the titles seemed fascinating, so I started my reading assignments as soon as I reached my rooms. The afternoon flew by, and only the incessant growling of my stomach made me stop to find some food.
After dinner, I visited the stables. Topaz and Kiki’s heads appeared over their stall doors the moment I arrived.
Apples? Both horses looked hopeful.
Have I ever come without? I asked.
No. Lavender Lady nice, Topaz said.
I fed Topaz and Kiki their apples. After wiping apple juice and horse slobber from my hands, I realized Cahil was late. Deciding not to wait for him, I took Kiki’s bridle and riding saddle from the tack room.
Practice? Kiki sounded as bored as I by the repetitive lessons.
How about a walk? I asked.
Fast?
No. Slow and steady so I don’t fall off.
I bridled and saddled Kiki without incident, surprising myself with how much I had learned.
Before I could mount, Cahil arrived, his face red, and his beard matted with sweat. He looked as though he had run to the stables. I wondered how far he had run, which led me to wonder where he lived in the Keep, which led me, ultimately, to wonder about his childhood. What had it been like to grow up in the Magician’s Keep without any family?
Cahil, oblivious to my curiosity, inspected every inch of Kiki’s tack. Probably searching for a mistake. I smiled in satisfaction when all he found was a crooked stirrup.
“All right then, since she’s saddled, why don’t you try mounting?” Cahil said, reminding me to always mount on the horse’s left side.
I placed my left foot in the stirrup and grabbed the saddle. When he moved to give me a boost up, I stopped him with a look. Kiki stood at sixteen hands, tall for a horse, but I wanted to mount her without help. Pushing off with my right foot, I launched myself up and swung my leg over the saddle.
Once settled, I looked down at Cahil from what now felt like an uncomfortable height. From this vantage point, the ground at his feet seemed to transform from plush grass to hard and unyielding earth.
Cahil lectured about the reins and the proper way to hold them, and how to sit in the saddle. “If you think you’re going to fall, grab her mane. Not the saddle.”
“Why not?”
“You could pinch a finger. Don’t worry. You won’t hurt the horse.”
Cahil continued to lecture about the correct way to steer the horse and the best way to give stop and go commands. He also repeated his advice to grab Kiki’s mane if I felt myself falling at least a half dozen more times. Eventually, I tuned him out, gazing around the pasture from my new perspective. I admired the way the sun reflected off a stallion’s coat near the far fence, until a change in Cahil’s tone caused Kiki’s ears to cock forward.
“… listening to me?” Cahil demanded.
“What?”
“Yelena, this is very important. If you don’t know how to—”
“Cahil,” I interrupted. “I don’t need commands. All I have to do is ask Kiki.”
He stared at me as if I had spoken another language.
“Watch.” I held the reins in front of me as Cahil had instructed. Kiki’s left ear cocked back, the other pointed forward. She turned her head slightly to the left so she could see me fully.
Walk around the pasture? I asked her. Near the fence.
Kiki started to move. Her steps rocked me from side to side. I let her find the path as I enjoyed the view.
As we circled the pasture, I heard Cahil yell, “Heels down! Straighten up!”
Eventually, we moved out of his sight.
Fast? Kiki asked.
Not yet.
A glint of sunlight and a blur of motion from outside the fence caught my eye. Kiki shied, turning sharply to the right. I flew left.
Bad smell. Bad thing.
Instinctively, I grabbed her mane, stopping my fall. My right leg stretched across the saddle as I hung from Kiki’s side, clutching her coarse brown hair.
Kiki’s muscles bunched and she danced to the side. I caught a glimpse of what had startled her. Stop. A man.
She held still, but her legs trembled in terror. Bad man. Shiny thing.
I yanked myself upright in the saddle. Bad man. Run.
13
KIKI TOOK OFF.
I held on to her mane, and tried to stay in the saddle. After a few strides, I looked behind just in time to see Goel’s sword flash in the sunlight.
When Cahil saw us racing across the pasture, he raised his arms and shouted. “Whoa! Whoa!”
Kiki galloped straight for him, her mind so focused on survival that I had to wait for Goel’s scent to disappear before she would respond to my calming thoughts.
Man gone. It’s okay, I said to her. I patted her on the neck and whispered the same thing into her ear. She settled and halted mere inches from Cahil.
“At least you stayed on the horse.” He grabbed Kiki’s reins. “What happened?”
I jumped down from the saddle and examined Cahil. He didn’t look surprised. In fact, he seemed mildly amused.
“What do you think happened?” I countered.
“Kiki spooked at something. I told you horses are skittish, but you had to go off before you were ready.”
Something in Cahil’s eyes made me suspicious. “Did you send Goel to ambush me?” I demanded.
“Goel?” Cahil seemed taken aback. “No, I—”
“You set that up. You wanted Kiki to panic.”
Cahil frowned. “I wanted you to learn. Horses are prey animals and will react to the slightest noise, scent or movement long before any logic can kick in. And if you’d fallen, you would know it’s not terrible. Then you wouldn’t be afraid to fall or bail off a horse when you need to.”
“How nice for you that you’ve already forgotten I’ve fallen off a horse. Actually, shoved off a horse. Your horse to be exact. It’s a memory I wish I could forget so easily.”
Cahil had the decency to look contrite.
“So sending Goel was a lesson?” I asked.
