Fate and Destiny (The Fated Series, #2)

Chapter 25 - Lance - No Time For Rest

"That's fire. He's made of water."

"You try telling it that."

"And you don't know why it so badly wants to die?"

He shakes his head, still not scolding me for my rather bland and somewhat snarky questioning of his common sense. "Not a clue – though I have a feeling it has something to do with your sister."

"What doesn't have to do with my sister," I sigh.

"A question the world may never find the answer to." The corner of his lip twitches, but it doesn't move more than that. He's been even more off since Cadorelin. More distant - more detached. It worries me.

I huff a fake laugh for both of our sakes, not finding an answer that would prove his statement wrong. My sister does love being in the spotlight, even when she's hiding in the shadows.

"Hey, pretty boys! Time to go!"

I roll my eyes, all too fed up with Alex's anxious behavior. He's like a buzzing fly swirling around your head that you can just never seem to slap away.

We turn from the mother hen of a wolf and giggling children and walk to where everyone's in their saddle and ready to leave. Ozzie looks as stiff as I feel, walking with a scowl and pin straight legs he limps on slightly.

"You got any food on you?" Darius asks, mounting a white and black spotted mare that chews on the bit, practically echoing his question.

"Out of everyone here, you really think I would be the one to have food on me?" I climb up onto my own buckskin horse and look at Darius to find him raising an eyebrow at me. You know, I'm thankful for his newfound gifts, I just wish he would stop feeling people out with the air element. It's weird - and creepy.

"Don't choke," I snide sarcastically, taking the apple from my pocket and tossing it to him.

"I want one," Henry whines.

"I don't have another one."

Darius looks at me with knowing eyes before nudging his horse into a trot. I eye the back of his head, wondering if one of the elements would be able to stop the knife I launch at it. So what if I have five apples total that I may or may not have stolen from the basket that's lying by the stable doors – apples, I might add, that I paid for in four bronze coins per apple. Triple the fruit's cost. I paid for it, therefore I should be more than privileged to eat them.

While I have my pout, everyone grabs their reins to follow after the traitor of the man my sister somehow fell in love with. I pull my horse towards Henry, making sure everyone else is looking the other way before handing him one of my apples. He beams like a child receiving candy and then temporarily holds it in his mouth before letting his horse run free.

I hope he chokes. He stole my apple.

Víđarr comes up beside me and, thankfully, I saw him coming beforehand. I have no doubt that he would've scared me yet again had I not made sure he was coming along. My horse didn't see it coming, and yet he doesn't do more than pull at the reins, begging me to allow him to run.

"Are they not coming?" I ask Víđarr, looking back to the four pups and four children, still playing happily.

He doesn't answer, just looks at me flatly as if I'm the stupidest person in the world. "Right. Protection." With that, I kick my horse and take off with the others, my sister's promise alongside me.

*****

"Why are we stopping?" I ask, looking around and watching as everyone's horse comes to a stop despite no one pulling back on their reins.