Page 153 of War

“Miriam—Miriam,” Zara says, snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Where did you go?”

My gaze locks with hers. “I just had a thought.”

Chapter 42

In the deadof night, I slip out of War’s bed, careful not to wake him. He’s deep asleep, his breath hissing steadily out of him.

The lamps in the tent are all snuffed out, and I have to feel my way around to the clothes I set out nearby. As quietly as I can, I tug them on, then pull on my boots. Lastly, I strap on my weapons and head outside.

My undead guards are still on duty, their sightless eyes staring out at nothing. But as soon as they sense me, they creep close.

I begin to walk, heading around War’s tent, and the zombies fall into formation around me just as they did earlier.

Need to shake them.

At least there are no living soldiers in this area anymore. That’s one obstacle I managed to avert.

A short distance away from War’s tent, there’s a private corral. Inside it is a massive horse with fur the color of spilled blood.

Deimos.

Sometimes War lets his horse wander untethered, and sometimes, like tonight, he corrals him—separate from the other horses, of course.

At night and without War’s comforting presence, Deimos looks a shit-ton scarier than I remember. He stands at the edge of the corral, his head turned in my direction. He looks as though he’s been waiting for me.

Before I lose my nerve, I go up to the unearthly steed. He bumps my chin with his muzzle.

“Hey there,” I whisper, trying to act brave. I reach out a hand and gently rub the horse up his snout and between his eyes.

He nips at my hair, the action causing me to jolt, but the gesture seems affectionate.

Maybe I’m just imagining things, but I think War’s horse might actuallylikeme.

I take a deep breath. I don’t know much about horses, only that they can be finicky creatures. And since I’ve been traveling with War, I’ve seen my fair share of horse kicks and bites. If these little ol’ ponies don’t like something, they make their displeasureknown.

We’ll discover how much this one truly likes me in the next few minutes …

I hop the fence, and now I’m caged in with him. Several seconds later, the corpses that surround me amble over the wall of the corral as well.

Dang it. I was kind of hoping the fence would deter the dead.

Only now do I realize that one human girl, six undead creatures, and a savage steed all crammed into a tiny corral is a recipe for disaster.

However, the aggressive reaction I anticipate from War’s horse never comes.

He utterly ignores the dead surrounding us, ambling over to me instead.

I pet the side of Deimos’s face. “Will you let me ride you?” I whisper.

When Deimos doesn’t stampede me, I decide that I might just be able to do exactly that.

His saddle hangs nearby. I have very little experience saddling a horse, and a lot of trepidation saddlingthisone.

Definitely going to get kicked.Deimos is a mean bastard. I’ve seen him kick and bite and nearly trample a good dozen men since I joined this camp.

But as I lift the saddle pad and then the saddle, hefting them onto his back, he doesn’t try to hurt me. I lean under him to secure the straps, and this is the moment of truth. I hold my breath, waiting for some sort of horsie retaliation. Instead, he tosses his head about impatiently, as though to say,hurry up.

Meanwhile, my guards stand passively by. I glance at them, wondering if they’re able to communicate with War. My stomach drops at the thought.