14
When Nanja left her cabin after breakfast the next morning, Ron stood with Ravenblack again.
“Captain, you granted me leave.” He stroked the horse and looked stubbornly into its eyes as she stopped next to him. “Is that still valid?”
He was going to leave! Nanja studied him from the side, but his face didn’t reveal what he was thinking. The bond between them was gone.
“The race is over.” She didn’t want to let him go; not now that they soon returned to the Floating Islands. He should meet Tiruman. She wanted to see if he handled dragons as easily as his horses. Maybe he’d find a new home there.
“But the horses still exist.” He patted Ravenblack’s neck. “I want to teach Wribald how to deal with them.”
That was reasonable and for the good will that Wribald had shown, he had earned t
