As he took a breath to call her again, Şahin thought he heard something over the wind. He held his voice and listened, and there, off to his left, he heard something. The blanketed palomino turned his head at the same time he saw movement in the mouth of a cave, and he dashed toward it with a triumphant whinny. She was safe. All that remained now was to collect her and Xina and the children in one location. He slowed to a trot when he neared her, neck extended as he reached out to press his muzzle against her cheek to reassure himself that she was indeed real, but when he pulled away he got a strong whiff of something other than mare.

His dark eyes shifted to the darkness beyond, head up and ears forward as his nostrils flared with each deep inhale. There was a stallion in the cave, or there had been recently. But the sounds of a horse shifting on their feet reached him, and even in the gathering darkness the golden stallion could make out the shape of a horse. He brushed past the golden mare with a terse, “Stay here,” as he hurried further into the cave. He did not have far to go —no more than three or four steps, really— and he halted to confront the stranger with down-turned ears.

“This is my territory,” he said, on edge from the approaching storm and how long it had taken to find Dia and assure himself she was safe. His first assumption was that this male had been trying to raid the Akhal-Teke away under the cover of the storm. After all, anyone could get lost in such weather and if Şahin were the one doing the raiding, he’d pick a nasty day like today to go collect mares. In the chaos a storm like this brought, it’d be easy. He flattened his ears. “I am Şahin of Paradise,” he said, the first syllable of his name bursting from behind his teeth with a harsh SH. His incredulity was nearly tangible. No one had ever tried to raid from him before and he’d be damned if he just let that fly without some form of repercussion. “And if you don’t tell me who you are and your purpose here —aside from avoiding the storm— right now, I’ll run you out to deal with the wind and the rain.”

The dark, spotted stallion would be lucky if Şahin even let him stay in the cave.