"Mmm." The woman moaned as she rolled over in the hay. Her arm draped over Ry's chest, fingers curled against his clavicle. Normally Ry would've bed then fled. Snuggling after the fact wasn't something he enjoyed. It was too intimate. Women were like puppies to him. Show them an act of kindness and they'd follow him around waiting for the next treat to fall. It was easier to form no attachments. Not after the one time he had allowed himself to fall in love. It wasn't her fault she left him, he knew that, but her death still left him broken and he never wanted to feel that devastated again.

A chill filled the air. The sun hadn't raised enough to kill off the frost, but their body heat kept him comfortable. His hand stroked the stable master's daughters arm. She'd slept on him for hours and he couldn't bring himself to slip away. He came looking for horses, knowing she'd give them to him with a flash of his charm. Though he wouldn't make her feel like that was the only reason he'd slept with her. He glanced to the window above the hay loft. Sunlight from the rising sun swept through the hay, casting it in its glow. His hand shook the girl awake.

"Don't tell me you have to leave already," she muttered.

"Unfortunately, I do. My friends are waiting and it's a matter of time before the guards come here."

She sat up, covering her chest with her arm. Ry smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, caressing her skin. A blush colored her cheeks. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, guiding her with his tongue. Her body quivered, yearning for more, before he pulled away. His breath pushed against her lips, gentle as any kiss, a deliberate act to please her more.

"I know you only came to gain access to my father's horses," she said, panting. "But the things you did with your mouth. What do you call that?"

Ry smiled and gathered his discarded clothing from the hay. He took his time, picking a strand of hay off them one by one. Ry spent a lot of time working out for moments like these. Each of his muscles purposefully sculpted for the sake of the women he charmed.

"I told you I'd give you copper instead," he said. He straightened his while she was busy trying to tie the laces to her corset. Ry sauntered back to her, moving her hands from the laces to tie it for her. She smelled like sweet lemons. Ry wouldn't have minded staying for a repeat performance, but Demitra was serious when she said she wouldn't wait. If he had hope to find Kira, he needed Demitra.

The girl said, "This was more fun for me than a few bits of copper."

"What will you tell your father?"

She smiled. "Certainly not that Rylanne of the Glades deflowered me."

"Tell him someone stole the horses. It's better you don't admit you saw me right now." She followed as he climbed down the ladder and gathered her father's three fastest mares. Ry was in the middle of saddling them when she tossed a forest green cloak with brown patchwork at his head.

"You'll want to wear that until you get out of town. They'll think you're my father taking the horses to the breeding station. It's that time of year for them. Nobody will stop you, they know better than to get into my father's way. I suspect that's also why they haven't come to the stables yet, father would be most displeased."

"I don't suppose your father has a weapon? A dagger, sword, anything at this point."

"Sadly, no. He doesn't believe in them, nor does he need them. There's always someone to fight his battles for him." Ry cupped her cheek before pressing his lips to her beautiful forehead. "Did I measure up? I mean—"

She sucked on her lower lip. Her downcast eyes avoided him. One of his thumbs traced the delicate freckles covering the bridge of her nose. While she lacked the classic beauty he normally craved, there was still something about her drawing him in. The way her plump body curved under her modest dress, how her black hair coiled in perfect waves—all of it masked the beauty bubbling within her, waiting to bloom.

Though her family had status, albeit small, within Morag, she never held it against anyone. After the Coming of Age dance, when he saw her feed a hungry child on the street, he'd decided she would a welcome addition to his conquests. He just didn't know his chance would come for the sake of obtaining horses. Ry picked out his women the way a person might pick out their clothes for the day.

"Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not beautiful. Not even your father. If I come back and find he's said such cruel things to you again, or laid another hand on you, I'll gut him myself."

Ry wrapped the cloak over his shoulders and tied it tightly. He mounted one of the horses. She tied the reins of the other two to the saddle and blew him a final kiss. The horses trotted out of the stable as Ry pulled the hood over his head. Bells in the keep continued to ring, long after the guards discovered Ry and Sabina escaped. The city hadn't slept as they searched for them. He knew their protocol. They'd search sector by sector. That gave him time to take care of business at the stables and hopefully get to the gates before they searched them. Fear of the stable master alone might have bought him time. Their idiocy was Ry's gain.

Ry lowered his head when he came to the gates, keeping his face concealed by the cloak and pleading to the Gods not to draw attention to himself. They never stopped to check people before, but then they'd never had an escaped prisoner either. His heart sank when a guard raised his hand, calling for him to stop.

"Master Contes, you're up early."

Ry coughed, hoping to pull off sounding sick to mask his voice. "Aye, tis work to be done. This dreadful virus will limit my duties shortly. Must get as much done as I can. Let me pass, you impotent cow."

His throat hurt as he intentionally added a hoarseness to his voice. He coughed again, this time more violent. The guard backed away, his nose curled in disgust, and waved Ry through the gate. Ry held his breath until he no longer saw the gates behind him. Then he dug his heels into the horse's side and headed toward the apple orchard.

"It took you long enough," Demitra said when Ry found them.

"I had to be careful. Thankfully the guards are inept, otherwise I might not have made it out of there." Ry untied one of the reins from the saddle while Demitra untied the other. Sabina shivered from inside a wool cloak, her eyes drooping. He assumed neither of the girls had much sleep. "I have a few days rations of food. Not much, but it should be enough to put some distance between us and the castle before we have to go into a village again."

"Good," Demitra said. "I don't want to take a direct route to New Calandria. Rodyn will be expecting that."

She mounted her horse and wrapped the reins around her hands. Both looked to Sabina who remained on the ground, tapping a foot impatiently. She outstretched a hand and allowed her wrist to go limp. Her foot continued to tap.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Ry asked, raising an eyebrow. Sabina batted her eyes and flicked her wrist as if asking Ry to kiss the back of her hand.

"A Princess doesn't mount her horse herself. That is why we have servants."

Ry snorted. "You have to be joking." She continued to hold out her wrist. "Listen, Princess, you're with commoners now. Those things that hang down from the saddle are called stirrups. You put one foot in and hoist yourself up. We're not your bloody servants."

"He is right. You're no longer the Princesses stand in. In fact, the first thing we'll do when we're safe is change your hair. Wash out the hair dye, cut it—"

"Cut my hair? How dare you! A Princess is nothing without her elegant hair. You would be executed on the spot for suggesting such a thing in front of a royal."

Ry ran both hands over his face and groaned. "You. Aren't. The. Princess. You were her stand in! You were the disposable flesh to dangle in front of crowd."

Demitra growled and held out a hand. Electricity shot from her fingertips and struck the ground at Sabina's feet. She jumped backward with a yelp. Demitra shot more electricity at her and continued to do so until Sabina raised her hands in defeat and stepped toward her horse. Ry watched in amusement as she examined the stirrup on the right side of the saddle. Her left foot slipped into the stirrup. She was gripping the pommel to hoist herself up when Ry laughed.

"Princess," Ry said between laughs. She glared at him. "Unless you want to ride backwards, use your other foot."

Demitra pulled her horse next to Ry's. They both watched as the Princess continued to try to pull herself into the saddle, using the correct foot, and neither stopped to help her. She failed often, one time slipping and falling on her rear. Ry stroked the mane of his horse and shook his head. At the rate they were going, Rodyn would find their rotting corpses from dying of old age.

"We're going to have our hands full with her, aren't we?" Demitra asked.

"I think that's going to be an understatement," Ry said.

Sabina clapped excitedly when she successfully mounted the horse. Her smug grin widened as she moved the horse to others. Wind rustled the tangled mess of her hair. In the distance, the bells of the keep rolled over the hills. It wouldn't take long before the search within the city walls was finished and they spread to the outer farms.

"How long to New Calandria?" Ry stared into the horizon toward the Glades, watching clouds in the distance. His heart ached to head south for home, but he knew they'd be going any direction but south.

"At this rate," Demitra said, "we'll be lucky to get there in a week. I'm thinking we'll go inland to the west for a few days first. Then curve north and ride to the border of Altian. We'll follow that to New Calandria in the mountain pass. If needed we'll seek shelter in Altian."

"I still don't understand why I must go with you. I'm sure if we just went to the Princess—"

Ry interrupted her, "And do what? Do you honestly think she didn't know Rodyn locked you in the dungeon?" Sabina sighed. Ry looked at Demitra. His lips tightened. "As for you, tell me about that symbol. Why do Kira, Addrick, and Sabina all have it?"