Racing With the Serpent by A.R.K. Horton

Author:A.R.K. Horton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A.R.K. Horton

More than the snow blowing into his face left Daijah cold. He lacked Eya’s warmth. Winter stung at his face like thousands of hornets, and he longed for the Autumn nights he spent wrapped up in his lover’s limbs. Over the last few days, he had lost some of the hope he held to end this war on his own.

Even Daijah’s horse seemed to have lost all of its desire to live. Though, this could have been due to the change from the rolling hills of Hicares to the steep inclines leading to the border of Kandum. “If you can just get me to the top of this peak,” Daijah said, “I’ll let you go. I’ll travel the rest of the way on foot.”

As if the steed had heard Daijah’s words, its hooves slid on the icy path and its knees buckled, causing the horse to fall on its side. Daijah fell off the saddle, as the horse collapsed, and managed to roll away in time.

After catching his breath, he crawled over to his horse’s flank. Its heart still beat and its lungs still breathed. After careful inspection, Daijah saw that the horse suffered no injuries. It only fell due to exhaustion, and Daijah couldn’t blame the poor creature. “This is what I get for expecting a Pescelean horse to perform like a Kandumes one,” Daijah muttered.

Daijah stood up and looked down at his only remaining companion. This steed could go no further into Kandum. Still, it couldn’t stay on this icy mountain path. Daijah knew he should have left it back at the stables at that small town they passed through the day before. Perhaps, if he got the horse on its feet, it would follow the path back down there.

Demonstrating the sensitivity that his father despised but connected him to the mother he hadn’t seen in well over a year, Daijah knelt down to see what he could do about his downed horse.

“This is so convenient.”

Daijah froze. The voice behind him sounded somewhat familiar, but without a trace of Kandumes accent. “Malphesent,” Daijah whispered. He got to his feet and turned around to see the former Pescelean Regent standing there with a few Kandumes officers by his side. “How—?”

“This snow probably made it difficult for you to notice the lookouts tracking you on this quest of yours,” Farek interrupted. “You really slowed down quite a bit. We’ve been in this cave for a long time, waiting for you to show up. Then, we got quite a show with your horse falling.”

Daijah watched as an officer quickly righted the beast. Despite this terrible turn of events, Daijah at least felt satisfied that these Kandumes would treat and care for the steed. He kept his focus on the villain with the pale hair and crystal eyes. “Why here?” Daijah asked. “Why not at that town yesterday?”

“That Hicarean town?” Farek asked, grimacing with disgust. “I’d rather not. My face is too well known by the few villages left. It’s so much easier to get information about Eya out of you in this cave here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.