Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Casteel kept his eyes on me as he mounted the other horse, who turned out to be named Teddy. I almost laughed when Casteel frowned at the name.
“Ready?” he asked once he held both reins.
Holding on to the horn of the saddle, I nodded. “I hope Setti doesn’t get jealous.”
“He will if he sees you.”
Saying goodbye to Coulton, Casteel led us out of the stables. The first couple of steps sent my heart pounding because it felt like I would fall at any second. But Casteel talked me through it, reminding me that it was no different than when he was behind me.
Casteel went through the basics of controlling a horse as he led us around the side of the fortress and along the crumbling wall.
“To get a horse to stop, you close your fingers around the reins, squeeze, and pull back slightly. The horse will feel the tug and know to stop,” he said, showing the technique. “You can also use your legs,” he explained, showing what he meant. When I nodded, he continued. “To get a horse to walk, you squeeze with your legs again, but you do it here.” He pointed at the side of the horse. “Or you push with your seat—leaning forward. Anytime you want the horse to listen to the command, you lift the reins. That’s a signal to them that a command is coming. Want to try it?”
I nodded. Keeping hold of the saddle, I waited for Casteel to lift the reins, putting light tension on Molly’s halter, and then I pressed my knee against the area Casteel had pointed to. Molly lumbered forward.
Smiling, I turned to Casteel. “I did it.”
He stared at me. “And now I want to kiss you, but I can’t because you’re on your own horse.” The corners of his lips turned down. “This was a bad idea.”
I laughed.
“A really bad idea.”
As we traveled around the side of the fortress, he went through some more basic commands while having me stop and start Molly. I grew more confident with each try, and so focused on the horse, I didn’t even notice that we’d cleared the fortress until I looked up and saw a thicket of trees ahead. We entered them slowly, and Casteel navigated both horses down the earthen path.
“Coulton had a strange reaction to you,” he said as the bushy leaves filtered the sun.
“He did, but I think he was being honest. His reaction wasn’t something negative. I know because I used my gift.”
“I realized that when you stepped forward. Very smart of you to do that.”
“I…being able to read emotions to gauge someone’s intentions isn’t infallible,” I said, starting to grow used to being in the saddle alone. “But most people can’t hide their emotions from themselves.”
“It gives you an upper hand. It’s what gave the empaths the upper hand.”
“You’re not worried that I read your emotions?” I peeked over at him.
“I’d rather you use everything you have in your arsenal than be worried about what you’re picking up from me.”
“I think most people would prefer that I not do it.”
“I’m not most people.”
No, he was not.
“You asked earlier if Spessa’s End was my idea. It was a combination of mine and Kieran’s,” he said after a few moments, surprising me with his willingness now to talk about this place. “We came here often when we were younger, along with my brother.”
I already knew that those trips also included Shea, but I kept that to myself.
“It’s just a day’s ride through the mountains, and half of that from there to Saion’s Cove, a city in Atlantia,” he went on. “We came here a lot—Malik and me. More than our parents ever realized. We’d inspected every inch of this land, finding all its secrets while our parents believed we were in the Cove. They would have had our heads if they’d known how many times we crossed over into Solis.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous, though?”
“That was what made it so alluring.” A brief grin appeared. “But even when Spessa’s End was once populated, the Ascended didn’t travel the road east all that often. Not many knew who we were, and while here, we could just be brothers.”
Instead of Princes of a fallen kingdom.
“Anyway, Kieran and I both realized the potential of this place with the fortress and the Rise being largely intact.” Casteel shifted in his saddle, holding the reins lightly in his grasp. “With this land being so close to Atlantia, it’s important.”
I didn’t think that was the only reason why it was important to him.
“It took a bit to convince my father and mother. They didn’t think it would give us enough to bear the risk, but they eventually relented. Although my father has become increasingly supportive of taking back all the land, my mother has been the voice of caution. She doesn’t want another war, but she knows that we cannot continue as we are. We need this land. We need more, but for now, I hope it will give us enough that if the risk one day presents itself, it will be worth it.”