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Staggering forward, she looked for a place to hide, but all she saw were stalls. Down the way, one of the giant black horses had stuck his head over his gate, watching her.

That pen was definitely not an option.

Not wasting any more time, Tessa began climbing the gate to her right. When she reached the top, she jumped into the stall without thinking and bit down on the cry of pain. Tears of agony leaked out of the corners of her eyes, but the scream she let out wasn’t from her ankle. It was from the giant horse she was suddenly face-to-face with.

Tessa slammed a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound as she slowly backed up from the creature. Her back hit the corner of the stall, and she stilled. The horse took a step forward, his large nose coming to her hair, and hot breath washed over her as he huffed.

The sound of the stable door creaking open had her stifling another scream, and she slowly sank down into the corner of the stall. If they came from the direction she had come from, they’d spot her immediately, but if they came from the other direction, she couldn’t be spotted unless they searched each pen.

The horse’s ear perked at the noise, and he moved to lift his head over the gate, apparently curious to see who else had entered his domain.

“Tessalyn,” the second male called out. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

One of the other horses let out a whinny while the one in the stall Tessa was in stamped his large hoof against the hay-strewn ground. Tessa’s hand was still clamped over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound of her breathing. Dread crept up her spine, and terror coated her limbs.

“Valter will not be happy we lost her,” the first male said.

Their footsteps sounded closer, and the horse shifted, almost as if it were trying to block her from view.

“Perhaps, but I think he will find what we saw very interesting,” the second replied.

“Then let’s go tell him before she summons any more of those things, or before Theon’s damn hound shows up again,” the first male answered. “I’m still struggling to heal the wound from that damn thing.”

“I don’t think she’s in here anyway,” the second said. “There’s no place to hide unless she crawled into a stall, and Theon’s horses would never allow that.”

Their voices faded away as they exited the building, but Tessa remained frozen where she sat in the corner. Silent tears were tracking down her cheeks, and her entire body was trembling. The horse turned his head to look at her, and her heart ratcheted up again as he moved towards her. His head lowered, and his large nose nuzzled against her shoulder, before he lowered his massive body to the ground. His huge head came to rest on her legs, where he stilled.

After several minutes, Tessa slowly lowered her hand from her mouth. Extending trembling fingers towards him, she stroked the animal’s cheek. He let out a soft huff, so she did it again. She stroked her fingers through his silky black mane and down his broad neck, but her trembling didn’t cease as fresh tears coursed down her face.

She dropped her head to the animal’s neck and sobbed.

16

THEON

Theon and Luka were making their way back to the east wing. Pavil and Metias had left a while ago, but his father had asked the two of them to stay behind. Luka had been gone the past few days, and his father wanted a report.

Theon needed the same, and they were heading back to the suite to discuss the other one with Axel. The report that would further their own plans and not just his father’s. But as they were rounding a corner, the odd feeling from the bond started in his chest again.

The same way it had when Tessa had climbed down from the godsdamn balcony.

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Theon growled.

“What?” Luka asked, glancing up from his phone that he was powering back on.

“She’s running.”

He thought they’d finally made some progress. He thought they’d come to an understanding. He thought she was getting closer to accepting the bond. They’d compromised and gone running with Axel the last two mornings. She had been sleeping next to him every night without argument. She’d started speaking more the last two days, some of her old snark and temper breaking through every once in a while. He thought his plan had been working.

And now she was fucking running again.

“Are you sure?” Luka asked, his pace increasing to match Theon’s.

“Yes,” Theon snapped. “If she thought I was controlling after last time, she’s not going to know what to do now.”

Luka started to say something else as they turned down a hall, but they nearly collided with Axel.

“Theon,” Axel said, coming to an abrupt halt. “Why aren’t you answering your fucking phone?”