The Lost Queen (Book 1 of The Lost Queen Series)

Chapter Twenty-Five

The trio returned to the surface and found their horses exactly where they had left them.

"Seraiah, you're with me," Kai said when she followed Kestrel to her horse.

Reluctantly, she joined him, wondering if she was in for a lecture about involving herself in the interrogation of Sterling's kidnapper.

Kai was silent as he boosted her onto the horse and then swung on behind her. When he picked up the reins, she found herself caged in by his arms.

"We'll be going fast," he said, as though that explained anything.

More likely he was scared she might stab him in the back. Kestrel hadn't asked for her knife to be returned, so Seraiah had tucked it away.

The horse shifted suddenly beneath her, and Seraiah grabbed for its mane in a panic.

"Don't worry. I got you," Kai said, one hand going to her hip to steady her while the other holding the reins patted the horse's neck. "It's all right."

She had no idea if he was trying to soothe the horse or her, and she wasn't about to embarrass herself by asking.

Kai released her and rested his hand on his leg, giving her a glimpse of the scrape along his knuckles.

"What happened to your hand?" He'd ignored the question when she'd asked back in the tunnel.

"Got in a fight with a wall," he said.

She snorted. "What really happened?"

"Exactly as I said. I was frustrated when I couldn't open the portal and may have punched a wall. Not one of my finer moments."

Seraiah couldn't picture him losing his cool. Even when she'd annoyed him, he'd remained calm and detached. "You should clean it so it doesn't get infected," she said.

"It's fine. It'll be gone soon anyway."

Before she could ask him what he meant by that, Kestrel called out. "Ready? I'll follow you."

"You'll want to hold on," Kai warned. Then he nudged the horse into a run.

Their speed was breakneck.

"How far are we from the portal?" Seraiah had to shout to be heard over the wind as they raced away from the prison.

"A day, maybe," Kai said close to her ear, sending tingles down her spine. "If we ride through the night, we might reach it by mid-morning."

The thought of another sleepless night was not appealing, but there wasn't any other choice. They needed to cross over before the mages found them here, and perhaps if they were fast enough, they might catch Sterling on the other side.

Seraiah kept this thought to herself. She knew it was likely hopeless that they would catch up to Sterling now, but she didn't want Kai to confirm it. Hope was the only thing keeping her going at this point.

Well, hope and fear.

They'd lost several hours of daylight while they were underground, and it was now nearing dusk. Her stomach took that moment to grumble. When was the last time they'd eaten? Was it before she had the dream? Seraiah couldn't remember. Either way, it felt like ages ago.

"We can stop briefly after dark, but not for long," Kai said. She felt the vibration of his voice when he spoke and realized she'd been leaning back against him. She quickly sat upright, making a conscious effort to put space between them so he wouldn't feel any more of her stomach's complaints.

By the time Kai deemed it safe to stop, Seraiah was starving and grumpy. After watering the horses, the three sat down to a meal of dried meat and stale bread. They were almost finished eating when Seraiah caught a flicker of light on the horizon behind them.