Her mother shook her head. "That's not the only thing we're waiting on."
"What else?"
She pressed her lips together. "We sent three Riders out to see if they can confirm your story."
"You still don't believe me! Even with the moon stone telling you it's the truth?"
Her mother clenched her mouth shut.
"Mom."
"We need to know our options. We might be better off going to the Tall Bluff Tribe instead depending on where the troops are and how many there are."
"But I told you! You need to be at the gathering to vote. If you're not there…"
"You don't know that's what they'll do, K'lrsa. But I know that if we go to the gathering grounds we'll be trapped with no way out. All they have to do is wait until we run out of food."
"But there's a weapon. Once you're safe I can find the weapon and save us."
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "You? You're going to go find a weapon to save us? A weapon that can destroy an entire army?"
"Yes. Herin says it's in the Hidden City. We'll get you to safety and then we'll find it. But if you don't go…and they expel you…I won't be able to find it. You have to give me time."
"Oh, K'lrsa. How many times have I told you that you're just another Rider, not some great hero?"
K'lrsa desperately wanted to tell her about how Fallion could fly, but she didn't. It wouldn't change her mother's mind. She'd just see it as one more reason K'lrsa thought too much of herself.
"Please, Mom. Convince the others. We need to go. As soon as possible."
Her mother shook her head and turned away, dismissing K'lrsa.
Sighing, K'lrsa trudged back to the tents where the others waited.
Chapter 23
K'lrsa sat down outside the tents with the others and took the travel bar Garzel offered her with a nod of thanks. She still hadn't managed to get the salt taste of M'lara's soup out of her mouth.
"Herin."
"Yes."
"Am I right that if they don't go to the gathering and we get voted out that we won't be able to enter the desert to find the Hidden City?"
Herin thought about it for a long moment. "I don’t know. It's not safe to enter the desert if you're not part of the tribes or with someone who is."
Lodie spoke softly, "We'll still be members."
Badru leaned forward. "But you three haven't been members of the tribes for thirty years."
"Once a member of the tribes, always a member of the tribes."
Herin grunted. "Until the Black Horse Tribe expels us, too."
"They wouldn't, would they? They think we're all dead."
"Aran's no fool. If he sent troops, he sent orders." She studied Badru, her eyes narrowed. "But Badru might still be able to lead us."
"Me? How?"
Lodie nodded. "You're right. Depends, though, which counts more. His father's blood or who raised him."
"Wait." K'lrsa looked back and forth between Herin and Lodie. "Are you telling me a member of the tribes raped Badru's mother? I don't believe it. I mean, obviously, G'van cared nothing for our ways, but even he hesitated to rape a woman, preferring to take slaves or prostitutes."
Vedhe glared at her. "Still rape even if slave."
"Yes, of course, sorry. I never meant to imply…" K'lrsa looked away from Vedhe's angry gaze. "You're right. It's still rape even for a slave."
Badru turned on Herin. "You know who my father is?"
"Yes. And he didn't rape your mother. Where did you get that idea?"
"That's what everyone said happened."
Herin sighed deeply. "Did it never occur to you that maybe people lied to Aran about certain things? Honestly."
Badru stared at her, shaking his head softly from side to side.
He finally laughed, a small exhalation of sound. "So my father isn't who I thought he was either? He didn't take my mother against her will. He wasn't some stranger. But you just…You just let me believe that because…Because what? It was easier than telling the truth?"
"No. I let you and everyone else believe it because it was the only chance your mother had to live after what she'd done. She was young and foolish, but she didn't deserve to die for it."
Badru sat back, rubbing his face with his hand, still shaking his head. "Then who was he? Where was he from? What actually happened to my mother?"
Herin pursed her lips.
"Herin! Tell me about my father."
Garzel grunted, nudging Herin to speak.
"Pzah. Fine. Your father came to court with his father who was a member of the Black Horse Tribe. He was very young and very bored and while his father was negotiating a trade agreement your father went off and got into things he shouldn't."
K'lrsa winced at Badru's pained expression. "Herin. You could be a little nice about it, you know."
"Why should I? He cost my daughter her life. He was bored and stupid and didn't understand what it meant for a woman of the Daliphana to lie with a man who wasn't her husband. L'ren was the first boy she'd met who wasn't her half-brother and she was young and stupid and just old enough to get into the wrong sort of trouble…"
Herin shook her head. "He knew our ways were different, but he didn't understand what that meant. In the tribes two young kids old enough to be curious can explore without consequence. If something happens, the families are fine with it. All children are treasured, no matter how they're conceived. But in the Daliphana, if a girl kisses a man other than her husband she's cast out or sold. To do more than that is death."
K'lrsa shivered. She'd known the Daliphana was twisted, but she'd never understood just how much or how close she'd come to risking her life there.
"So?" Badru asked. "What happened?"
"The same thing that happens to any man and woman who lie together often enough. She got pregnant." Herin's eyes narrowed in remembered anger. "And the fool girl was so scared, she didn't tell anyone until it was too late to do something about it."
Lodie grimaced.
Badru frowned. "Do something about it. What's that mean?" He looked back and forth between Lodie and Herin. Lodie wouldn't meet his eyes.
Herin sighed. "It means she would've been better off to drink a few herbs early on and end the pregnancy rather than let it go until she couldn't deny it anymore."
K'lrsa gasped. "You would've had her lose the child? But you can't…You can't just snuff a life out like that. Children are precious."
Herin glared at her. "In the tribes, maybe. But there it was a choice between the unborn child and Jania. Aran would've killed her the day he found out, but I convinced him to wait and see if it was a boy. As soon as Badru was born, Aran sold her."
"Is she still alive?" K'lrsa asked.
"No. She died within a year of Aran selling her. He…" She grimaced. "He sold her to one of the worst slave owners, a man known for his cruelty."
As Herin's jaw quivered, K'lrsa remembered this was Herin's daughter they were talking about.
Herin's and Garzel's.
Their only child.
"Did my father know?" Badru asked, his voice trembling.
"No. He'd done his damage and left before she started showing."
K'lrsa studied Herin carefully. "So you told Aran she'd been raped?"
"It was her only chance."
K'lrsa shook with anger as she asked softly, "And who did she say did it, Herin? Let me guess. Some nameless slave boy?"
Herin glared at her, but didn't answer.
"Grandmother? Is that what she did? Did she blame it on some innocent man?"
She lifted her chin. "It's what I did. To protect my daughter."
K'lrsa stared at her, shocked.
But Herin didn't flinch away from what she'd done. She'd protected her daughter, just like she'd protected her sister and grandson.
After a long moment, Herin added, "Anyway. The point is, your father was a member of the Black Horse Tribe which means there's a chance that even if the White Horse Tribe and the Su
mmer Spring Tribe are banned, you can still lead us to the Hidden City."
K'lrsa shook her head. "But if that happens, where will my people go? Even if we find this weapon and destroy the Daliph's troops, it'll be too late. They won't be able to stay with the tribes."
"I know. But it may be the only path open to us." Herin nodded towards the main camp. "Maybe you should give it one more try. We can still travel by moonlight."
K'lrsa slumped forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "They won't listen to me. Maybe when their scouts return they'll finally see what I was trying to tell them."
She wished she could do more.
But what?
Chapter 24
As night fell and nothing happened, K'lrsa paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until finally Lodie stood to block her path. "Enough."
K'lrsa couldn't sit down, she just couldn't. And she was too wound up to sleep. They needed to be on the move. Now. Not tomorrow or the next day. Now.
Lodie beckoned Vedhe and Badru over. Herin glowered at them from where she sat by the fire, but made no move to interrupt.
Once they were all there, Lodie said, "If you want to find the Hidden City, you need to be able to awaken your horses. It's the easiest way to get there."
K'lrsa nodded. "We have. Garzel can do it. He uses his sun stone. Although, it would be nice to be able to use my moon stone." She touched the stone at her neck—her own, thankfully. As soon as things had settled she and Lodie had eagerly swapped their stones, both relieved to have their own ancestors back.
Vedhe shook her head. "Awaken? What is awaken?"
"The horses can fly. You know," K'lrsa flapped her arms, "like a bird. They just have to be awakened to their true nature."
"Kriger fly?" Vedhe hopped like a little kid who'd just been given a sweet, reminding K'lrsa how young she truly was.
"Yes. At least, I think so. Fallion and Midnight can." She glanced at Lodie. "Is that true of all the Amalanee?"
"Yes. But you shouldn't need Garzel to do it. Not if you're the horses' true riders. You should just be able to ask the horses to transform for you."
K'lrsa glared at Herin who looked like she had an entire mouth full of bitter root. "Did you know that?"
"Know what?" she snapped.
"That we didn't need Garzel and his sun stone to transform the horses?"
Herin shrugged.
"Herin. You knew? Why didn't you ever tell us?"
"It never came up."
K'lrsa tamped down the surge of anger that threatened to overwhelm her. Of course Herin had known. And of course she'd kept it from them. Knowledge was power, after all, and even with her allies Herin would always keep as much power for herself as she could.
K'lrsa turned her back on Herin, wishing that the woman would just go somewhere and die. "So how do we do this?"
Lodie winced. "I don't know. I just know it should be possible."
K'lrsa glanced up at the sky where the moon was just starting to rise. "Was Herin telling us the truth—that we need the moon for them to fly by?"
"Yes. They don't actually travel in this world, they travel through the land of the moon dream. The light of the moon gives them access in and out."
Badru looked to the others. "I say we try it now. We're not accomplishing anything sitting here."
"We can't do it in camp. Someone will see." K'lrsa glanced towards the main camp.
When had she stopped trusting everyone?
"Well, then let's go somewhere we can."
"Okay."
While K'lrsa and Badru saddled up their horses, Vedhe threw herself onto Kriger's back in an awkward but effective scramble, not even bothering with a saddle.
"Are you sure you don't want a blanket or something?" K'lrsa asked her.
"No. Fine."
"Okay." She mounted up with one smooth motion and they rode towards the entrance to camp.
Two sullen Riders stood guard. One tried to stop them, but Badru rode right past, leaving the guard staring after him in surprise. K'lrsa tried not to laugh as she followed.
"We ride?" Vedhe asked as soon as they were clear of the camp.
"We ride," Badru agreed with a wicked smile.
They thundered off into the night at a full gallop, the camp fading away behind them until it was just the three of them racing across the plains, the wind whipping at their hair, the half-moon shining down upon them, the horses stretched out side-by-side, silver and black and gold, moving with ease across the dry ground. The horses' hooves crushed a small brush here or there, releasing that spicy-sweet scent that K'lrsa always thought of as home.
She didn't want to stop. She wanted to ride on and on forever until she'd left the world behind. Left the Daliph and her tribe and everything else in her dust. Moments like this were some of the few times in her life when she was truly happy, when everything just seemed to fit. No danger she'd say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. She could just be free.
But eventually the horses slowed and came to a stop. K'lrsa sighed, wishing they could continue on forever, even though she knew that, as much as she wanted to sometimes, she would never leave the people she loved behind.
Badru laughed, looking happy for the first time since they'd left Toreem. Vedhe whooped and danced Kriger in a tight circle. K'lrsa laughed, too, unable to resist their joy.
It was nice to finally have others who understood what it was like to ride Fallion. Who could challenge him.
And her.
"Well?" Badru asked. "Should we fly?"
"Fly!" Vedhe shouted, her face shining with happiness. "Yes, fly."
K'lrsa felt all the worries and cares of the last few days melt away. She nodded. It didn't matter what tomorrow might bring because tonight was theirs.
"Yes," she said. "Let's fly."
Chapter 25
Of course, saying they should fly and actually accomplishing it were two completely different things. K'lrsa had no idea how to get Fallion to transform without the aid of Garzel and his sun stone.
She slid to the ground and walked around Fallion as he patiently stood there, letting her study him. Finally, she stood before him. He gazed back at her with his sweet brown eyes.
She waited, hoping for some sort of inspiration, but nothing happened.
She looked to Badru who had also dismounted. "Any ideas?"
He shook his head. "Garzel always touched the teardrop mark with his sun stone. But maybe we don't have to do that?"
"Hm. Maybe." She turned back to Fallion and stroked his nose. "What do you think, micora? Do you want to fly?"
He whuffed her hair, but didn't change.
Badru tried ordering Midnight to transform, but Midnight just shook his head and shuffled backwards a few steps.
Vedhe watched them, leaning comfortably against Kriger.
"Maybe we do have to touch the mark?" K'lrsa placed her fingertip on the white mark in the middle of Fallion's forehead, closed her eyes, and thought about what it was like when Fallion transformed. How he seemed to shiver and his coat shone as if it contained the light of a thousand suns. How beautiful and strong his wings were as they swept the air. How wonderful it was to soar above the world, safe on his back.
He whinnied softly. She opened her eyes.
And laughed.
He'd transformed! His wings spread out behind him, looking as if they'd always been there. He watched her with eyes that now shone with a golden brightness to rival the sun.
"Oh, Fallion, you did it. Thank you, micora, thank you."
Midnight had transformed, too. He stood there, with the night sky in his coat, a laughing Badru at his side.
"Do you know what to do?" K'lrsa asked Vedhe.
She nodded and touched the white mark in the center of Kriger's forehead. He shook himself and his silver coat seemed to ripple. He didn't shine the way Fallion and Midnight did. Instead he glowed the way clouds do when lit from behind by the moon. His coat seemed to shift and move, shadows swirling and
twining together.
He was beautiful. They were all beautiful.
Fallion nudged her shoulder and whickered softly.
"Okay. Okay. We'll go." She mounted up.
Midnight turned to study them, his eyes the silver of the moon.
K'lrsa shivered.
As much as she wanted to pretend the horses were just ordinary horses that could somehow fly, she knew, staring into Midnight's silvery eyes that he was far more than just a horse. That they were all far more than they appeared.
All these years with Fallion and she'd never known…
What else was right there before her that she didn't see?
She studied Badru and Vedhe. One the man of her dreams—former leader of a great land. The other a foreigner so strange as to be incomprehensible, slender and frail but with a will that could conquer the world.
Both chosen, just like her.
But for what?
She shivered. She didn't want to be special. Or chosen.
She suspected that being chosen meant a lot of trouble and sorrow. Look what had already happened to her.
She shoved the thought away. She didn't want to think about that right now.
She didn't want to think about anything right now.
She just wanted to fly Fallion and forget that there was anything else in the world that mattered other than the perfect union of rider and horse.
She smiled at the others. "Let's fly."
She leaned forward and whispered in Fallion's ear. "Fly, micora, fly." His beautiful wings beat the air, once, twice, and then they rose from the ground, higher and higher, leaving everything behind.
Chapter 26
K'lrsa laughed at the sheer freedom of being alone on Fallion's back, high above the world, free to go anywhere she wanted.
All the other nights they'd flown they'd had a destination, a place they were desperate to reach. And Herin had clung to her back like a succubus she couldn't shake.
But now it was just her and Fallion and the dark blue sky and the stars that seemed so big and close she could reach out and touch one if only she dared.
Rider's Rescue (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 2) Page 9