He Forced Me to Confess, I Protected My Horse

Chapter 3 No Way Out

Gale obeyed at once, pressing its body against the loose plank beneath the vent. Using the horse's weight for leverage, I forced the panel open. Poisoned air rushed out through the gap, and the suffocating fumes inside the stable finally began to thin.

I shouted toward the window, my throat raw.

"Tristan, have you forgotten what happened last year? You fell during the race, and Gale threw itself between you and the railing so the other horses wouldn't trample you to death. This horse saved your life, and now you're pumping poison gas in here? Throwing chili powder at us? You're trying to kill both of us!"

For a split second, silence answered me. Then Tristan's voice came back colder than before. "Stop using the horse to manipulate me. Sign the papers, or stay in there and rot with it."

One of his men hurried over. "Sir, the gas concentration's dropping. Looks like Rosalind found the vent."

Tristan's jaw tightened. For the first time, he seemed to realize I was not as helpless as he had assumed.

Camille immediately shrieked, "Don't listen to her! She won't last much longer. Dump the rest of the powder in!"

Not content with suffocating us, Tristan had several industrial amplifiers dragged outside the stable. Moments later, the air exploded with the screech of grinding metal and the savage barking of wild dogs.

The noise tore straight through my skull.

Already panicked, Gale completely lost control at the sound of the dogs. It bolted wildly around the stable, hooves crashing against the floorboards as it circled in terror. Twice it reared so violently I nearly got kicked.

Then Tristan's voice blasted through the speakers, thick with menace. "Rosalind, don't try anything stupid. My men are surrounding the stable. Even if you get that vent open, you won't make it ten feet."

He paused before delivering the final threat. "I'm giving you five more minutes. Sign the papers, or I'll tear the doors down and release the dogs. They'll rip Tempest's throat open first, and then they'll start on you."

My vision blurred. Fragments of the past flashed through my mind like shattered pieces of glass.

Tristan and I standing beside Gale on the championship podium while he hung the gold medal around my neck.

Stormy nights spent in the stable together, the three of us huddled close while Gale and Tempest shared warm oats from the same bucket.

Every memory hurt.

I had dragged Gale into the racing world for Tristan's sake. Gale had carried him to countless victories. It had even saved his life. And now none of it mattered. Not compared to Camille's whims.

I wrapped both arms tightly around Gale's neck, pressing my face against its trembling mane.

"Don't be afraid," I whispered. "I'm here. I won't let those dogs touch you."

Then I raised my voice again. "Tristan, this is Gale! Are you really going to kill it? Don't do something you'll regret!"

His answer came without hesitation. "If you want to save Tempest, sign the papers."

The gas thickened around us. Every breath felt like inhaling through crushed stone.

Gale staggered unsteadily, but even then, it kept nudging me deeper into the stable with its head, trying to push me farther from the door and farther from the dogs outside. It was protecting me. Even now.

I knew I had run out of time. Grabbing the pen with shaking fingers, I signed my name across the documents.

"I signed them!" I shouted hoarsely. "Tristan, open the door!"

Following his instructions, I shoved the papers through the narrow window. The moment he confirmed the signatures, a violent metallic crash echoed overhead.

I looked up sharply. Several planks on the roof had been ripped away.

Tristan appeared above us, staring down through the opening. In his hands was a metal bucket filled with clear liquid. Even from below, the sharp chemical smell made my blood run cold.

"Tristan…" I stumbled backward, pulling Gale with me. "What are you doing?"

The stable was too small. Once we retreated beside the water trough, there was nowhere left to run.

Tristan said nothing. He simply tipped the bucket. The liquid came crashing down over Gale's back. Some of it splashed across my pants, instantly setting my skin on fire.

It was alcohol, high-concentration alcohol. Mixed with the chili powder, it burned like acid the moment it touched flesh.

Gale let out a scream so agonized it barely sounded alive. The horse reared violently, its hooves slamming against the wooden rails hard enough to splinter them. Its once-gentle eyes had turned bloodshot with pain.

Frantic, Gale rubbed itself against the walls, desperately trying to scrape the liquid away. But the more it struggled, the farther the alcohol spread across its body. Its mane quickly became soaked flat against its skin, revealing patches of raw, reddened flesh beneath.

I reached out instinctively to touch its back. The instant my fingertips brushed the drenched mane, I jerked away in pain, as though I had touched a live flame.

The alcohol evaporated rapidly, driving the chili powder deep into every pore. My skin burned so fiercely I could barely breathe.

I rushed to the water trough and splashed water onto Gale's wounds. The moment the water hit, Gale convulsed violently. Its scream ripped straight through me.

Still, I forced myself to keep going. But it was too late. The alcohol had already seeped deep into the flesh. The air filled with the sickening smell of scorched hair.

Above us, Camille leaned through the opening with a delighted smile.

"Tristan, that's not enough," she said sweetly. "Light a match. Turn the whole stable into an oven. Roast both of them alive. Wouldn't that smell amazing?"

"And with the chili powder mixed into the fire…" She laughed softly. "It'll be even more delicious."

Tristan lifted the bucket again and continued pouring alcohol into the stable. I threw myself in front of Gale, using my own body to shield it from the stream.