Riders (Riders, #1)(88)

“Some are confident,” she explained as we reached the training field, “but others are timid and—”

“Timid isn’t his problem.”

“But what if it was?”

“It’s not.”

She gave me a smile with a little eyebrow waggle. “I think you’re timid.”

“You do?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Really?” I took a step toward her.

She saw what I was up to and took off running. She was fast—I had to step on the gas—but I chased her down. Then I lifted her onto my shoulders and windmilled her until I had to bring us in for a soft crash landing.

“You’re pretty easy to do unremarkable things with,” I said as I waited for the sky to stop rotating.

“I was thinking the same thing. It’s going to be so easy to forget all about you.”

Painful. Every moment with her was awesome and painful.

The clouds were gray and thick above us, an unbroken expanse of steel wool, stretching from mountain to mountain. We’d been there just over a week. How much longer until I saw Alevar’s black wings soaring across that sky?

Daryn rolled onto her elbow. Her hair spilled over her shoulder, covering the key. “You’re thinking about the Kindred, aren’t you?”

She already knew I was, so I just looked at her.

Daryn sighed, her eyebrows drawing together. “I know it’s not in my hands, but I feel responsible. Why can’t I just know what to do next?”

“You will.”

“But when?”

“When you’re supposed to.” I couldn’t stay there any longer with her lying right next to me. I hopped to my feet and reached down, pulling her up. “Let’s get to work.”

I summoned Riot for the second time that day. He appeared in licks of flame, fire one second, horseflesh the next—charging horseflesh.

I lunged in front of Daryn, calling up my sword and armor in an instant, knowing that even with those I stood almost no chance against the two thousand pounds of fiery animal bearing down on us.

“Gideon, it’s okay,” Daryn said. “Just stand firm.”

It didn’t feel okay. I waved the sword in front of me. “Riot, back!”

His front hooves dug into the dirt when he was almost on us. His eyes bulged; then he jumped to the side like a cricket. Then he was off, galloping away before he doubled back and charged me again. On Daryn’s instruction, I stood my ground.

Riot freaked out again, sped off, circled back, and that was how it went for about thirty solid minutes, time after time, until foam sizzled and dripped from his mouth and he finally settled to a quivering, steaming, burning stop a dozen paces away.

I glanced at Daryn. “Well, this feels like a good place to wrap for—”

“We’re just getting started.”

I shook my head, eyeing my horse. Riot looked spent, but still scary as hell.

Daryn had prepped me on how to approach him slowly. Talking. I had to do that now, before I lost my nerve. I got rid of my sword and armor, and then took a step forward.

“How’s it going today, Riot?” I said. “I’m Gideon.”

Nice. Two sentences and I’d already managed to embarrass myself. In front of Daryn and a horse. I hadn’t even realized the last part was possible. I continued speaking as I stepped closer. “I’m sure we have a lot in common. You’re clearly a stallion in top physical condition. Extremely dangerous. Badass. Impressive looking.”

“Wow,” Daryn said behind me.

That made me smile, which I needed. I was nervous as all get-out. The muscles in Riot’s legs were twitching. His breath lifted in puffs of steam. He had gold eyes—and they hadn’t unlocked from mine. He looked like he wanted to eat my head.

“Keep going,” Daryn said. “And maybe try to be positive and nice? I think he can sense what you’re saying.”

Positive, check. Nice, check. Wait—nice?

Shit. Okay.

“You seem like you’ll make a pretty good warhorse,” I said as I continued approaching him carefully. “Once you stop trying to kill me, I think we’ll do a lot better. Not that I don’t appreciate your level of aggression. If we can just refocus it, I think we should be good. There’s the other issue, too. Of you being on fire. But I see lots of potential once we figure that stuff out.” I had almost reached him. Three more steps and I’d be able to touch him.

Riot’s lips pulled back, and I was suddenly looking at a lot of big teeth.

“It’s okay,” Daryn said next to me. “That’s how horses smell. He’s just checking out your scent. Hold out your hand and let him smell you.”

“You’re sure he won’t bite me?”

“No,” she said, with a chuckle. “I’m not.”

She was going to pay for that one.

I could feel Riot’s warmth radiating around him. And I could smell him—a smell somewhere between hot pavement, hot metal, and horse sweat. I extended my hand slowly, saying good-bye to my fingers.

Riot stretched his neck, reaching forward, his mouth hovering over my palm. His breath drifted over my skin in hot puffs. I’d thought his eyes were gold, but the color was deeper. More like amber.

I noticed he had pulled back on the flames over his body. At the moment, they curled only along his tail. His jaw was solid and huge, and the strands of his mane were copper and gold and red, every thread a different shade.