The Fall of Wolfsbane: An Epic Fantasy Adventure by Jon Cronshaw

Author:Jon Cronshaw [Cronshaw, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wyvern Books, Ltd.
Published: 2024-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

XXIV.

Ragnar sat astride his horse and guided it along the forest trail.

Kojan had instructed Ragnar to lead, entrusting him to choose the best route through the winding game trails.

Eckhart rode close behind, attempting to nudge his way past Ragnar at every opportunity.

“You’ll have me off this thing if you’re not careful,” Ragnar said, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the reins. “Get back.”

“Learn how to ride and it will not be a problem,” Eckhart said.

“Just ride behind me. Stop trying to push against my flank.”

“This is how we ride in forests, close together on the narrow trail.”

Ragnar tried not to glare back at him. “Then why isn’t Friderich doing the same to you?”

“Because he rides behind me.”

Ragnar sniffed. “Is that what it is? You’re just pissed off because I’m in front.”

“Cattle do not lead.”

For the past few months, he had taken Eckhart’s jibes, taken the taunts, but he could take no more.

Heat rose through his chest, and he wrenched on the reins, dragging his horse to an abrupt stop.

Eckhart barely managed to turn his own mount before it crashed into Ragnar’s, sending them all tumbling to the ground.

“What are you doing, vile brute?” Eckhart said.

Ragnar dragged Eckhart to his feet with a fistful of hair and slammed a punch into the prince’s gut.

Eckhart bent forward and clutched his stomach. “Gods,” he managed, stumbling around his felled horse.

Ragnar twisted the prince’s collar and yanked him up to face him. “I am beyond sick of your crap.”

Eckhart’s eyes widened. “This is—”

Ragnar jabbed his chest. “Enough of calling me cattle. Enough with putting me down at every turn. Enough with the names and the jibes and the insults.” He took a step, his nostrils flaring, his fists clenched tight. “I’ve ignored it up till now because of Maja and how she’ll be treated...but no more.” He ignored the approaching hoofbeats. “I’d rather see us both executed than take this crap any longer.” He stepped forward and lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. “There’s only so much a man will take, prisoner or not.”

Eckhart kept his expression blank, his jaw set, his chin raised, his eyes fixed on Ragnar.

“Do you have nothing you want to say?”

Eckhart took hold of his horse’s reins. “I speak the truth when I say we ride close.” He placed one foot in a stirrup and hauled himself onto the saddle. “You have my word as a prince that I was not trying to make you fall.”

“A likely story,” Ragnar said as Friderich and Kojan came to a stop.

“What is going on here?” Kojan asked, his whip unfurling at his side.

“This idiot thinks I’ve been trying to unhorse him,” Eckhart said. “I cannot make it understand we ride close in forests.”

“Close enough to knock me off the trail six or seven times?” Ragnar trudged over to his mount and grabbed its reins. “You had to be in front of me. You couldn’t take it that I was leading. And, less of the ‘it’—”

Kojan cracked his whip, the sound explosive in the forest, making all fall silent.

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