35. Chapter 35 #3
With him in mind, I looked over the assembled horses with fresh eyes. The toss of a head and the flash of a red mane caught my attention. There stood a stallion, more energetic than the rest. He nudged the horse next to him, as if trying to spur him into a game, before romping slightly.
As heavy as my heart was, it almost brought a smile to my face. He must be a young horse, just old enough to ride. The weight of the world did not grind his spirit down and he did not know the direness of our situation.
I climbed over the fence to weave among the horses toward him.
Keera followed but kept her distance as I approached the stallion.
I thought he might run away—feisty and energetic as he seemed.
Instead, he whinnied, and his ears pricked forward toward me, as if he recognized me and was pleased at my approach.
I reached out a hand, and he lipped at it curiously, before letting out an approving snort.
I tilted my head as I looked into his soft, dark eyes and felt a warmth in my mind.
It was as if I recognized him already—both his appearance and the bright flame of his life in the magical landscape of the desert.
“He has a good memory.” The horse master had emerged from the herd and now stood watching us with a curious expression.
“He remembers me?”
“He was much smaller the last time you saw him, when you helped him come into the world. I was not with Clan Otush at the time, but many tell the story of how The Viper unexpectedly rolled up his sleeves and helped with a difficult foaling.”
My breath caught and then rushed out of me in a woosh.
Of course. The little colt who had nearly come into the world upside down on the eve of battle before struggling to his feet in record time.
His introduction to the world had been in a difficult time for his clan, but it didn’t seem to have dulled his spirit in the slightest. In fact, it seemed to shine out the brighter just to spite the darkness.
“Does he have a name?” I asked.
“Doka.”
“Hope?”
“We named him after the gift the two of you gave us that day. Hope that we would survive the lava wyrm.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I tried desperately to swallow it down as the red stallion nipped at my fingers again, as if to chide me for pausing in my gentle petting of his nose. “I could use a little hope,” I admitted.
“He’s spirited—a little wild and barely used to being ridden,” the horse master warned.
Keera stepped up next to me and bumped my hip with hers. “He likes wild things.”
Indeed, I did.
“Let’s see how we get on.”
Doka had a smooth, loping gate and a fearless disposition.
While he wasn’t as quick to respond to my directions as Alza was—for I barely had to think before she jumped into action—he was energetic and eager to please.
He didn’t startle when Zephyr fluttered over his head, or even tried to alight on his neck, although he did not seem to appreciate the talons in his skin.
Keera rode Daiti nearby while I put Doka through his paces, and I almost laughed when the two stallions met.
Daiti immediately began posturing, pinning his ears and snorting in warning.
Doka meandered closer anyway, and Daiti snapped at him, teeth clacking together where Doka’s ears had been a second before.
After a lightning-fast dodge, Doka had simply blown out a long breath as if bored and ambled away.
Keera gasped as if offended on her stallion’s behalf, and I snorted.
They would be just fine charging into battle side by side, and they would make an intimidating pair with contrasting red and gold chestnut coats.
“You move well together,” Keera commented as we trotted another lap.
She was right, but a bubble of hurt still swelled in my chest. Now two golden strings connected me to horses in the desert, one a bright but fragile thread and the other worn but thick and unbreakable with many intertwined strands.
They didn’t pull in different directions, instead seeming to vibrate in harmony, but I still shifted in discomfort, causing Doka to halt.
“Alza would want you on a strong mount to bring you back to her safely,” Keera assured, easily sensing the direction of my thoughts.
I patted Doka’s neck, comforted by the thick muscle there and the warm scent of horseflesh. “It seems nearly fate that he was here when I needed him.”
“The desert gives and it takes.”
I had heard the words many times, but in this moment, they rung truer than they ever had before. The clans had suffered more losses than ever before, and more would come with the rising sun. But somehow, literal hope had found me.
I wasn’t sure it was enough to win us the battle, but it would be enough to bring me to it. Before I could try to put words to any of these thoughts, Doka sidled sideways, alerting me to an approaching form.
Lord Elion waved us over, and cold concern washed over me.
“You’re needed in the healing tent. Both of you.”
“Dhara?” Keera’s tone echoed my own worries.
“She’s awake,” Lord Elion assured. “And we’re getting married.”