The War of Six Crowns: The Vanished Knight

Three Arrows

As soon as they separated, Callan rushed down the hallway. The scrutiny from surrounding students quickened her pace, but footfalls behind her drew her attention. What now? She rounded on the ass.

Ward.

Callan hissed out a long breath of air. Her fingers twitched with anger. If he as much as hinted at being all sweet...

"Are you all—"

She slapped him so hard, the burn shot up to her elbow. The rest of the corridor went dead quiet.

She didn't give a shit. "You...bastard."

Before she hit him again, she gained enough control to stomp away. That release felt a little too good. She jogged out of the open back door to the stables.

Thanks to Claire's influence, Callan galloped away from the school and its dramas within five minutes. She rode slower than she would have liked, not wanting to risk an innocent animal's life because of some idiots.

Just being on the horse helped her relax and soon she couldn't see anyone else for miles. The knot in her shoulders faded away; her anger subsided. The rich autumn air and solitude soothed Callan's raw nerves and calmed her completely. Everything was fine. She didn't need to be angry. Claire would deal with everything.

Callan let the horse have its head, enjoying the cool air nipping at her skin. All too soon, the horse galloped over a drawbridge spanning the grass in an empty moat. Everything went dark when the horse ran into a long, tunnel-like entrance. The hoof beats reverberated through the tunnel, sounding as if she were a cavalry brigade. It wouldn't be safe to speed into the courtyard, though.

Too bad. The trip here had been such fun. She pulled back on the reins when the horse left the tunnel.

Something moved right in front of her before the horse slowed. Callan screamed and yanked the reins tight.

The horse reared and she lost sight of the person under its churning hooves. They barely hit the ground before she leaped from the saddle and sprinted to the guy who'd spooked the horse. He lay face-down in the dirt, a little off to the side from her, dust layered over his black cape. His shoulders jerked strangely.

Was he having a fit?

She sagged to her knees and rolled him by his shoulder to face up. Gawain laughed up at her as if he had no idea of the danger he'd escaped.

Callan sat back hard and pushed her head into her hands. He was fine. A little twisted, but...not dead.

So stupid. She should have slowed down the moment she couldn't see in all directions. She could have killed him. Her stomach turned and she pressed her fist to her torso. She could have killed him.

Gawain stopped laughing. "Callan?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Her heart rate slowed. The world tilted and she pushed her hand to the ground for stability. What was wrong with her? If it hadn't been for the lack of sensitivity, she would have thought the near miss had triggered another one of her panic attacks. "I...Nerine..."

Gawain pushed himself up onto his elbows and blew at the curls by his forehead. "Nerine. What did she do?" He frowned at her. "Callan, are you all right?"

A shadow fell over them before she could formulate a response.

"She nearly kills you and you ask after her health?" The words were a little louder than a whisper, but they hit Callan's ears like distant thunder. She suppressed a shudder and pushed herself onto her feet.