Thread of Gold

Ch. 22: what hunts in the shadows

Anna took it back.

Riding a horse was hard. Horribly difficult, in fact.

She glared down at the chestnut gelding. Lightning, the stable hand had informed her, although Anna couldn't see why; Lightning was currently chewing on grass, looking about as mobile as a fish stranded on a mountain. Horns blew in the distance. The hunting party was getting ready to set off.

She gritted her teeth.

Well. It was now or never.

Anna snapped the reins. Lightning huffed out a puff, his breath curling in the frozen air. Then he went back to eating grass.

"Stupid horse," Anna muttered.

Someone giggled.

She whipped around. Teagan was sitting on a haybale, her little slippers kicked out in front of her. Someone had sorted her blonde hair into plaits, and mud stained her petticoats. Anna narrowed her eyes.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"A while." Teagan grinned, revealing a new gap in her teeth. "You're not very good at riding horses, are you?"

"And I suppose you could do better?"

"Depends." The young girl hopped up. "Do you have a lollipop?"

Anna sighed. Gods above. She felt sorry for whoever had to deal with this girl long-term — she was going to be an awful teenager. Anna fished out a green lollipop, handing it to Teagan, who popped it into her mouth.

"Steer with your legs," Teagan suggested. "Not the reins."

"Then what are the reins for?" Anna asked.

"Stopping."

Anna stared at her. "But then what is—?"

"Teagan?" The voice sounded exasperated. "Tee, are you in here?"

The girl paled. "Oh, no."

"Teagan?"

Ryne entered the stables. He wore tall brown boots and a riding jacket, his brown hair scattered about his face. Two red spots burned on his cheeks. Fever or the chilly air — it was difficult to say. He stopped dead as his eyes landed on Anna.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was asked to come," Anna said.

"By whom?"

She ignored this. "How bad are your symptoms?"

"Are you sick, Ryne?" Teagan asked.

They both turned to Teagan, who was sucking on her lollipop. Ryne ruffled her hair. "Just a little cold, Tee."

"You, too?" Teagan wrinkled her nose. "My tutor has a cold. Anna had to come give him a tonic yesterday. And she had to give one to our driver, too."

Ryne's green eyes glittered. "Did she?"

Teagan nodded. "And my piano instructor. And your valet. And—"

"Alright," Anna cut in, her cheeks heating. "I think he gets the point." Ryne didn't need to know that most men in the castle had asked for her, following her new title as his mistress. She frowned. "I didn't realize you knew His Majesty so well, Teagan."

The young girl gave her an odd look. "Of course I do. He's my cousin."

Anna almost choked. Her cousin? But that meant — gods above, that meant — Teagan was a Delafort? She gripped the reins. She'd assumed that the girl was a courtier's daughter, not a gods-damn royal. She had played chess with Teagan. Read stories to her. A Delafort girl.