Tornado of Nightmares (Book 2)

four

♤ Honour ♤

"MY BUTT HURTS," my brother whines. We've been riding all day, barely stopping for any breaks. Alastair keeps shifting in the seat which is pissing off Temper because she keeps huffing and whinnying at us. I glance around the terrain, the blinding sun shining down on us has a sheen of sweat beading across my forehead and nape. Sometimes I wish we were living in Durmine—with all the Ice-Bounds, living peacefully in the mountains. But then I remember all the misfortunes I have had hiking through the snowy mountains. Treading through thick and heavy snow, slipping on ice, getting caught in a snowstorm—a blizzard. And then I thank the gods for the Pickini heat. Convincing myself that the scalding weather is better than Ice every day.

I suppose the Durmines become accustomed to the weather, as we have to Pickini.

I pull back on the reins, Temper halts.

Glancing around the forest—it seems pretty secluded, enough space for us to make a fire if necessary and enough room for our bedrolls. It'll have to do.

I swing my leg around and push myself off from Temper's back. My feet hit the ground, tingling. I shake out my sleeping limbs and extend a hand for Alastair. He bats it away and attempts swinging off as I did, but his muscles are stiff and asleep. The minute he hits the ground his knees buckle, and he shrieks. My first instinct should be to help him, but instead, I'm clutching my stomach and chuckling. He lands in a heap on the earth, cursing at me under his breath—which makes me laugh even more.

I offer him a hand again when my laughter dies down, he begrudgingly takes it. I haul him to his feet with a clasp on the shoulder. He glowers at me. "I had that," he informs me.

I smile, "I'm sure you did."

"I should have taken those riding lessons as you had."

"I've offered to teach you."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, and you would yell at me the entire time—or laugh at me, I'm not sure which is worse."

I make a face at him. "I would not yell at you," I grab our satchels and make my way over to a small clearing under a tree. Shaded from the scalding sun.

Alastair scoffs, he walks beside me—guiding Temper by the reins with him.

"But you didn't deny the laughing at me part," he points out.

I drop to a crouch and rummage through my bag, looking for my water skin. I find it and screw off the cap and frown when I realize it's nearly empty. Damn, I could have sworn we had enough to last us until tomorrow morning. I'll have to find a creek or river to refill them. That is if there are any creeks near here.

"It's part of being a big sister," I tell Alastair, "I get to make fun of you every chance I get. You can't lie, if the roles were reversed and I fell off a horse you wouldn't laugh your ass off at me."

When he doesn't reply I glance at him over my shoulder to see him scowling at me.

I laugh.

Standing up I reach for Temper's reins; I grab Alastair's near-empty water skin as well and mount my mare again. My brother shoots me a curious look.

"You'll be fine, I'm going to go and look for a creek."

His mouth drops. "You're leaving me alone in the woods?"

"Were you not just complaining about your butt hurting?"

"Well, yes, but it doesn't mean I want to be alone in the woods, Dia—"