Free Hollows 11 - Ever After by Kim Harrison Page B

hand ruefully, clearly having heard us. “Oh,” I said softly, and Jenks snickered, coming to a landing on my saddle horn. Dropping down, he sat cross-legged, his wings glinting and his head drooping in the hot sun.
    With a soft clicking, Ceri encouraged her horse to come even with Trent’s and we went two by two. We were almost to the woods, and I was eager for the shade. “There’s nothing wrong with anonymity if one is the best at their art,” Ceri insisted. “The horse is a born hunter. Let her be.”
    They rode side by side, the girls they shared between them reaching out to touch each other. “If she doesn’t gate tomorrow, I will let her be,” Trent said, reaching across the space to kiss the top of Ceri’s hand in a formal acquiescence.
    Seeing them there, I glanced at Quen. His eyes were tired, but the only other emotion I saw was a fond pleasure that both Ceri and Trent were happy in their familiar but platonic relationship. He was secure in his love for Ceri, and it was obvious that though Ceri liked Trent, her heart belonged to the older man. Somehow it all worked. But even though the girls and their past bound them all together, I was dogged by the feeling that though Trent was a part of this, he would forever be somewhat . . . sidelined. His future demanded so much of him that love was a luxury his fortune couldn’t buy.
    And it bothered me, because I thought he not only knew it but accepted it as normal.
    Smiling with the surety of the devil, Ceri drew her hand from Trent. “I would have a private world with Rachel, Trenton.”
    Jenks opened an eye, and I felt a sliver of concern at her soft confidence. Private word? About what? What had I done now?
    “Just girl talk,” she added, but her tone concerned me. She had something on her mind.
    “Of course.” Trent nudged Tulpa into a faster pace as Ceri drew her mount in.
    I glanced at Quen, worried when his brow pinched. Refusing to look at me, he nudged his horse ahead. Jenks flew up, saying, “You’re on your own,” before he darted off to join the elves.
    “I haven’t done anything,” I muttered, grimacing at his chiming laughter floating back.
    Sighing, I looked over at Ceri, seeing the faint blush of anger on her as we slipped under the welcoming shade of the woods. The path was steep, and we said nothing as the horses scrambled up. Lucy was still in Ceri’s lap, and the little girl was struggling to stay awake. Ahead of us, Trent and Quen rode with soft masculine murmurs drifting between them. Maybe her flush had only been from the sun.
    “Lucy looks sweet today,” I said, and her grip on the reins tightened. Nope. Guess not.
    “Quen told me you refused to help keep Trenton safe,” she said, coming right out with it.
    My breath caught, and then I exhaled. Yeah, I probably owed her an explanation. “Trent doesn’t need me to babysit him,” I said, voice low. “And I won’t insult him by doing so.”
    Her eyes widened. “Insult him? Rachel, we are teetering on the brink of extinction and you’re worried that extra security will insult him?”
    Lucy shouted, her voice echoing against the underside of the canopy as she mirrored Ceri’s outburst. Wincing, I begged her with my eyes to lower her voice.
    “His actions impact our entire species,” Ceri said.
    “Yes, but—”
    “They’re all looking to him now. Reclaiming Lucy solidified his standing. If he dies, it will be the Withons who chart the next fifty years, and they’d have us hiding in closets and cropping our ears again!”
    I couldn’t even catch her eye. I think Quen was laughing, the bastard.
    “We can’t survive another five decades hiding. We must come out, and Trenton needs protection. You think the vampires are happy about this?”
    “No,” I managed to get in.
    “You think anyone is? You are a demon!” she shouted, and I flinched, looking up the path where Trent and Quen plodded along. Jenks rose up amid a sparking of gold dust and darted off at