Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 30

"Hey, Serena?" Liam asked, knocking on the door to this tack room office. "Are you free?"

"Yes, I am free," she said, placing something down. "What can I do for you, Liam?"

"Uh... it's actually Hadley that needs to talk to you," he said, softly. He looked behind and saw that I was standing behind him. "Why are you standing behind me?"

I didn't reply and shrugged. I was feeling nervous for some reason, and I didn't understand why.

"She's not going to bite," Liam said, an amused smile flickering on his lips. "You were the one that wanted to talk to her."

Taking a deep breath, I nodded before letting it out in a small woosh. I walked forward until I was beside Liam and stared at the office that Serena was in.

Saddles hung on the other side of the wall, hanging neatly in rows with people's names on the post in black text. A few of these racks were open, no names on them, while others had names but no saddles.

Saddle pads lined a part of the wall, each of them looking clean and pressed. The same black text was on each saddle pad, indicating which person they belonged to.

On the wall across from me, bridles hung on the wall, each one of them labeled for which horse they were used for, with only one left open because it was Vanar's spot.

Serena cleared her throat, causing me to look at her. A smile was on her face as she stared at me with soft blue eyes. "Come, have a seat," she said, gesturing to the chairs in front of her. "Are you staying, Liam?" she asked, looking at him.

"Unfortunately, not," Liam said, apologetically. He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly while I walked towards the seats. "I have to talk to Mom about something."

"Oh?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow. She watched as I sat down before looking at him again. "And what is it about?"

"Ask Hadley," he replied. "It's her idea. I am going to go now. Can we meet later?" he asked, looking at me.

I turned to look at him and nodded. "I did promise to help you," I said. "I guess to meet at Shadow's pen. Remember to tell her what I told you."

Liam sighed, mockingly, but nodded his head. "Ok," he said finally. "I will meet you there. I have no idea how long this will take, so..." He grimaced and shrugged.

"I'll wait," I promised.

Liam opened his mouth to say something but stopped before closing it. He was trying to stall in talking with his mom, but he figured that it would be best to get it over with. "I will see you there," he said, starting to walk away.

"Close the door, Liam, if you please," Serena called out before he got too far away from the stable door. She smiled at him when he walked back and closed the door before turning her gaze to me. "So," she inquired, leaning forward. "What did you want to talk about?"

I licked my lips, feeling hesitant. "Is... it safe to discuss what I want to discuss here?" I asked slowly. "I mean... I don't want V- Shadow to be mad at me." I shifted anxiously in my seat, waiting for her response. I prayed that she would know what I meant and would allow us to continue this conversation somewhere else.

Serena studied me before she nodded her head. "There is one place I can think of," she said slowly. "However, we are going to need to wait for someone to come. He should be here soon."

I furrowed my brows and cocked my head. "He?" I asked, causing her to nod her head. "Who is he?"

Serena opened her mouth to answer but stopped when there was a knock on the window. She got up and walked towards the window, ignoring me while she opened the window and in flew Lucas.