Oksana watches the stallion’s face carefully. She sees the traces of amusement that pull at him, which he quickly covers up before replying. His words remain playful, and in the face of this determination she allows herself to relax just a little. Better a conversation with a man who can handle her rebuttal without rage than to start a fight with a stranger on a foreign island.
Perhaps, at the very least, he can offer her some information about the place she has come to.
She follows his gaze towards a couple of horses in the distance. A stallion is trying to drive a young mare away somewhere, and another male hangs back nearby, as if waiting for his chance to do the same. Oksana wonders if this happens often in this strange land – if this is how all decisions are made.
She has seen stallions drive mares into their herds by force before, but having spent most of her life thus far comfortably in the ranks of her family’s herd, it is not something she has endured much exposure to. She is also used to seeing the mares respond much more violently to such advances.
She turns her gaze back to Solomon.
“I should like to see them try,” she says, the corner of her lips curling very slightly.
It seems, although her retort has not angered him, that he is willing to join the repartee. She rolls her eyes briefly as he claims to be a king, then gives him a pointed look. She is quite sure he has guessed she is not a native, but he wishes to play on her ignorance.
“No, I do not,” she replies coolly. “Although I think it’s common sense not to believe strange men running around claiming to be kings.”
She looks at him, a glint in her dark eyes.
“Tell me about the Cove then, and these islands – there are more of them, then? I should like to know it would be worth my while to visit.”