Night had already fallen when the truck began to move deeper into what Kael announced was Silver Lake territory. Through the window glass, the moon barely filtered between the trees, lighting just enough for me to make out the silhouettes of stables, barns, and horses enclosed in their paddocks.
There were more than I’d imagined. Dozens, maybe hundreds.
They weren’t hidden, nor silent—they moved, snorted, scraped the ground with their hooves.
Every so often, a lantern would light up their imposing forms—muscular, like living sculptures guarding the path.
“Everyone here learns to ride before they can walk,” Lean said, not turning around, as if reading my thoughts.
His words pulled me from my awe, but not from my astonishment.
“Everyone?”
“Yes. They’re born and raised among horses. In
