Maslakhat watched Otsana carefully, her slyness not lost on him. She obviously did not think too highly of her brother—calling him an idiot outright made this more than apparent. If she actually felt that way, then it made sense that she would stay behind. Yet the bay Akhal-Teke is not so quick to trust. Her flattery begat even more suspicion. Mares do not flirt unless they want something. With a casual swish of his dark tail, he wondered what exactly that was.

“What you saw was hardly impressive,” he informed her without making an effort to be modest. Maslakhat had actually been holding back during his encounter with Blaez. At the time he saw no reason to unleash all his energy over a minor territory squabble, and considering how Blaez had given up, Maslakhat was right to hold back. Therefore he hardly felt as if there’d been any battle at all.

“I don’t really need rest,” he spoke again, correcting her. “But I’ll walk with you for awhile if you like.”

He sensed that perhaps she wanted to show him something. He would follow her deeper into the Dunes to humor her at the very least. His journey to the Crossing could wait awhile longer. Even if Otsana’s intentions were less than savory, he wasn’t worried. Maslakhat was indeed a stallion that could hold his own.


MASLAKHAT
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