Bound By Honour (Book 1)

Chapter 13

Sparrow is up before the sun rises the next day. Her muscles ache as she rises and changes into warm clothes. She rubs her arms a few times to get the blood circulating and the dull pain to release her. If she thought to check, she'd see her sides littered with bruises but she doesn't. From a child she was used to waking up sore and bruised, it got less as she aged and she trained but new competitors always had her in pain the next day. She licks her lip and tastes dried blood. Leo had stopped the fight when he saw blood dripping freely from her lip. Sparrow had been completely willing to continue but the red that spread across the frost covered ground made him step back. Instead she joined the men in practising defence moves against an invisible enemy.

She climbs down the ladder and finds herself drawn to a stall. Every time she has passed this stall it appears empty. All of the other stalls always have a horse pop its head over as she passes, even if it's just a moment before they duck back in to eat or rest. Never has she seen a horse appear from within this stall. She looks over and sees a young horse lying down in the corner; head hung low, eyes tired. He can't be more than four years old but appears to have the weariness of an old horse that has spent its best years. Sparrow finds herself unable to leave. Her plans to train a little in the snow evaporate as she watches the bay.

Someone enters the barn behind her but she doesn't turn. She senses no danger. This person comes to her side and peers in. She glances to her left and sighs. Bronco stands silently beside her, avoiding looking in her direction, focused entirely on the horse. He wants to speak with her but he noticed how she stiffened when she saw it was him, he saw how her eyes flickered and he could almost see the cogs turning, closing the gates to her emotions. She didn't particularly want to see him or speak to him. She understood the loyalty that made him do what he did. But he gave her his word and he betrayed it.

He clears his throat and the horse's head jerks up, its once liquid brown eyes being swallowed into the dark black pupils. It leaps to its feet, neck snaking towards them, teeth bared. Bronco reacts quickly pulling Sparrow back, out of reach. The horse snaps at the air, ears pinned flat to his head. His hooves solidly kick against the door and it wobbles with the impact. Sparrow pulls herself away from Bronco and steadies her uneven breathing and her thumping heart.

"What was that about?"

Bronco chuckles to himself when he realises the question wasn't actually directed towards him.

Sparrow steps forward, nothing about her stance saying that she had just been scared. She stops just out of reach of the horse that now watches her warily, his head twisting from side to side. "I'm sorry we made you jump," she carries on, calmly, "that really wasn't my intention." Slowly she holds her hand out, palm flat and facing upwards.

Bronco watches carefully, ready to pull her back again if he needs to. One of the horse's ears flickers forward and his pupils shrink slightly as he breathes on her hand. Sparrow weakly smiles but makes no other movements. "His name is Shadow." Bronco speaks quietly, unwilling to make the horse jump. Sparrow acknowledges his words with a tilt of her head. She steps backwards and walks over to the exit. Bronco follows her outside.

"How long have you had Shadow?"

Bronco frowns, finding something in her voice that doesn't seem to fit the question.

"A year maybe, we found him in the great snow last year. He was very close to death but Wolfe found him and he brought him to what he is now. He is improving, believe it or not. He allows Wolfe within his stall but anyone else is too much of a challenge."

Sparrow nods and takes a deep breath of the cold morning air. "Shadow suits him." They were her only words as she ducks her head down.

"He trusted you fairly quickly."