Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 70

I took a deep, shuddering breath, and I nodded while I nudged Vanar away from the fence line and towards the center of the arena. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew that I was going to start in the middle and then, after that, see what he could do.

Vanar kept his head tucked close to his chest, and his ears were pointed in my direction. He listened to the slightest movement of the reins when I put the slightest pressure on them. He flicked his tail and snorted while he dipped his head closer to his chest, and I could tell he was getting annoyed about going so slow.

"Easy," I said and stopped him in the middle of the ring, facing him at a diagonal. I took another deep breath before I nudged him and clicked my tongue, urging him to trot.

Vanar did what I asked for him to do and started to trot. He had his ears pointed forward and towards the way we were going, but he kept flicking it back to let me know that he was paying attention to me.

As soon as we made it to the fence that surrounded the arena, I pulled on the right rein, and he turned to the right to be against the fence line. I squeezed his sides harder and leaned a bit forward, and he picked up his speed until it was at a cantar.

A grin appeared on my face when we cantered, and I couldn't help but feel free, even though we were in the arena with a fence encircling us on all four sides.

I wonder how it'll feel if we were outside of this fence and out amongst the trees, a stray thought entered my brain. I wonder if that would be more magical.

"Do you want to go over some jumps?" Serena yelled from the fence line. "I think you will like that."

"Yes, please," I said and didn't look at her while I focused on the direction I was going. "Can you set up a few cross rails for me first, please?" I asked, making sure that I was balanced in my seat.

"Set up a course!" Vanar said, and I could feel Serena's gaze on me, silently asking me if that was ok. "Put some high jumps on there because I want to jump high!"

I rolled my eyes and scowled, but I was going to let Vanar have his fun, knowing that I was going to have some fun, too. "I guess you can set up a course," I said. "Make some high for me, please."

"Of course," Serena said, entering the arena after I had passed them. "Stay on one side of the arena so that Liam and I can set it up for you."

"Why me?" Liam asked, groaning, but I could tell that he was teasing both me and Serena. "Why do I have to do this too?"

"Because you don't have to be so lazy, Liam," Serena replied. "Now, hurry up, and get over here. I want to finish before she and Shadow get bored."

"I am already bored," Vanar replied and chewed on his bit. He snorted and tossed his head but kept going at the pace that I set him at. "So tell him to move his puny ass."

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing and did what Serena told me to do. I stayed on one side of the arena and waited for them to finish, even though I was starting to get slightly uninterested in staying on one side and wanted to do the course just as much as Vanar did.

"Hold your horses for a bit longer, Hadley," Serena said, and I had a feeling that she knew that both of us were getting restless. "We're almost done. After this, you are going to need to eat."

I bit back an annoyed groan and closed my eyes slightly, but it wasn't enough to not see where I was going. I wasn't hungry, and I didn't know why I was being forced to eat something and wondered if Tigra told them what my father had said.

"Tigra told us that you were supposed to eat something," Vanar said, answering my unasked question. He flicked his ear towards me when I sighed, annoyed before he pricked it forward. "She said that your father told her to get you to eat."

"I'm not hungry," I said and kept doing the circle on Vanar. I glanced at Serena and Liam to see them still working on the fences, and I noticed Liam's worried glances towards me, but I chose to ignore them. "Papa said that I had to eat before I'm picked up from the barn."

"You only ate some fruit at lunch today, though," Liam pointed out, and I silently cursed him because neither Serena nor Vanar needed to know that. "I don't know why you aren't hungry."

I didn't respond and shrugged. I nudged Vanar to keep going when he slowed down a bit, and I knew that he wanted to look at me and talk. However, due to the fact that Liam didn't know about Vanar and me, then it was for the best that we didn't have the conversation now.

Vanar huffed and did a small buck in protest, but it wasn't something that would have set me off balance. He grumbled something under his breath and tossed his head again, and I could tell that he wanted to ask me what was wrong and why I wasn't eating the way that I should.

"It seems to me that Shadow is getting impatient with us," Liam said while he jogged to the fence to get out of the arena again. "I think the course is ready. What do you think, Serena?" he asked when he was on the other side.

"We'll set up a better one for you two to do later," Serena said, "but for right now, this will have to do."

I bit back a sigh and nodded before I turned Vanar towards the jumps. My heart leaped into my throat, and I bit back a gasp of surprise, surprised that they were able to do so much in such a little time.

There were about six jump sets on the other side of the arena, two of which were cross rails going in a straight line like I had asked.

On the other side of the makeshift course were a couple of rails leading up to a 5'3 rail and then a few rails going down, and it led to a vertical by itself.

The last two were set in a diagonal line, and I could tell that if I wanted to, then I could bend towards either jump on each side.

"How does that look?" Serena asked, watching me study the course after I had Vanar slow do to a walk. "Will that do for now?" Worry appeared on her face, and I could tell that she was praying that I liked it.

I nodded and glanced at her with a small smile on my face. "It's perfect," I said. "Thank you, Serena and Liam."

Serena smiled and nodded, and I could tell that she was relieved. She didn't leave the arena like I thought she would, and I had a feeling that it was because she was nervous and wanted to be there if something bad happened.

Vanar snorted and rolled his eyes. He caught onto why Serena didn't want to leave the ring when I did, and I could tell that he was annoyed. "She won't get hurt when she is on me," he said. "There is no need to be in the ring while we are doing the course."

"Let her be," I mumbled, barely loud enough for only Vanar to hear. "Let her stay in the ring so that if something did happen, then she would be able to help us. We can do it without her later."

Vanar waited to make sure that I wouldn't change my mind before he groaned and nodded. "Fine," Vanar grumbled before he shook his head and pawed the ground in annoyance. "But that doesn't mean that I like it."