ll stay low to the ground. And we’ll be back before anyone misses us.” I take a deep breath and ease myself into the saddle. “Ready?”
A lazy drawl interrupts my monologue. “Nice pep talk. Truly inspirational.”
I freeze as Sterling Thorne emerges from the shadows. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing outside the alicorn stable? The place where I often work and sleep? Do you really need me to answer that?” I shake my head as he reaches Zephyr’s side. “Don’t let me interrupt…whatever it is you’re doing.”
The air leaves my lungs in a whoosh . My lips part, but I can’t form any words.
He wraps his hand around the reins. “I think this just might be the first time I’ve seen you speechless.”
“I…” I what? Don’t mind me. I was just sneaking out for a late-night flight?
“You know,” he tilts his head, “this is starting to become a habit.”
“What is?”
His smile widens as he gestures toward the building. “Your nighttime visits. Sneaking around.”
Irritation ripples through me. “I wasn’t sneaking.”
“Then please enlighten me. What would you call it?”
“I was just, uh…going to practice with Zephyr.”
“In the middle of the night?” He leans in and inhales. “Have you been drinking again?”
“No! Of course not.”
“All right. No need to get defensive. It was a legitimate question after…well, you know.” He pauses, but when I stay silent, he continues. “So tell me, what were you really doing out here? And don’t lie. I know you stole two tokens from my room.”
I don’t bother arguing. We’re wasting valuable time, and I see no way around admitting the truth to Thorne. “Okay,” I take a breath and try to steady my nerves, “I might as well tell you. I was going to take Zephyr on a little flight, um…home.” When his jaw drops, my explanation tumbles from my mouth. “Just for tonight! We were going to turn right around and come back.”
Incredulity crosses his features. “You’re serious. You were actually going to attempt this reckless plan.” He scrubs a hand over his face, his jaw muscle twitching. “What in the hells were you thinking?”
I knew it was only a matter of time before that calm charade of his shattered.
“Yes, I’m serious.” The words come out a hiss. “Believe me, I know the risks. I just?—”
“Oh, do you?” He yanks me from the saddle, holding me tight even after my boots hit the dirt. “Fuck, Lark, you’ve never even been on a solo flight before. You’ve never even been more than ten feet off the ground!”
Anger surges through my veins as my entire body tingles with awareness. “I’m well aware.”
“Why?” His throat works on a swallow. “Just tell me what possessed you to sneak out, tack up an alicorn, and risk your life. What’s so important to you?”
I angle my head away and study the ground. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.” He cups my jaw and brings it back so he can look me in the eye.
“People are depending on me.” I squeeze my eyes shut, a lump forming in my throat at the thought of so many people without food. “I help with a food pantry, and I got a letter today. There was a fire, and,” when I open my eyes, the fury on his face has faded, “they need my help.”
I leave out the part about the book. An explanation for that would take too long, and this is a longshot anyway. If Thorne mocked me over how far-fetched my hope is that the book will lead me to Leesa, I might actually get arrested for kicking an instructor’s balls into his throat.
Several seconds pass as Thorne says nothing.
I clear my throat. “You were right. It’s a reckless plan, but I can’t let those children…any of those people…go hungry.”
Still silent, he releases me and motions toward Zephyr.
Is he mocking me? “I don’t understand.”
“I’ve done some shitty things in my life.” He works the muscle in his jaw. “But I’m not going to add to that list tonight. Get on.”
My own jaw drops. “Really? You’re…going to help me?”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t sound so shocked, Duchess. Who am I to deny hungry children food? Besides, you can make up for missing your lesson this morning.” He motions toward Zephyr again. “Now get on. We don’t have all night.”
Amazed at the outcome of this conversation, I put my left boot in the stirrup and swing my right leg over the saddle. Before I can get comfortable, he vaults onto Zephyr behind me.
I sit up straight, trying not to wiggle as his hard body presses up against me. “What should I hold onto?”
“Either Zephyr’s mane or the pommel.” He reaches around me and picks up the reins, encircling my waist with his other arm. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.”
“For some reason, I’m not so sure about that.” The words spill from my lips before I can stop them.
He’s actually helping you, and you just keep baiting him. Perfect.
“You wound me.”
I snort. Although I can’t see his face, I can practically hear his smirk. “Please.”
With a soft chuckle, Thorne nudges Zephyr into a brisk walk. “Ready?”
“I am.” I suck in a breath, nerves fluttering in my belly like tiny butterflies. “And I promise to behave. For the rest of the night, at least.”
With that, Zephyr’s off, rising off the ground with a powerful flap of his silvery wings. My stomach dips as we rise higher and higher, and I squeeze Thorne’s arm like my life depends on it.
He tightens his grip on my waist. “If you wanted to hold my hand so badly, why didn’t you just say so?”
I release a shaky laugh. “You wish.” This man is full of contradictions, riling me up one minute and putting me at ease the next.
“You can relax, you know. If you sit that stiff the whole time, you’re going to have quite the backache later.”
Funny. Now that he mentions it, I notice my back already hurts a little. The pain feels less like muscle soreness and more like sharp tingling near my shoulder blades, as if I’m being stabbed by a hundred tiny needles.
I roll my shoulders, hoping the movement will banish the unpleasant sensation. Pain is the only reason I let my back melt into his chest and allow his warmth to seep through my cloak. I definitely, one hundred percent, absolutely do not use my flight instructor as a personal pillow because I want to be closer to him.
That’s the story I tell myself, anyway.
“Isn’t that better?”
“Mm-hmm.”
For a few minutes, we’re quiet as Zephyr flaps his powerful wings. Chilly wind whips across my face, tugging strands loose from my braid. To my surprise, I’m not afraid. Quite the opposite. For the first time, I’m discovering the exhilaration of flying. It’s like I was made for this.
“You okay?” Thorne’s deep rumble pulls me back to reality.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?” He gives me a gentle squeeze. “Because you’re awfully quiet. And that’s not like you.”
“Just enjoying the flight.” I twist around to catch a glimpse of his face under the starlight, a little surprised to find genuine concern there. “You act like I talk nonstop.”
“Wellll,” he draws out the word, “you do sometimes. Especially when you’re pissed and hurling insults.”
I flash him a sugary sweet smile. “Maybe if you weren’t such a hard-ass all the time, I wouldn’t be pissed.”
Thorne tsks and shakes his head. “And here I thought you promised to behave.”
I roll my eyes, then twist back around to face forward. “Oh, please. If I were misbehaving, you’d be the first to know.”
He barks a laugh, and I can’t help but think that he doesn’t do so nearly enough. “Noted. Now tell me where this friend of yours lives.”
After I give him directions, a comfortable silence ensues for a while. Thorne traces slow, small circles on my belly, a shivery sensation radiating from his fingers. I don’t even know if he’s aware, but I sure am.
A sharp warmth settles low in my stomach as heat creeps up my neck and into my face. I’ve never been more thankful to be facing away from him.
As we near the village of Beckkerun, Thorne banks Zephyr to the left.
At the sudden move, my stomach drops. I clutch his arm again, and he offers me a squeeze in response.
“Where exactly is he in Beckkerun?”
I focus on his nearness and not our height. “A half mile away from the constable station, near the church.”
The silvery moonlight bathing the village helps me recognize the buildings below. Nearby, scattered houses with thatched roofs, sagging mud frames, and small gardens dot the landscape.
When we approach the town proper, roofs with clay shingles predominate, indicating wealth from either the merchant class or minor nobles. Government buildings constructed of stone appear milky under the moon, the same as the church. In the far distance, Aclaris’s lone mountain range rises. Much closer is Castle Axton.
I wait for a nostalgic pang at seeing my childhood home, but the emotion doesn’t come. All I crave now is freedom.
“See those buildings to the left with the clay shingles?” I point below. “Beyond them are smaller structures, though not as worn as the peasants’ houses we passed.” Royce may be a merchant, but according to him and how he described his home, he’s not as well-off as most. “The fifth one down is my friend’s house.”
Sterling directs Zephyr to that area and lands him in Royce’s grassy front yard.
After we dismount, Thorne secures Zephyr to a tree and gives his shoulder a friendly pat.
My chilled cheeks warm, and my pulse quickens. His mood changes, growing more intense. After a moment, he rests his hand on my arm, keeping me close.
Everything within me flutters, sending my pulse into a reckless sprint, urging me to focus on him alone…his expressive brown eyes, strong jaw, perfectly sculptured nose, silky hair…
An expectant sigh parts my lips.
His gaze drops to them, the air surrounding us electrifying. I wonder if, like me, he’s remembering last night’s kiss.
A loud creak interrupts the moment.
Flinching, I look over.
Royce exits his house, the lantern he holds near his head capturing the way his lined face slackens. His startled gaze jumps from Zephyr to Thorne to me.
“Lady Lark?”
I smile at the shock in his voice, wondering if Royce has ever seen an alicorn up close. Or ever expected me to arrive in his front yard wearing Flighthaven gear.
“Hello, Royce. I got your letter.” I gesture between Thorne and me. “And we’re here to help with the food pantry.”