“Then don’t,” said Violet, hugging him tighter. “You’re safe again, Rory. And I won’t never let no one hurt you like that Mr. Abernathy did. Not ever again. You hear me?” Rory nodded. “Good.” She laid there, her body drained, but her mind still wide awake. With a sigh, she gave Rory’s hair one last kiss before sitting up. “Get some sleep, sweet boy. I’ll go see what’s holding up Mei.” She slunk out of bed, careful not to wake up Sitting Bear, and stepped outside.
“Mei?” she called quietly. “What’s the hitch…?” She spotted the horses, both theirs and their stolen steeds, lined up and tucked away. Except one of them, Huī, was notably missing from the bunch. Violet turned, expecting to see Mei leading him to water, but there was no sign of the massive black stallion anywhere. And in fact, no
