her heart sings with wretched confusion. the loss of his proximity, an expectant warmth and potential, is almost painful. they dance, she stepping back and him stepping forward, but she lifts her head to its full height, in warning, ears still laying against her poll. she can’t help when they flicker forward at the sound of his voice, torn by the anguish she hears but her blood still runs cold when she thinks of the lagoon. no one had been brave enough to touch her there, despite their tough talk, and it’s lucky for them. they wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. but there are times she still feels the sweltering darkness of that place, shadowing her soul… the loneliness she had been forced to live with, the dread. the rage…. the black mare tries to calm the flush of anxiety that rises within her when she dwells on her captivity in that moment, striving to steady the racing of her pounding heart. had kendry participated in those types of things in the past? stealing mares from their homes as a pastime? standing idly by while cullen threatened to use her body and her future children (as if she could ever consider one…) as pawns in his game? she cannot fathom it, how the seemingly kind and easy going stallion before her would align with these awful things… but turning a blind eye and allowing them to happen was nearly as bad as causing them… at least to her noble heart. as she makes to turn away, his voice catches her, like a butterfly in a net. his shaking head and pleading eyes beg her to give him a chance. she lowers her head slightly, losing the mask of hardness and cold that she had steeled herself with. she isn’t sure she trusts him… why would he mention the lagoon in the first place if it wasn’t where he intended to stay? if it wasn’t his home? but the conviction of his words is striking. her words are equal parts invitation and challenge. i make my home at the peak. with those words she nods in goodbye, setting off for the mountains in the distance at a brisk trot. has she lost her sanity? the further she gets from the meadow the more confused and conflicted she feels trying to reconcile this evenings events with her life. |