Of Desert and Glass by Ella Walker Henderson

Author:Ella Walker Henderson [Henderson, Ella Walker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Selah slipped away from the practice yard to the stables. The walk was isolated. Most people in the vicinity were still at the match, including the young red scarf warrior. She should have mentioned him to William. She hadn’t yet.

And she would have liked to stay and speak with Reyda. What did she know that Selah did not? Or had Reyda’s words the night before been only that, words?

That conversation would have to wait as well. Selah would not waste the current opportunity. The wide stable doors were open and empty. No servants waited. She had seen one of the older stable boys near the match.

She moved quickly along the edge of the aisle. Only the balls of her feet touched the stones to better muffle the sound. She turned the last corner, still no stable hand in sight, and slid the bar up, then slipped inside.

The horse was at the far end of the stall.

Selah reached out a hand, heart beating, unsure if the horse would have forgotten her after more than a year.

Layil whinnied and skimmed his nose and lips over the flat of Selah’s palm. His head reached closer and nibbled his lips over Selah’s shoulder.

She reached up and rubbed his neck and mane. The horse felt like a distant memory, a reminder of what was good from her old life, what had been taken from her by Thusah, and even by Shule.

Tears rolled from her eyes as Layil blew softly and huffed his breath over her. She leaned her face past his and wrapped her arms around his neck. This horse had been the friend she had needed.

She leaned into him, not knowing how much time passed, not caring. He made her appreciate the friend that Hatsel was to her now. Her horse was both vital and her companion.

She leaned her face against Layil’s once more and breathed in deeply of his scent. She would not forget this horse, no matter how far her travels led her.

She rubbed his nose one last time, then opened the stall door.

Her heart pounded with the sudden shock of the sight before her.

Querion stood in the opposite stall, eyes on her.

Instead of moving toward her, he did something she did not expect. With a finger to his lips, he stepped backward into the stall and beckoned her to follow.

She checked to make sure no one saw her and moved across. Her hand grasped the hilt of a knife as she went inside. She watched him as she shut the door to ensure privacy.

Clean sand of the empty stall separated them. In silence, she waited for him to speak first, though she had questions for him aplenty.

He folded his arms across his chest and spoke in a whisper. “We have little time before we are missed and a few items we should clear between us.”

She couldn’t trust him, but there was much she wished to know. “When you saw me in the desert as I left with the Alethians, why did you let me go?”

Querion nodded.

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