Chapter 9 #2
The sound of hooves preceded the arrival of a larger black pegasus. He approached them with a tension in his stance that made her hold up both hands and speak in a soft voice.
“We don’t mean you any harm. We’ve only come looking for information. The royal pegasus herd is dangerously ill, and we’re searching for anything that might help them. Please won’t you talk to us?”
She waited hopefully. Like most of Wynkara’s intelligent creatures, pegasi rarely spoke to humans unless they had chosen one as a companion. It wasn’t unheard of, though. If this pegasus wanted to speak to her, he could do so.
But he merely tossed his head, letting out a commanding whinny.
“Wait! Please!” Aurelia cried, but he was already spreading his wings.
The mare followed his lead, and Aurelia could no more hear the conversation between them than she had been able to hear Echo’s words to Danton. By the time the rest of their traveling group came stumbling groggily out of their tents in response to the noise, both pegasi were gone.
Aurelia’s shoulders slumped. “I must have said the wrong thing. I’m so sorry.”
She looked around for Danton, but he was nowhere in sight. Belatedly, she realized Echo was also gone.
Before she could ask if anyone knew where he was, a fresh sound of beating wings made her look up hopefully. Had one of the two wild pegasi decided to return and help them after all?
But the pegasus that appeared around the closest ridge had Echo’s chestnut coloring, and she could see a rider on his back. If only Danton had been there when the wild pegasi came. He would have known what to say to them.
But when Danton landed, he was inclined to think it was no coincidence that the two had come while he and Echo were scouting the area.
“Echo is an unknown stallion and bonded to a human besides,” he said.
“His old herd is currently much higher up in the mountains, and any other herd is going to regard him with initial suspicion.” He sighed.
“If they didn’t, we might have been able to fly out here and get the answers we need in a day. ”
“So what do we do now, then?” Aurelia asked, still dejected at her failure.
“We wait.” He appeared much less daunted than she felt.
“For how long?” she asked.
“As long as it takes.” The determined light in his eyes sent a shot of alarm through her.
Aurelia’s mother expected her back by the end of the house party, and she wouldn’t be accepting of her daughter camping for weeks in the foothills, even if she was with a particularly eligible young Earl.
Aurelia would just have to hope Danton’s patience didn’t stretch to weeks—or that a different wild herd appeared, one more inclined to help them.
Don’t be alarmed, a velvety voice said in her mind. They must be curious. They will return.
She spun, staring in shock at Echo. He stepped forward and butted her gently with his soft nose.
Aurelia lifted a hand to pat him and then stopped to shoot a silent question at Danton. His brows had risen, but he gestured for her to go ahead, and she ran her hand down the soft hair of Echo’s neck.
“Did he just talk to you?” Phoebe demanded, stepping out of the tent in a more complete state of dress than on her first appearance, Fable around her neck. “But you only met him yesterday!”
Aurelia ran her hand down his neck again, marveling at the strength she could feel in the muscles beneath his skin.
“Is that unusual?” she asked.
“Yes, it is.” Danton’s eyes rested on her and Echo with an expression that made Aurelia swallow.
All her resolutions would turn to dust if he kept looking at her like that. She tried to think of something to say, but her mouth had gone dry. All she could do was turn her head quickly away.
Danton cleared his throat, his voice sounding light and playful when he spoke again. “Ignore Phoebe. She’s just sour because he doesn’t talk to her.”
“I’ve known him for three years,” she said with a sulky note in her voice.
“There’s no need to be jealous of Aurelia,” Danton said. “You have Fable, remember? Echo is just being polite and not talking to another creature’s chosen friend.”
“Fable wouldn’t mind if Echo spoke to me,” Phoebe muttered. But her face softened, and she stroked Fable’s fur.
Aurelia guessed Fable was saying something reassuring to her and wondered what the unusual oncaryx’s voice sounded like. She could only imagine it was far different from the deep velvet of Echo’s. What sort of things did he say to his chosen human?
She shook the thoughts away. Now she was the one becoming wistful and sulky at not having a companion of her own. And yet here she was in company with both an oncaryx and a pegasus! It was far more than she would have dreamed of mere weeks ago.
“Thank you for talking to me,” she whispered to Echo.
You care about pegasi, he said, once again in her mind. I can tell. You are like Danton in that regard.
“I hope so,” she said softly. “Because he cares about pegasi a great deal.”
Echo’s words provided enough encouragement to carry her through a quiet day. But when nightfall came without any further sign of a wild pegasus, her spirits had well and truly fallen.
Danton and Phoebe had tried to enliven the time with tales of their childhood on the estate and exploring the foothills, and the hours passed easily enough.
But every endearing story only further reminded her why her heart couldn’t afford to be stuck out here with Danton for days—let alone weeks—more.
Sleep came slowly, but when it finally arrived, it seemed to last no time at all before an urgent voice thundered through her mind.
Help! We need your help!