Kyara's Beginning (Kyara Book 1)

Chapter 42

It was dark, but he was still up. He paced, thinking furiously about the girl – Kyara. He was close to giving up the search for her. It was clear that she wasn’t going to be found if she didn’t want to be. He sighed, and glanced out the window. He wanted to see her again, to see how she had grown, and if she had changed. He sighed again, and resumed pacing. There was nothing he could do now, except… He stopped suddenly, a thought coming to him. He’d often seen the grooms going into the kelp, and coming out soon after, and had guessed that they were talking to Kyara. He pondered his idea for a moment, unsure if it would actually work. Then he shrugged. There was only one way to find out. Next morning, he and his partner Flames rode into the kelp. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for, but he supposed that was part of how he would find her. After a while, he noticed that they were just going around in circles, and Flames skidded to a stop.

“What is it?” He frowned as he spoke, looking around them. The stallion whickered gently, tossing his head. Jonathan was surprised. It wasn’t like Flames to call out for someone – he was highly secretive, even for a seahorse. The stallion whickered again, and this time there was a faint snort in response. Jonathan looked around, and nearly jumped out of his skin. Kyara was at the edge of the kelp, watching him narrowly. The colt was behind her, ears pricked.

“What do you want?”

He blinked at her, unnerved by both the tone of her voice, and her unblinking violet gaze. He didn’t answer, trying to remember, and she sighed, turning away. Before he could move, she’d vanished into the kelp without a trace.

“Wait!”

There was no answer for a while. Then her voice came from behind him.

“What?”

He spun, not liking the way she was controlling the situation. “I want to talk to you.”

“Well?” She didn’t move, watching him.

He sighed. “I have a question for you.”

“Spit it out.”

He sighed again, and tried to ease the tension a little. “How are – ” He broke off.

She snorted with laughter. “Almost,” she said, and came into the glade. “Was that your question?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Thought not. You saved yourself just in time.” The colt – Helios – nudged her from behind, and she patted him absently, not taking her eyes off Jonathan. “What is it, then?”

He hesitated slightly, and her eyebrow rose. “Are you going to come back and work?”

She snorted again, and answered with a question of her own. “Do you know which filly I had been working with?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Have you seen her since I’ve not been working with her?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Hmm. Has Ace told you anything about her?”

“No.”

“Hmm.” She eyed him for a moment, and he fidgeted slightly under her gaze.

“Well?”

“Well what?” She seemed to have dismissed his question entirely. “You know that any seahorse will go wild without handling for a long time, yes?”

Mute, he nodded. He didn’t understand where she was going with this.

“Good. Take a look at her next time you see her. Maybe that will answer your question.” She turned to leave, but he shot forward, getting hold of her wrist. He flinched when she turned her eyes onto him again, but didn’t let go.

“Let go of me.”

“No.” She tensed in his grip, and he lessened it slightly. “Will you work again?”

With a quick jerk, she freed herself, but he didn’t care. She stayed where she was for a few minutes.

“Well?” he asked.

“Take a look at the filly,” she repeated. “That is enough of an answer.”

As he stared at her, she vanished into the kelp, the colt a golden shadow.

~*~