“I’m not comfortable with this,” he said.
The three girls stood shoulder to shoulder, Aerity speaking for them. “Father, we haven’t been off royal lands in months. We’re drowning here. The beast has never been seen in daylight and it has never attacked in daylight. We’ll ride with the entourage along Eurona River to the bottom of the hills and return before nightfall.”
“It’s the least you can offer,” Vixie said.
The king stared Vixie down, not appreciating her tone. He then turned to the queen, whose face was unreadable until she sighed.
“Charles, they’ll be surrounded by our men, and the lands are safe during the day. Nobody will hurt them.”
“It’s foolish to take chances,” he said.
The queen’s eyes flashed. “With all Aerity is willing to give, with all the maturity they’ve shown in the face of the kingdom’s troubles, Vixie is right. The least we can do is give them a bit of freedom to live.”
King Charles stared at his wife a moment longer, his jaw working. The girls waited, holding their breaths until he spoke gruffly. “So be it.” He turned to Aerity. “I will add additional riders to accompany the three of you on two conditions.”
Aerity looked up into his eyes, which were obscured with worry, like the tropical seas of the south with heavy cloud cover.
“You will not leave the lands of Lochlanach.” Aerity nodded her compliance. “And you will return before sundown, alongside your accompaniment, with or without the hunters. You ride straight there and straight back, or, so help me, you’ll be chained to this castle until marriage. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Father.” She dashed from the room before he could change his mind.
The three of them rushed down to the stables, not bothering to stop and change into riding clothes. They’d have to make do in their dresses.
“That was brilliant!” Vixie was practically glowing when they reached the stables.
Soldiers were rounding their steeds when a messenger jogged up with a message from the king. The sergeant in charge looked toward the three royal girls and nodded without complaint. “We’ll set off in ten minutes.”
“We’ll be ready,” Vixie guaranteed him. She was always her most assured self at the stables, having spent time here nearly every day since she could walk.
Vixie gave orders to the stable boys to saddle up their three. They passed a large stall with three shining black gypsy steeds, deep chested and strong. “When did we get those?” Aerity asked. “They’re gorgeous.”
“They belong to the Zandalee.”
Ah. Fitting. Aerity opened her stall door and spoke softly to her dapple gray. “Hello there, beautiful.” The horse let Aerity pet the stretch of white hair between its nose and eyes, but when it caught sight of Vixie, it raised its head and let out a light whinny of happiness.
“Hello, Doll.” Vixie gave her a scratch under the ear, and Aerity couldn’t bring herself to be jealous. She was glad Vix gave the horses personal attention, though Aerity herself only came once a month during her required lesson time. She enjoyed leisurely riding, but horses weren’t her passion. Aerity moved aside as a stable hand bustled by with Doll’s saddle and harness. Next to them Wyneth was snuggling Mosby, her bay with a tan coat and black mane and tail.
Vixie saddled Ruspin herself, rivaling the quick movements of the stable boys. Ruspin was Vixie’s fourteenth birthday gift—a solid white horse with lovely pink skin and blue eyes. She was a gorgeous, intense beast who didn’t care much for Aerity. Vixie said it could sense Aerity’s nervousness, so the older girl kept her distance.
Once saddled, the two princesses and Wyneth mounted their horses, hiking their loose skirts up, and set off behind the soldiers, flanked by guards. Their pace was clipped. Aerity swallowed down her fear and held on tightly. She’d have sore thighs by the end of this day, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t sit around the castle waiting.
They’d been riding less than two hours between the river and trees when they saw a group of burly men in the distance.
One of the guards shouted, “Oy! Hunters!” They rode faster.
As they got closer, Aerity saw they all had light hair, and were wearing furs with their knees on display over tall, rugged boots.
“Ascomannians,” Vixie whispered.
Aerity scanned them. Definitely no Lochlans. Lord Lief Alvi moved to the forefront of the hunters and crossed his arms as the head officer dismounted.
“What say you?” asked the officer. “Any sign of the beast? The other hunters?”
Lord Alvi did not look pleased. “We lost its tracks when the weather turned. And we lost the Lochlan men.”
Aerity’s heart quickened to a gallop.
“You haven’t seen them?” the officer asked.
He shook his blond head, hair about his face. “Not since the dead of night when the storm hit.”