The Midwinter Mail-Order Bride by Kati Wilde

Author:Kati Wilde [Wilde, Kati]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-11T18:30:00+00:00

7

Kael the Wolfkiller

Lyngfen

From almost every corner of his kingdoms, Blackworm Mountain loomed visible in the distance. As they’d traveled north on this journey, it had always lain in front of them. Now it no longer lay ahead, but rose to the west as they passed through the upper part of Lyngfen.

Fifteen years he had spent in the belly of that mountain, in the mines and tunnels that seemed a sunless world of their own. A world that Kael had destroyed almost the very moment after he’d freed those who’d been enslaved there.

Yet it was not those fifteen years that loomed in his mind when the mountain was no longer a peak in the distance but a glowering hell nearby. Instead it was the cursed road ahead and the next four days that gnawed with vicious teeth upon his heart.

In four days, they would be in Ivermere.

“Kael.”

Immediately his gaze went to Anja’s face, searching for the source of the worry that sharpened her tone. She was frowning, but not looking at him. Instead she leaned over in the saddle and watched the horse’s long and even stride.

“Is she favoring a leg? Her head bobs more than usual but I can’t feel it in her gait.”

He studied the mare’s walk. “Not one leg over the other.”

“Perhaps she’s favoring two.” Anja drew on her reins and swiftly dismounted.

Kael halted his own mount and joined her, taking Anja’s reins and remaining at the mare’s head while she ran her hands down the horse’s forelegs.

“It’s hot and swollen here.” Gently she prodded the horse’s leg below the knee. Nickering, the mare shifted her weight away from Anja’s touch. “And the other side, too. Splints, I think.”

Which would heal, given time. But they did not have much of that.

Anja let out a relieved breath, then smiled up at him. “I feared worse. Especially after that bearded bandit caught hold of her so roughly.”

“That might have helped the splints along, but it was more likely the road.” They had been traveling long distances each day.

Gnawing her lip, Anja rose to her feet. “I should not ride her. It is only more weight for her to carry.”

“Ride with me, then.” His own horse was sound and he traveled light. If he and the horse had been dressed in full armor, the chainmail and metal plating would have weighed more than she did. “The next village isn’t far. We’ll stable her there and leave word for the caravan that follows. By the time your trunks are delivered to Ivermere and the caravan returns this way, she’ll be sound enough for the journey home.”

Anja nodded, though unhappiness passed through her eyes—and he wasn’t certain whether it was mention of her going home or the idea of riding with him. But he only had four days left and would not pass this opportunity to hold her again.

After tethering the mare’s lead to his saddle, he moved to lift her onto his horse but she hesitated, moving back.

“If I am to ride behind you, I should mount second,” she said.

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