Maya stormed out of the chamber and hurried down the spiral staircase. Castle Saltgale was built in an open-air design, with large rooms connected by arches and balconies. Windows with views over the white tips of Caeli’s Spine, the gray waters of the Gray Sea, and the red roofs of the city below, made every room look like an exquisite art gallery.

A guard patrol stomped by, and Maya hid in the alcove behind the statue of an old king. The echoes of hammering steel boots filled the halls. They were all heading for the lower levels of the castle.

As soon as the patrol was out of sight, Maya headed in the opposite direction. She had been to the castle many times, and she’d always wanted to know what it was like, sliding down the railings of the many staircases. A couple of balding scribes turned their heads in disbelief as she swished by.

Finally, Maya found her way down to the bottommost floor of the castle. A single guard blocked the last door.

“Hey there, handsome,” Maya said and licked her lips. “You seem to be someone who’s good with the ladies if you get what I mean?”

“Who in Shift Lake are you?” the guard said and blinked a few times.

“I was just wondering… I’ve heard that Caeli women are flexible… but can they do this?”

She somersaulted backward and kicked in the visor of the guard’s helmet. It buckled under her steel heel and stopped the guard both from seeing and taking it off.

The guard roared angrily and swung his halberd in wide arcs in front of him. Maya dodged and rolled past him, snatching the keyring. She kicked him in the back, and he fell over with a clang of metal hitting stone.

Well on the other side of the door, Maya relocked it and laughed at the guard banging his fists and shouting in frustration. The royal guards weren’t bad warriors at all, but they weren’t equipped to deal with someone as agile and slippery as her. She’d never really understood the point of heavy armor; it just made you clumsy and slow. She hung the key ring on the door handle and strolled down the corridor.

A smell of hay and horse dung filled the air. Soon a stable unfolded before her eyes. Mighty steeds in white and brown were chewing hay and ogling her in surprise. To the sound of nervous neighing, Maya followed the path, sometimes stopping to pet and feed the animals.

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Maya had always loved horses and had wanted one growing up. It wasn’t until she completed her first job that she’d had the money to buy one. She remembered the look on Bryne’s face when she marched past the tavern and went straight to the stables.

The horse she bought was a white mare with black spots. She didn’t have much money, and it was the cheapest one they had. It only wanted to sleep and refused to leave the stable. It tried to kick the stable owner and probably would’ve bitten Maya if she’d been close enough. She remembered his words clearly, ‘Some horses aren’t meant for riding.’

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Those words proved to be true, and after a full day of futility, she finally decided to release the horse into the wild. It had no place in human society anyway.

‘Shouldn’t you at least name her?’ Bryne said, sipping on a large bottle of cognac. ‘How about Daisy-drake? Because she looks like a cow and has the temper of a small dragon!”

After the gruesome task of leading the reluctant horse out of the city, Maya finally released it on the steppes outside of Rustwood. She removed the bridle and shook her head. She didn’t feel like it was her place to name it.

They watched the horse take its first gallop across the swaying yellow landscape dry grass. The wind in its mane, the thundering of its hooves, and its exhilarating speed – it was fantastic. Then something strange happened as the horse rode off into the blinding beams of the setting sun.

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Maya stopped in front of the last stall in the stable.

“Hi there, Apricot,” she said and fed a carrot to the beige stallion. “Fancy a ride?”

Soon Maya had left Castle Saltgale and Oceanpeak behind and traveled north along the coast. At the crossroads to Port Cyan and Redgate, she left the trail and rode toward the icy peak of Mt. Witherstone.

The tiny villages with thatched roofs and chalk-white walls reminded her of home. She hadn’t seen her mother in almost five years. Maybe once she had taken care of this, she’d pay her a visit.

The grazing grounds and wheat fields turned into barren highland. A lonely eagle cruised the pristine blue depths of the sky above. By the side of a mountain stream, Maya stopped to let the horse drink.

“Once you’re done, return home,” she said and started walking along the stream.

Despite the summer heat, patches of snow hid in the shadows of the massive boulders that adorned the hillside. Maya made it all the way to a waterfall before stopping. Few people visited these parts of the country. The meager soil and harsh winters made agriculture impossible, and the lack of forests would make any hunter leave without a second glance.

The rocks felt familiar under her grip as she scaled the side of the waterfall. Maya had been here before, but it was a long time ago now.

Above the waterfall was a plateau with grass and a single big oak tree. The flourishing green was a strange sight compared to the washed-out gray soil and the black stubble of thistles of the highland.

Maya bent down and cupped her hands to drink from the stream. The mountain water felt like liquid ice in her throat – cool and refreshing. From up here she had a view over the entire western expanse of Caeli – The Gray Sea and the white spires of Oceanpeak; the ancient forests of Limoran and the Blue Maw Mountain Range, which separated Caeli from Ignis in the south; The Seven Lakes and the fjords of The Eastern Crags – it was a view that left her breathless every time.

A shadow fell over her, and in the wobbly reflection of the stream, she saw the shape of a white horse with black spots. Maya turned around. The massive wings that sprouted from its flanks always made her stare in awe. She had a hard time believing this Pegasus was the same horse she had set free on the steppes of Rustwood and watched it fly into the sunset.

“Sorry to bother you,” Maya said and held out her hand in a gesture of peace, “But I need your help again.”

It looked at her, its eyes dark and grave.

“A friend is in trouble,” she said and produced a lock of vanilla hair as proof. “She’s a Caelian; I know you like them.”

The horse scraped its hooves against the grass and snorted. It turned around and started walking away.

“Please!” Maya said and then pulled up her sleeve to reveal the red scorpion on her wrist. “Do you remember this? Do you remember Ryze?”

The horse halted, and its ears suddenly pointed backward.

“I think he’s still alive, and I need to stop him. I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t urgent. I promise this is the last time I’ll ever disturb you. Please?”

The horse looked at her with its piercing black eyes. Then it took a reluctant step forward and lowered itself enough to let Maya climb up.

“Do you know the way to Lockhart Bay?”