It was difficult to move from Ramiel’s side, but not impossible. When his twin slept deep, Raziel could peel himself away slowly, listening to the uncomfortable grumblings as his warmth left Ramiel’s side, wait for him to settle again and then keep walking. He only gave the mare – Dahlia – a passing glance, irritation flickering in his eyes, and then they went tired again. His head dropped and he walked as quietly as a horse could, strolling from where they slept to where he might be able to breathe.
As the trees cleared, he came to a slow halt and looked with sad, blue eyes on the open starlit meadow in front of him.
He missed his father. His aunts. Everything that made sense to him.
He imagined his father through animated, excited stories he’d told his sons, walking into the meadow with his white hair still damp from the swim across the channel. A small smile turned his lips and he sighed, shaking his head, hearing his Great Aunt Oswin interrupt their father’s story to talk about how much of a cad he’d been. Lighthearted, family banter would follow, and Raziel’s smile grew remembering how he’d look between them – between the only horses he’d ever known – and seen love.
This place…
He flicked his ears and glanced around.
This place wasn’t family. Maybe it had been where their family begun, but there was no reason to return here.
Raziel felt a pull and glanced toward the faraway direction he knew Tinuvel would be, based on descriptions his family had given throughout the years. Something in him yearned to see it. To answer the call of their bloodline…
But he would not betray Mariael like that.
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