Maybe it would be time for you to find another contest to win, he murmurs, and she cannot deny that her heart flutters at the thought. Kohelet has no business even considering the idea of finding herself another partner when her own emotions were so tangled and disarrayed, but there is a want there that she cannot deny. A craving for the sort of love she'd enjoyed with Fell before everything had grown so heavy and complicated.

Thankfully, he seems to accept her apology and graciously begins to explain the meaning of his name. Once he separated it out for her, it seemed obvious and she chuckled in embarrassment. She remembered little of the hardy little stallion that had made the Inlet such a hotly contested territory for years upon years, but it did not surprise her that the handsome stallion before her belonged to that lineage. There had always been something about Bjorn's wildness that had set him apart from the rest of the horses on the islands, as though he came from a different world, a different universe than the one they inhabited.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as he confessed to losing him. "He seems like he was incredibly important in your life."

She fell silent again, still mulling over the connections she was realizing were in place. It was a small world, after all. It was shocking to learn that Bjorn and Nyimara had coupled previously, although as soon as she thought that, she realized she'd known that - in a vague sort of academic way. That had been part of Ysabel's vendetta against the two of them, though even that conflict seemed very long ago. It had been a part of the lessons that Solomon had forced her to endure after Fell had promoted her to his queen, all ostensibly structured to make sure the Bay succeeded, although Kohelet privately believed it was to make sure that the Bay had someone who knew what was going on.

Who did that for Fell now? Did anyone serve as his diplomat these days? The one to soothe down ruffled feathers and keep peace among his mares. Her heart twisted, the pain sharp but not unexpected, and she kept it from her face.

He moved and she stiffened at first, breaking abruptly from her thoughts to fix him with wide, surprised eyes, but she does not move away even though half of her wants to force distance between them, and half of her wants there to be no distance at all. It is too dangerous to take up with a son of Nyimara - estranged and imprisoned though he may be - but she'd be lying if a part of her wasn't craving the very idea. The thought of trying something new, of taking a risk on someone who might not hide a villain's heart beneath his beatific smile.

"Of course," she breathed into the space between them, though she knew her answer was not so simple. Perhaps, when Amalia had been younger, she might have been able to sneak the girl away without Nyimara noticing. But Amalia was nearly mature now, and she doubted the silver witch would let such a bargaining chip go when she knew how far Kohelet would go to protect her daughter. "It's not that simple though," she murmured, shaking her head with a sad smile. "You deserve to be free too."

mare - mutt - black tobiano - 16.1h - solomon x sicily