Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 61 - Thanatia

A half an hour or so later I woke up from my slumber, alerted by the light whinny made by Shadow. His neck and ears were alert, so I raised up on my elbows to see a cowboy walking our way. An actual cowboy. I eyed his brown cowboy hat and square-patterned shirt and worn jeans with some interest, feeling the corner of my lips nudge up into a reluctant smile. This was the most American thing I had so far experienced in America.

'Everything alright, m'am?' the cowboy drawled faintly, squinting against the sun. I judged the man to be somewhere in his early thirties. He looked harmless enough.

I sheltered my eyes with a hand, offering him a polite smile. 'Yes sir,' I replied, gesturing toward Shadow. 'We're just exploring the countryside.'

The cowboy looked over at Shadow with a calculated eye, measuring up his size, his strength, the intelligent glint in his eye. 'That's a very nice horse you have there,' he said, patting Shadow's side. 'Where'd you get him?'

'I didn't,' I answered too quickly. I was about to say he was mine, but that would raise too many questions. 'He belongs to a friend. I'm just borrowing him.'

'Must be a small horse farm. I know most horses in this area.'

I nodded, grappling for a way to change the subject. 'Do you know if there's a kiosk or tavern anywhere nearby? I could stock up on some food.'

'Yes,' the cowboy replied, studying my supplies closely. 'Mine. But it's quite some way from here.' He pointed into the distance, and on a hill I could see a smattering of houses and cottages. 'These are my fields. I was working that tractor over there.' He nodded towards the tractor I'd seen earlier.

'Awesome.' I began to gather my things.

'You're not from around here, are you?' the cowboy inquired, throwing me a once over.

'No, I'm a...tourist,' I settled for, smiling impishly.

'Thought so,' the cowboy said, only now offering me a smile in return. 'It's not an accent I recognise. But it's more British than American, that's for sure.'

I nodded, but didn't offer any more information. The cowboy noted my hesitation and offered his hand. I let him hoist me up on my feet. I immediately dropped his hand and reached for Shadow's bridle. Normally he never needed any leading, but for the sake of appearing as normal as possible, I coaxed him into a trot beside us. We set off toward the houses.

'I'm James, by the way.' We made eye-contact, and I noticed he had particularly brown, kind eyes.

I hesitated. 'I'm...Nadya.'

'Nadya?' he repeated. 'You're Russian?'

'Ah...no,' I said awkwardly, deciding to reveal where I was from. It was better he knew the truth rather than think I was Russian, especially considering today's political climate.

'Sweden? Is that where that famous tennis player is from?' James smacked a fly out of the air. 'What's his name? Federo?'

I sighed. 'Federer. Roger Federer. And no, he's not from Sweden, he's from Switzerland.' I couldn't help the exasperated chuckle that escaped my lips. Were all Americans this clueless? 'We do have a famous tennis player though - Björn Borg.'

James laughed too. 'My apologies m'am, but over here we're more interested in football.'

'I like both,' I supplied.

'You've played American football?' James asked, eyeing my frame. 'Don't get me wrong. You sure look like you could!'

I made a noise halfway between a snort and a laugh. 'I don't think there's a sport out there I haven't tried.'