Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 32461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“She doesn’t want to go below.”
Ismera looked toward the opening that led beneath the deck, then back at Sorcha. Without asking permission, she stepped closer and ran her hand slowly along the mare’s neck.
“Easy, beautiful,” Ismera murmured. “I wouldn’t want to go down there either.”
Sorcha turned her head toward her.
Ismera continued stroking her, speaking softly, the words meant more to soothe than to be understood. Sorcha’s ears shifted forward and some of the tension eased from her body.
Torden stared at his mare. She always followed his lead, obeyed his orders, well maybe mostly, and there was no reason being on the ship should cause her distress. And no reason to calm at the touch of a complete stranger.
Ismera glanced at him. “What’s her name?”
“Sorcha.”
“Sorcha,” she repeated softly, rubbing beneath the mare’s jaw. “A lovely name for a lovely lass.”
Sorcha nudged her.
Torden scowled.
Ismera smiled and continued to stroke her neck. “You don’t want to be shut away down there, do you?”
Sorcha gave a soft snort.
“Don’t encourage her,” he cautioned.
Ismera ignored him.
Torden should have expected that, and before he realized what she intended, Ismera took the reins from his hand.
His scowl deepened. “What are you doing?”
“Taking Sorcha below.”
He restrained himself from laughing. “She won’t go with you.”
“We’ll see.”
The confidence in her voice annoyed him, and he folded his arms across his chest. “You really think you can get her down there when I couldn’t?”
Ismera looked at him with amusement. “Aye.”
She turned and walked toward the opening.
Sorcha followed.
Torden stared after them. The mare—his mare—who moments ago had planted all four hooves firmly against the deck now walked calmly beside Ismera.
“Gods’ teeth,” he grumbled and followed them below.
The air was warm and the light dimmer beneath the deck, heavy with the smells of wood, rope, hay, and animals. Several open stalls had been built along one side to secure the horses during the crossing.
Ismera led Sorcha into one of them without difficulty.
Torden watched as she ran a hand along the mare’s side before giving her neck another gentle stroke. Sorcha stood calmly while Ismera spoke softly to her, showing none of the fear that had troubled her above.
It made no sense.
Torden entered the stall and checked the restraints himself. Everything was secure. Sorcha appeared perfectly content.
“She needed soothing, not ordering.”
Torden turned his head slowly toward her.
Ismera smiled. “Men rarely understand females, whether horse or human. And they understand even less about how to soothe us when we need it.”
Before Torden could answer, she slipped past him and walked away.
He watched her disappear up the steps. Then he turned to Sorcha.
The mare calmly began nibbling at the hay.
Torden glared at her. “Traitor.”
The crossing to Morra Mist took less than two days and, much to Torden’s surprise, passed without incident.
He hadn’t seen Ismera again after she left Sorcha below deck. More than once he had expected to hear raised voices, a crash, or some other commotion and know without looking that the troublesome lass was responsible.
Nothing.
The sea remained calm, the weather favorable, and no one appeared to have been thrown overboard.
Torden considered the journey a success.
The ship had barely finished tying off at the port in Morra Mist when Torden brought Sorcha up from below. The mare seemed pleased to be back in the fresh air and even more eager to feel solid ground beneath her hooves.
Torden shared the feeling.
Getting off the ship proved slower than he would have liked. Sailors were unloading cargo while passengers crowded toward the gangplank, forcing Torden to keep Sorcha close and wait for an opening.
That was when he spotted Ismera.
She was already on the dock, several yards from the ship, speaking with a man.
Nay, arguing with him.
He should have known the uneventful crossing was too good to last.
The man had considerable size to him, standing well over Ismera and broad enough through the shoulders to make the difference between them impossible to ignore. Whatever Ismera said only seemed to anger him more. The man stepped closer, his face reddening as he jabbed a finger toward her.
He had no idea what Ismera had done to make the man so angry, though after their brief acquaintance he could imagine several possibilities. Still, she was a woman, a very petite one at that, and the man confronting her had enough size to do her considerable harm.
“Come on, Sorcha.”
He urged the mare forward, but a sailor carrying a crate crossed directly in front of them. Another horse was being led up the gangplank, slowing everything further.
Torden looked back toward Ismera.
The man reached for her.
“Move,” Torden ordered the sailor ahead of him.
He had barely managed another few steps when Ismera moved. Her knee came up hard between the man’s legs.
Torden winced.
The man folded over with a strangled groan, both hands dropping protectively between his legs.
Ismera took off.
Within moments, she disappeared into the activity along the busy waterfront. Torden stared after her. The man remained bent over. Perhaps Ismera didn't require his assistance after all.