Page 29 of Laird of Wrath

Callum grunted in acknowledgement and then made to help her up into the saddle, but she declined the offer. She was more than capable of mounting the horse on her own. She had spent her entire life riding horses, though he didn’t know that.

How could he? He had neither expressed any interest in her past nor had he been around long enough to see her ride. To his credit, he seemed rather impressed that she jumped on the horse with so much grace.

“A rider, then?” he asked.

“Among other things,” she said. “Shall we?”

Callum gave a sharp nod and jumped onto his horse, then the two of them rode out of the courtyard.

The castle was large and surrounded by sprawling land. Never once had Rhea felt as if she were trapped behind its walls. And yet, being out there, in the open, was a different feeling altogether and one she fully welcomed and embraced.

Drawing in a deep breath, she urged her horse to go faster.

Behind her, Callum shouted, “Wait!”

But she didn’t pay him any mind. It had been too long since she had last gone out riding, as all the responsibilities had fallen on her shoulders in Callum’s absence. But now it was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she could suddenly feel the air in her lungs once more, the wind on her skin, the sunlight on her face.

Instead of slowing down, she looked over her shoulder at Callum, smiling broadly at him.

“What’s the matter?” she called. “Ye cannae keep up with me?”

She heard no response, other than the quickening thud of his horse’s hooves.

The two of them sped down the path, racing each other, the wind whipping at her face and hair. Her cloak flew behind her, and laughter bubbled out of her unbridled and unselfconscious.

She only slowed down when they hit a bend in the road, and Callum slowed down next to her, giving their horses a chance to breathe.

“I won,” she declared.

“I let ye,” Callum grumbled.

“I very much doubt that,” she scoffed. “Ye daenae seem like the kind of man who would let anyone win.”

“I’m nae the kind of man who loses,” he retorted. “So clearly, I have let ye.”

Rhea rolled her eyes, drawing her horse level with his.

The two of them rode in silence for a while, some of the tension between them fading. But their argument lingered between them. Rhea could feel it like a tangible presence.

She hated this. She hated being drawn into a false sense of security around him, into this fragile camaraderie that she was certain would not last, even if she had been the one to turn their ride into a race in the first place. There was something about Callum, despite all his grumbling and all his grunting, that made her feel…safe.

By the time they made it to the village, the sun was high up in the sky, though the light was obscured by thin clouds. But what littlereached the village was enough to warm her face and wrists, and the still, windless day made the air feel hotter.

Summer was well on its way, and it wasn’t only the merchants who were out and about, displaying their goods. The villagers, the children—they were all out in the streets, shopping and chatting in corners. A symphony of voices that filled Rhea with warm joy.

She always liked seeing these people—herpeople. In the past year, she had become responsible for them, and they were as much her family as her people back home. But as they crossed into the village, their joy quickly faded into fear.

She didn’t know what prompted it at first. Every time she visited the village, the people there were more than happy to see her. But then she remembered that every time she had been there, she didn’t have Callum by her side.

And now he was scarred from the war. He was different, changed, not the man these people had once known.

Leaving their horses, they began to walk around the market in silence. The previous awkwardness between them had now returned, and Callum seemed even more withdrawn than usual, the atmosphere at the market surely affecting him.

People shrank back from him, some averting their gazes and others openly staring at him. With each passing moment, the frown on his face deepened, as did the red hue of his cheeks.

“Awfully quiet ye are today!” Rhea huffed, her voice a little too loud, a little too obvious. She glanced around her to see if she had caught the attention of any of the villagers, and indeed, she had.

Callum only grunted.