Kaida
Although I was a proficient rider, there was no day I had ever ridden for endless hours at such a grueling pace. It felt like the skin of my inner thighs had completely rubbed off. I couldn’t tell if the slick I felt was sweat or blood. And my muscles. My back was screaming no matter how I tried to shift my weight, and my legs… parts of my body were aching that I didn’t even know existed until today. Behind me, I knew Maggie was also suffering. She was leaning heavily against my back, and every time Gerald the horse took a rough step, she moaned.
“We’ll stop here for the night,” Blackwood announced, pulling his horse to a halt inside a grove of young birch trees. It was a good spot, well hidden from the road, sheltered from the wind, and there was a small spring fed stream nearby.
