Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 31

Serena stood and gestured for Lucas to get off of my leg. "You need to get off so she can stand. We don't want her to be upset that we are not there," she said, and Lucas scowled at her. She rolled her eyes at something he said. "I am serious, Lucas. We have to go back to the other room." She looked at me before watching as Lucas flew off of my leg only to perch on my shoulder. "Did you tell her to meet her here or somewhere else?"

"I told her to meet me at Vanar's pen," I said, fully aware of the other being on my shoulder. "Or, I told Liam to tell her. I guess she overruled what he had told her, so they are coming here."

Serena snorted and pursed her lips in disgust. "It sounds like her," she replied. She gestured to go through the door and followed me until we back in the tack room. "You're going to have to leave, Lucas. They are close." She scowled when he shook his head. "I will be able to watch out for her. If you are here, she will become suspicious of her."

Lucas huffed but looked at me, ignoring Serena, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance. He pulled at my ear, and I could tell that he wondered what I had to say.

"Go," I said, rubbing his chest. "We don't want her suspicious of us. I don't know if she knows about everything that is happening here, but I don't want her to know about me knowing stuff about Ilyrian."

Lucas huffed but nodded his head. He hopped off of my shoulder, flew to the desk, and turned to me. Lucas bowed and said something, and I had to look at Serena for translation.

"He said that if you need him, then he will be there. Just yell for him," Serena said. She rolled her eyes and scowled. "He also said that if you are bored, you can just open your window, and he'll entertain you."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering how he would entertain me and how he would know if the window was open. "I will," I said, nodding my head. "Now, go before Serena gets mad at you."

Lucas nodded his head and flew out of the tack room when there was a knock on the door.

Quickly, Serena closed the window before she went over to the door and hesitated. She looked back at me, her eyes wide, and I could tell that she was nervous about opening the door to face her wrath.

Hesitantly, I nodded my head, and she nodded hers. I bit my lip and watched as Serena opened the door to reveal a scowling Mrs. Treat. Quickly, I stood and placed my hands behind my back, watching as she strutted into the room with a disheveled Liam following her.

He noticed me looking at him and gave me a hesitant smile before shaking his head, telling me not to speak just yet.

Mrs. Treat cleared her throat, and I tore my gaze from him to look at her scowling face. She folded her arms behind her back and raised an eyebrow. "What is this about you wanting to take Shadow away from me?"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my pounding heart, nervous. I cleared my throat and stood taller. "I was wondering if he could be moved to a different pasture than the one he is in," I said, surprised my voice didn't shake. "I was not going to take him away unless you don't let me move him."

"He does not deserve to move, not after what he had done to that poor girl." She sniffled and pulled a handkerchief from underneath her sleeve. "She almost died, isn't that right, Serena?" She sniffled and dabbed her eyes. "Poor girl was in the hospital for months. They thought she wouldn't be able to walk, but by some miracle, she did."

I folded my arms across my chest and set my jaw. Annoyance filled my body, and I couldn't help but feel powerful because of it. "It was not his fault," I said coldly, and she took a step back in surprise. "I do not know what caused it, but it was not his fault. Do you know of any of his traumatic experiences or triggers?" I asked. "Or is that new information for you?"

Mrs. Treat cleared her throat and stood straighter. She was trying to intimidate, but it didn't work. "I wasn't aware of him having some traumatic issues," she said. She looked at Serena. "Did you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you know?" She folded her arms across her chest, and Serena's eyes went wide.

"No, don't ask her if she did or not," I warned, and she looked at me. I scowled and narrowed my eyes, hating her. "You are at fault here. Not her. Do not give her that look."

She cleared her throat. "She is our trainer, though," she said. "She should have made sure that he was easy to handle when we brought him here."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you are the owner. You are the one who should make the choices for both the trainer and the horse. Serena's duty is to listen to you. Do I like it? No, because I think you have fun abusing Shadow, especially since he is as skinny as he is."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Mrs. Treat asked. She looked me up and down, but the intimidation didn't work on me. She was nervous, I could tell, and I enjoyed each second she squirmed underneath my gaze. "I could have you arrested for trespassing."

"Uh, no, you can't," I replied. "I am allowed here. They'll only give me a warning and a make me promise not to come back." I looked at my nails. "Besides, I think you should call them."

"Hadley," Serena hissed but stopped talking when I raised my hand, silencing her. Her eyes went wide, and she looked between Mrs. Treat and me as if she was watching a tennis match. She was scared, and I knew that she wanted to contact someone, but she didn't know how or who.

"And why is that?" Mrs. Treat asked, gulping. She saw that I was dangerous and mad, but she wasn't going to be letting me know that. She looked me up and down, narrowing her eyes. "You should be afraid if they come over here."

"Because I think that they'd love to serve you with a warrant to shut this business down or have Shadow removed from your possession. I mean, you could be charged for animal cruelty. Would you like that?" I took a step forward and watched as she gulped and took a step back.

She took a deep breath and watched me as if I was a predator. Her eyes were wide and bulging out of her head. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She looked at Serena, but Serena was no help, for she was looking at me with the same expression on her face.

"So, you have only two options, Mrs. Treat," I said, pulling her attention back to me. "Your first option is to get Shadow into a field by himself and make sure that he gets the care he needs through Serena and me. Or, you lose your horse and become under investigation for animal cruelty unless you waive the right of the horse to my dad, no questions asked."

She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "And what if I don't want to do either?" she asked, her voice shaking. She folded her arms across her chest and scowled. "I don't have to do anything you suggest."

"And, if you don't do what she had suggested," someone said from behind me, startling us from the staring contest we were having. My father stood there, holding Nina, who was watching us with wide eyes. His eyes were filled with unknown fury as he looked between both of us before his gaze settled on Mrs. Treat. "Then, you will have to deal with me."