Come Away

Chapter 22 - Confrontation

I run until the hills drop into the valley pasture. Skye's indigo coat shimmers against the shifting grass. She's only a small figure in the distance but as I watch her she lifts her head in my direction, her dark tail flicking the air.

I start toward her again, but my pace is nothing compared to Skye's wild gallop. Her hooves sink into the ground when she stops in front of me, chest swelling and eyes trained on me steadily.

"Hey girl." My smile is immediate.

She whinnies softy and nudges her muzzle into my shoulder. I was right to guess that she would be in this pasture, but I am a little surprised she's not fenced in or anything. Maybe horses here don't run off. 

"I missed you too." I say, wrapping my arms around her neck. "You're the only creature around here without a hidden agenda."

The mare bends her knee and extends her long neck, allowing me to jump on her back without the help of a saddle. I grab a handful of mane and swing onto her back, glad for once that I'm tall. Without any motivation from me, she lunges into a run. I lean into her, mesmerized by the billowing waves of green below us.

According to Orla's schedule, I'm supposed to be reviewing my dance routine before eating dinner alone in my room. She should know better than to expect a high school senior to show up anywhere without an incentive. And right now, the only thing I'd get from going to my dance class is harsh judgements and damaged pride.

So far my horse has been the only tutor to earn her keep. No one else is helping me to improve my faery skills, or whatever they call them. No one has taught me a thing I didn't already know.

The only reason the voice lessons this afternoon went surprisingly well is because I guess I have a hidden talent for singing. Other than messing around with car jams, or an occasional sing along in the shower, I don't ever sing.

Maybe I used to.

The memory I had while singing is now only a sweet aftertaste in my mind. But someone was definitely singing with me.  Ever since I stepped onto Cináed's ship, the sudden increase of childhood memories has left me befuddled and feeling more lost than ever. In the moment when the memory appears, my entire being is overwhelmed with a sense of belonging. It's a sensation I thought I'd never known before, but according to these memories, I used to feel that way all the time.

The orange globe of light, that acts just like a perfect sun in this world, is settling comfortably into the hills. My gaze lifts from the scene and finds a lone figure standing on a hill, watching us gallop below. The air in my lungs settles like a heavy weight as I try to breath.

So the King came to fetch me like a stray pet.

Against the internal pleas that I send to her mind, Skye nears him as if silently beckoned by him. I doubt either of us could have continued our ride anyway, not with his presence casting such a depressing gloom over everything.

As Skye stops in front of him, his sharp eyes glint at me like pools of ice water. I feel stuck in them. No more significant than a bug in a web.

"The mortal wanders alone." His voice slithers down my spine, and I feel my body slide off the horse.

"I—I'm not alone." I rest my hand on Skye's neck, forcing my words to reflect how much I hate him. "And we were having a great time before you showed up."

His eyebrow twitches, but otherwise, his marble features remain still.

"I wonder what displeases my mortal so. Why she would spend an evening in isolation when she could pleasure herself in anything her simple mind desired." He closes the distance between us in an instant, and his hand brushes my cheek. "Perhaps she feels she is better than what my kingdom can offer her."