Free Nightblade: A Book of Underrealm (The Nightblade Epic 1) by Garrett Robinson

fear I will lose the use of my legs.”
    Damaris chuckled. “You take to horseback easily, but perhaps you are right. It is not wise to overexert oneself on the first day. But before you dismount, you must try trotting. Gregor.”
    The man rode up. Damaris passed him the reins over the horse’s neck. He seized them in one hand. Loren’s stomach did a somersault.
    “Remember, balance yourself with the horse’s neck.” Damaris stepped away and gave the horse’s haunch a gentle slap.
    The horse broke into a trot, but to Loren it seemed as if the earth had buckled beneath her. She wrapped her legs around the horse’s belly and bent over its back, gripping its coat as hard as she could with both hands. Somehow, she stayed on, but the saddle horn slammed into her stomach until she cried out with the pain.
    Gregor tugged the reins, and both horses came to a swift stop. Loren shook for a moment, unable to move. Finally, she pulled her right foot from the stirrup and swung it over. At the last moment, her left boot caught in its stirrup, and she spilled backward onto the ground. Loren felt her face blushing like a beet.
    Damaris approached, holding out Loren’s bow. “A fair effort, for your first time. Do not be discouraged. No one learns to ride well in an hour, or even a day.”
    “Th-thank you again, my lady. You are too kind. But I think I will walk by the wagons now.”
    Damaris smiled and remounted. “Very well. If you are still with us tomorrow, we will try again.”
    She and Gregor rode off before Loren could explain that she had no intention of leaving. Terrified as she might have been, riding a horse had been a lifelong dream come true. Even as she winced at her aching legs, she envied Damaris as the merchant cantered away.  
    Midday came, and the caravan halted for lunch. They moved so slowly that Loren would have preferred to eat on the road, but of course such a suggestion was not her place. Annis disembarked from her carriage and came to eat with Loren again. She did not enjoy the thought of hunting with her throbbing body, so Loren gratefully accepted the girl’s offer of food.
    “You looked so funny on the horse!” said Annis. “I fared much worse than you on my first day. But then, I was much younger.”
    “I hope to do it again,” said Loren. “I have always wanted a horse of my own.”
    “To roam the land as a wealthy thief,” said Annis, a light growing in her eyes. “Riding from town to town with a bag of gold on your back. It sounds glorious.”
    Loren looked at Annis askance. “I recall speaking no such words. Some might call that a foolish wish, and few would see glory.”
    “Oh, come now,” said Annis, leaning in close and dropping her voice to a murmur. “You cannot fool me. After all that talk of Mennet last night? That is your wish, is it not? To become a great righter of wrongs? I could see the light in your eyes as you spoke.”
    Loren swallowed hard and focused on her food. Fool! She had been too free with her words, and Annis seemed less starry-eyed than Loren had thought.  
    “I desire no such thing. I think Mennet used his skills honorably. But only a fool would seek to win her fortune through thievery.”
    “Or speak so openly about it if she did,” said Annis with a wink. The girl was not half so silly as she seemed, for all her prudishness. “You spoke foolishly indeed, and you should guard your tongue more closely. But I am not fooled by your naysaying. And I may be able to help with your first conquest.”
    Annis reached into a fold in her cloak and withdrew a small leather purse. She tossed it gently in her hand, and Loren heard the clink of coin.
    “What is that?” Loren looked up, frantically scanning for Gregor or one of his guards. But she could not see him, nor did any guard give her a second glance.
    “A purse. The first in a long, fruitful career for the nine lands’ next great thief.”
    The girl thrust it forward with outstretched hands. Loren