Page 112 of North Queen
“Yes.”
“That sounds beautiful,” the chief’s daughter said with a smile.
Norah thought of Alexander. “It is,” she said, and they laughed again.
Tahla quieted, but still radiated a burning curiosity. “How do you command Savantahla?”
Norah didn’t know how to answer. “I’m not even sure what that is. Do you mean the horse?”
“Savantahla means the spirit of the Wild,” she explained. “Animals from the land of the Wild, they’re all Savantahla. Horses, birds, wolves, foxes. Savan is in all of them.”
“Foxes?” Norah asked in surprise. Her mind drifted back to the fox in the Wild. Now she was certain they were connected. But how were they connected toher?
“Any animal of the Wild. You know them by their compulsive beauty, and their eyes.”
Norah thought about the mare. She was beautiful. Her mane was thick and long, and even without the sun, her dappled coat shined. Norah knew that compulsive beauty, and she knew the eyes: a hypnotizing gold. “I don’t command her,” Norah told her. “I only ask of her.”
Tahla paused. “They say only witches can speak to Savantahla.”
Norah raised a brow and rocked her head to the side. “I’m not a witch, although I have been accused of being one.”
“How did you capture her?”
“I didn’t. King Mikael took her from a man named Abilash as recompense… for a transgression.”
Tahla’s eyes widened. “King Abilash? Salar took Savantahla from King Abilash?”
“The king didn’t seem very happy about it, but Abilash gave the horse willingly. We parted on good terms.”
“I can assure you that you didn’t part on as good of terms as you think. But he dares not defy Salar. Not alone anyway, unless he wants his tribes to starve. And he was probably scared of you and your witchery.” She smiled. “Horsemen are extremely superstitious people.”
Norah realized that the Shadow King must help the Horsemen with provisions through the winter, too, and she smiled at the witchery jest. “The king said the mare was quite valuable to them.”
Tahla nodded. “Tribes of the Horsemen compete for land and power. If Abilash had Savantahla, he could rally more tribes to follow him.”
“Over a horse?”
“The animals of Savantahla are not ordinary animals. You cannot track them. They speak to the earth, and the earth speaks back. You can’t tame them unless they want to be tamed. They have great power, and anyone who controls Savantahla has great power too.”
Norah looked back at the horse, which was grazing by the others along the river. She wasn’t sure what this great power could be.
Tahla smiled. “I was named after Savantahla.Tahla.”
“Ah,” Norah said, “I hear it.”
“My mother died in childbirth. I should have died too. But I didn’t. My father said I was so wild out of the womb that the spirit must be within me. It’s a strong name.” She looked at the horse with a smile. “Few have seen Savantahla. Your visit is a great honor.”
The warmth of gratitude filled her. “Do you want to see her?” she asked. “Touch her?”
Tahla let out a gasp. “Surely she wouldn’t let me.”
Norah shrugged. “We can see.”
The chief’s daughter jumped up eagerly, making Norah laugh, and the women made their way toward the river. The other grazing horses took little notice of them as they approached, but the mare tossed her head and snorted.
“Easy,” Norah called to her. “I bring a friend who wants to meet you.”
The mare shook her head again but let them draw near. Norah scratched her neck under the thick mane and gave her a gentle pat. Turning back to Tahla, she held out her hand. “Come here.”
