Chapter 3
Three
Thankfully, the Earl Effect had mostly worn off by the next ball two evenings later, helped, perhaps, by the absence of the Earl himself. A small increase in the number of Aurelia’s partners remained, but that was a desirable outcome given how low the numbers had been before.
Overall, she concluded that the impact of her one dance with the Earl had been a positive one.
Since there would be no further attention from him, she would rapidly fade back out of public awareness, but if she was left with a slightly wider social circle than previously, she certainly wouldn’t bemoan it.
However, the rumors mentioned in passing by her new dance partners troubled her more than she would have liked, although she wasn’t the subject of them. She had finished her book on pegasi along with several others, and she couldn’t help a special interest in their well-being.
Hearing pegasi from the royal herd were falling sick distressed her, the issue weighing so heavily on her mind that she turned down an offer to go riding with one of her new acquaintances the following public day.
Instead, she intended to find out the truth for herself—even if it meant visiting the stables that housed the royal pegasus herd.
As she strode through the palace gates, she ducked her head, avoiding eye contact with any of the guards.
Her logical mind knew her anxiety was foolish, but she couldn’t help feeling that her illicit plans were written all over her face.
But the vast palace gardens were always open to the people of Wynkara on public days, so walking through the gates wasn’t the issue.
It was only her planned visit to the stables that would draw the guards’ attention if they knew of it.
But she had never been inside the palace gates before, and she couldn’t help slowing as she started down the long carriage drive that led from the ornate gates to the distant palace itself.
Between her and the building lay extensive and highly manicured gardens, extending out on every side, so that the palace sat in the center of a sea of greenery.
After the paved streets of the city, the sight of so much open space lifted her spirits, and she could easily see the appeal of losing herself in the gardens for a day. But she had come for a more important reason than personal enjoyment, and she couldn’t be distracted from her purpose.
Hurrying off the main carriage road and into the gardens, she followed the first path that led toward the palace’s east side.
It took her twenty minutes, but she managed to keep moving in the right direction, finally emerging into a large dirt courtyard.
The palace loomed to her left but a cluster of buildings of a different sort ringed the courtyard.
She took a moment to examine them, identifying the kennels for the royal hounds and the ordinary stables that housed the vast number of riding and carriage horses owned by the royal family. But it was the royal pegasus stables that held her attention.
The quality of the building set it apart, along with its position set back from the courtyard. And that position worked in Aurelia’s favor. Turning back into the gardens, she worked her way around until she could pop back out of the greenery near the back of the pegasus stable.
Glancing quickly to either side, she ascertained no one was watching before slipping through the well-oiled wooden doors. Everywhere she looked, gleaming wood and even gilt edging caught her eye. She shrank back against the closest wall, trying not to be noticed as she got her bearings.
Stalls ran down each side of the wide aisle, but they were larger than any horse stalls she had ever seen. And the latches of the half-doors looked designed to be manipulated with equine teeth.
The outside walls of the stables held windows with fine glass, one giving light to each stall, along with a view of the surrounding gardens. Everything about the building indicated that it wasn’t housing for animals but was instead the home of honored guests of the king.
No humans were in sight, however, so she gathered her courage and crept forward to the closest stall. It was empty.
Moving swiftly along, she peered into the next one, expecting it to be empty as well since she could see no sign of a pegasus over the half-door. But when she peered inside, her breath caught in her throat.
A young pegasus—a yearling from the look of her—lay on the straw, her breathing labored. Something about the sight of such a magnificent creature lying so weak and vulnerable brought a lump to Aurelia’s throat and tears pricking at her eyes.
“So it’s true, then,” she whispered. “They’re sick.”
“Yes, it’s true,” said a somber voice behind her.
An unwanted thrill shot from her scalp to her toes. She had only ever had one conversation with the Earl, but the sound of his voice was already familiar.
She gulped and turned slowly. He must have moved on quiet feet because she hadn’t heard him enter.
“I know I’m not supposed to be here,” she said as she turned toward him. “But I heard the rumors, and I had to see the truth of it for myself.”
When she finally got a good look at him, she drew in another sharp breath. She had feared to see accusation in his eyes, but his gaze was fixed on the young pegasus in the stall. And his expression was so sad and so desperate that her hand reached instinctively toward his in a gesture of sympathy.
She recalled herself in time, however, drawing it back before he noticed.
“Is it so bad, then?” She watched his expression closely. “They’re not…dying?” She didn’t know them like he did, but she already couldn’t bear the idea.
He looked up at her words, his mouth grim. But his expression lightened as his eyes roamed over her face.
“You really care about them,” he murmured. “You didn’t come hoping to find me.”
She immediately drew back, her sympathy for his obvious pain dimming.
“I had no idea you would be here,” she said shortly. Then memory of her situation reasserted itself, and some humor edged into her voice. “Given I don’t have permission to be here, I was rather hoping to avoid running into anyone at all.”
He smiled, his face softening further. “I won’t turn you in, and none of the grooms will question you while you’re with me.”
“Then I suppose it’s a fortunate thing you came after all,” she acknowledged, struggling to follow the abrupt turns of his mood. “I can only assume you’re welcome at the royal stables anytime.”
He bowed his head in acknowledgment.
She regarded him with a stirring of curiosity. Everyone knew the story of how he had saved the future of the royal herd, but what skills had he employed to manage it? When they danced, he had described it as negotiation.
“I come here as often as I can,” he said abruptly. “It’s the only stable for pegasi in the capital.”
“It’s the only one in the entirety of Wynkara,” she said quietly. “I may not be from Wynvale, but I know that by royal decree, only the king may keep a pegasus outside the mountains, where the unbonded ones dwell.”
“It isn’t because of royal pride,” he said quickly, and she gave him an impatient look.
“Of course I know that. The story has spread far beyond the capital. Everyone in Wynkara knows that the old king was the first human to bond with a pegasus after he traveled into the foothills as a young man and convinced a stallion to bond with him. And when they returned to the capital together, with several mares in tow, his success inspired a rush of people searching for pegasi in the mountains.”
“People were hurt.” The Earl sounded sad, as if he had been there, although it had been a long time before he was born. “The mountains can be an unforgiving place. And pegasi were hurt as well.”
“It was a mess, in other words,” she said dryly. “So the old king made his decree.”
“It certainly achieved the desired effect.” The Earl sounded amused, although something else lurked beneath it that she couldn’t read. “People were much less eager to bond with a pegasus when it would mean living alone as a recluse in the mountains.”
“But why didn’t anyone bond with one of the colts born to the royal herd?
” Aurelia glanced toward the stall. “Given there’s so much interest in pegasi, there must have been plenty of willing volunteers.
I heard most of the mares who followed the old king’s stallion ended up bonding with a groom—or else with someone who subsequently became a royal groom. So why not their colts?”
The Earl shrugged. “We have no idea. You can’t force a pegasus to bond with a human. You’d be foolish to even try. A couple of the fillies chose a human companion, but when none of the colts did so—choosing to depart for the mountains instead—there was nothing the king could do.”
“But without a stallion, the herds’ days were numbered.” Aurelia’s eyes stayed on the stall.
“That was the issue, yes,” the Earl said in a detached voice.
She looked at him with a smile. “That’s where you came in. Flying down from the skies to the rescue of the royal herd.”
He gave a soft snort of laughter. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“I don’t only read decades-old tomes, you know,” she retorted. “That line came straight out of a news sheet.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t quite as dramatic as that.”
“But you did travel into the mountains and return with a young stallion willing to bond with our current king?” She waited until he gave a reluctant nod of agreement, confirming the news sheets hadn’t misled her on the basic story.
“That was only three years ago,” he added, “and there have already been two foals born. The king brings his young sons to visit the herd often, and he hopes that at least one of the next generation of colts will choose to bond with one of the princes, thus ensuring the future of the herd.”
“But only if they recover from this illness,” Aurelia said softly.
The Earl looked up, his mood shifting again.