Draw Your Sword

My jaw dropped.

"How did you get back there?" I called to David, trying not to sound as thrilled as I felt to see him.

"My thoughts exactly," Ash muttered as the King caught up and slowed his horse at my other side.

'I took a short break in the trees," David said smoothly. "Is your horse lame?"

"No, just old and stubborn. Or maybe aware that if he bumps me around too much, I'll end up pulling at his mouth trying to stay up here."

David grinned. "Do you not ride frequently?"

"I did as a child, but it's been years."

"Ah, a lady who prefers her carriages?" he asked like there was something significant about it.

"Carriages? Uh, yes."

"Do the beasts frighten you?" David asked softly, as if he was trying to be sensitive.

"Oh, no, I just—"

"My lady is afraid of nothing," Ash muttered from my other side.

I gulped, but David laughed. "Oh trust me, I'm aware of this."

"Then it seems a strange question to ask," Ash said without looking at either of us.