Free Whisper by Christine Grey

firmly cuffing Darius on the back of the head.
    Darius ignored the reproof, and continued speaking. “The first thing we need to do is find a place to stay. It would be too dangerous to go back and forth to the ship at night, as the crew would never know for sure who was approaching until it was too late. Even if we worked out some kind of signal, they couldn’t be positive someone hadn’t gotten ahold of the information, so it’s best if we stay ashore.
    “Next, we will need to secure horses. Breken territory is quite a ways inland, and it will take a good day and a half by horse to get there.”
    “Horse! Surely we could run? I mean, are the horses really necessary?” Dearra asked, her voice betraying her anxiety.
    “Yes, Dearra, we need the horses. Walking is nowhere near fast enough in the Breken desert, and I think you would find running on sand drains your strength more quickly than you can imagine.”
    Dearra didn’t comment further, but Darius could see her mind racing, trying to figure out a way around the use of horses, though he couldn’t figure out the cause of her distress.
    “Where do we get the horses? Do they have some sturdy ponies we could rent?” Hugh asked.
    “The Etrafarians raise the only horses in this area.”
    “Etrafarians! You speak of fairies from children’s bedtime stories! Captain Koukai used to try and tell me such tales until I finally laughed myself silly, and he gave up. What nonsense.” Hugh’s eyes twinkled with mirth.
    The others chuckled as well, amused to be in on the joke, but Darius didn’t so much as smile. His look, instead, was one of total confusion. “I don’t understand. I’m not talking about fairies. Etrafarians have lived in this area for ages, and were visitors here long before that. They are the only ones to breed horses large enough to carry Breken riders.”
    “Boy!” Hugh said, sounding irritated. “Etrafarians are a myth!”
    “Whatever you say, Lord Hugh, but it’s getting late and we need to make our way to shore to find accommodations, and then, in the morning, we’ll buy some horses from a bunch of myths.” Darius stepped away from a flustered Hugh, and swung a leg over the side of the ship to lower himself into the boat waiting below.

Chapter 12
    Dearra trotted to keep up with Darius’s longer strides, as they made their way through the streets of Bandar, people stopping to stare at the strange procession all the while. Breken were common enough, but a Breken leading a group of Maj, two of them women, and both of them armed? Well, that was something else entirely. Had Darius not left the giant wolf behind with Royce, the whole place might have turned out to watch them.
    “Darius, you can’t be serious. Etrafarians? Here? Fairies? I mean, real, live fairies? Admit it, you’re having a laugh at our expense, right? Answer me!” She stopped directly in front of him, placing one hand on her hip and the other on the hilt of her sword.
    Darius took a deep breath before answering, willing himself to be patient, and the crowd around them came to a halt as well, waiting with baited breath for them to continue. The rest of the group all acted as if their attention was diverted elsewhere, but each and every one of them was listening, shamelessly and eagerly, for Darius’s response. “Look, Dearra, I already answered you. Yes, there are indeed fairies here—well, Etrafarians anyway—but I’m not sure your idea of a fairy is going to match too well with the reality. I’ve heard some of those wild tales, and honestly, I would have thought the Maj were above such nonsense.”
    They started walking again. “Tales like what?” Dearra asked.
    “Well, that they have wings, for example. I mean, you can’t really believe that, can you?”
    “Oh, so they can’t fly?” Dearra said, her disappointment clear.
    “Of course they can fly.”
    “But you said they didn’t have wings!”
    “Why can’t you have one without the other? I’ve seen