Exile: A Romantic Time Travel Mystery (The Shorten Chronicles Book 3) by Tate Rosalind

Author:Tate, Rosalind
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TOB Publishing
Published: 2022-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

In the afternoon, fortified by hot tea and full stomachs, they rode a few miles south through the woods, but it was slow going and eventually they headed west to check out the coastal road.

Sophie scanned the snowy highway. ‘Deserted.’ She’d half expected soldiers or townspeople with pitchforks.

‘They won’t follow us,’ said Freddy. ‘Who in their right mind pursues a terrifying hunting goddess?’ For the first time since London, he managed a genuine smile.

‘But in case they do…’ Sophie dismounted and stretched, her legs aching from riding. She threw off her cloak, turned her jacket inside out and, over it, put on the cloak again.

Hugo dismounted and scraped handfuls of dirt from under snowy bushes by the roadside. ‘I’ve always had a thing about filthy brown hair.’ He pushed mud onto Sophie’s scalp.

She trailed the grime through to the ends and added a dollop on her brow.

On horseback, Freddy watched her. ‘You could be an earth goddess.’

Sophie smeared some over Charlotte. It didn’t make her look any less wolf-like or detract from her size, or the teeth that had grown with the rest of her, but it dulled her distinctive silver fur.

Sophie and Hugo remounted, and they cantered off, Charlotte running beside them. They galloped and Charlotte sped up and moved faster than the horses. Surreal.

Conscious of tiring the horses, they slowed, and so did Charlotte.

‘I’m calling you Black Beauty,’ announced Sophie, patting her horse’s neck.

‘Original,’ said Hugo. ‘So, what do I call mine?’ His horse was also black.

‘Handsome?’ said Sophie.

‘If you’re serious,’ said Freddy, ‘giving them new names might confuse them—’

A toddler ran out from a bush and fell over in front of Sophie’s horse. Sophie only just managed to pull up.

Charlotte sniffed at the child, who screamed, and they all dismounted.

The little girl wore a grey, knee-length cloak, the hood stretched tight over a tangle of brown hair. Sophie knelt next to her. ‘She’s injured.’ She pointed at a deep cut on the child’s leg.

‘Our towels are too thin,’ said Hugo. ‘Tampons would stop the bleeding.’

Sophie fished out three from her holdall and Hugo laid them over the gash and applied pressure. The toddler screamed louder, screwing up her face.

‘We need something to keep the wound closed.’ With a kitchen knife, Sophie cut a ragged strip off the bottom of her cloak.

Hugo removed the tampons and tied the material firmly around the child’s leg.

Sophie returned the knife to her bag and shoved the trashed tampons out of sight under a bush. She sat on the road. ‘We won’t hurt you. You’re safe.’

‘Tempting fate.’ Freddy made a face.

A man, shouting and gesticulating, sprinted out of the forest. He carried a bow, the arrow nocked and ready to shoot. Behind him trudged men, women, and children, weighed down with bags and parcels. Two donkeys were overloaded with sacks and boxes, and a strapping boy held a dog on a chain. The dog was almost as big as Charlotte.

‘Caucasian mountain dog.’ Sophie gripped Charlotte’s collar. ‘Not good with strangers.’

Hugo raised his arms in a placating gesture and Freddy did the same.

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