Angelique laughed and waved until the horses were smudges traveling on the edge of the forest.
She dropped her hand and sighed.
Now, what shall I do?
She drew her shoulders back. “I go to Hurra, that’s what. Though first, I need to find Peg—ack!” Angelique shrieked when she turned around and found the giant constellation right behind her.
She slapped a hand over her pounding heart and scowled. “Must you be so silent?”
Pegasus wrinkled his muzzle in a smug manner.
Angelique wrinkled her nose at him but couldn’t help but stroke his glossy neck. The stars in his unfathomable coat seemed to shine brighter in the dim light. “There’s been a change in plans. Quinn left with Emerys, Elle, and the elves. They need to get back to Alabaster Forest so their magic can regenerate faster, and frankly I didn’t want them sticking around me, being all elven and beautiful and attracting unwanted attention.”
Angelique glanced at the sun, pointed herself so she would be traveling approximately southwest—Hurra’s location from Luster Forest—then plunged back into the trees.
Pegasus snorted in agreement as he followed Angelique around an enormous pine tree that was so tall, she couldn’t see the top of it.
“As a result, I’m the only one going to Juwel. I’ll be spending the night in Hurra and heading out in the morning.” Angelique ducked under a branch, then paused and remembered the way Pegasus had set fire to a shrub that had the unfortunate luck to be in his way, spun around, and yanked the branch back so he could pass through unhindered.
Pegasus shook his head and snorted.
“Yes, I’m going alone. Without you.” Angelique picked up her march again, plunging deeper into the rapidly darkening forest. “You think the elves are eye catching? You’re a horse with flames for a mane and tail!”
Pegasus flared his nostrils so they glowed red like embers.
“It’s true!” Angelique considered squeezing between two evergreens, but decided she didn’t feel like getting scratched up, so she shuffled around them instead, tripping on an exposed root in the process. “Once we get out of the forest, you’ll have to return to the sky.”
Pegasus trumpeted at Angelique—a blast of noise that almost blew her off her feet.
“I’m supposed to be an herb wizard’s apprentice. No one is going to believe me if you’re leering over my shoulder like a spirit of starry revenge,” Angelique complained.
Pegasus pinned his ears and a star twinkled on his cheek.
“I can too take care of myself,” Angelique argued.
She couldn’t say for certain that Pegasus’ body language implied she was unable to be self-responsible, but she’d spent enough time with the constellation to have a general read on him. If that wasn’t his exact complaint, she was fairly certain it was close enough.
“You know what I’m capable of when I use my core magic. Plus, now I’ve been drilled so much, I am sharp! Nothing could threaten me!”
Angelique crashed through a line of scratchy evergreens and popped out into a dim little clearing, which was primarily filled with a small cottage, a tiny wooden paddock, and what appeared to be a lean-to for horses.
The cottage was suspiciously sturdy. The walls were constructed of stones that were covered with moss that somehow managed to survive despite the cold temperatures. The roof was steeply pitched at the center, and then spilled out as if whoever had made the building got bored halfway through construction.
Angelique narrowed her eyes as she studied the well-maintained cottage and the meticulously cared for fence and barn. “This place looks quaint and charming.”
Pegasus snorted.
“Quite adorable, even,” Angelique said.
Pegasus tossed his head.
“It must be cursed. Come—we need to leave before we’re noticed!” Angelique hustled back through the trees.
Pegasus followed behind her, keeping close enough that he bumped his muzzle against her temple as they fled. “I’ve gone an entire season without running into anyone cursed. That means we’re about due. I’m not putting my search aside to deal with another curse!”
The sad thing is, I’m only half-joking.
Luster Forest was not inhabited, which made the cottage suspicious.
It’s possible it could be home to a mage, but that is hardly a better situation considering what I’m attempting to do.
Angelique picked up her pace and traipsed through the trees. “We agree, then?” She twisted around to address Pegasus. “When we get out of these woods, you’ll head home to the sky?”
Pegasus’ mane flared brighter, and he snapped his teeth, creating a click so loud it made Angelique’s spine shiver.
That’s a refusal.
“But it’s necessary.”
Pegasus flicked his tail, creating a hiss of steam when the flames brushed against the slushy forest floor.
Angelique stopped, planted her hands on her knees, and laughed.
I can’t believe this. Last summer I felt so alone and valued only for what I could do. Now I have so many companions, I have to pry them off me.
It was such a delightful problem to have. Angelique looked at Pegasus with eyes that she knew were soft with warmth, even though she should have tried looking “stern.”
But I can’t help it. I finally have friendship and companionship. However, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let Pegasus come with me.
Angelique scratched her nose as she considered the constellation.
How could she possibly get him to listen to her? He was a constellation. She couldn’t make him do anything.
I guess my best option is trickery.
Angelique sighed. “You know, Pegasus—what was that?” She paused, bulging her eyes as she stared at the empty space behind Pegasus.
When Pegasus turned around to see what she was looking at, Angelique began her crafty master plan…and ran.
It took Pegasus a few moments to figure out there was nothing there, and then he raced after her.
Angelique crashed through the forest with the subtlety of a boulder rolling downhill. She zigzagged back and forth, trying to lose Pegasus as she fled.
He easily kept pace behind her—and his pinned ears said he didn’t find her plan at all amusing.
At one point, he clamped his teeth onto her cloak.
Angelique yanked it from his grasp, honked in laughter, and then sprinted blindly through the darkened forest.
Her glee was at a high point, until she hurtled between two trees and saw a young lady standing in the woods.
Angelique tried to dart around her, but she wasn’t fast enough, and collided with her instead, ricocheting off the young lady and smacking into a tree before hitting the slush-covered forest floor with a splat.
As slush soaked her cloak, Angelique’s high spirits crashed. A young lady wandering around a forest near dusk. This doesn’t bode well for me.
She groaned and peeled herself off the ground. “That hurt. I hate trees. And forests.” She boosted herself to her feet and flicked dead leaves off her clothes. Forests always, always, always hold cursed people. You never find a cursed prince or princess in a desert. Or on a…plateau or something.
When she finished tidying up her appearance, Angelique remembered the unfortunate—and perhaps unintelligent—young lady. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you—though you must already be off your rocker if you’re wandering around a forest this close to nightfall.” She scratched her ear as she warily looked around.