Read Obsidian Eyes for Free Online Page B

and heat?” Allie asked, only half joking. “The horses. They’re small, sleek and incredibly fast. They flow over the sand like water.” She leaned her elbows on the table and lost herself thinking of Arabian equines.
    “When the desert tribes bring the horses to market, the first thing you see is the dust cloud. The sand is so fine, it hangs in the air. It becomes a marker trail for hundreds of hooves as they swarm over the dunes. As they approach Cairo, you can make out the herd. The alpha mare is always out front, leading the way, the stallion at the back. Their bodies stretched out in the gallop. The way the sun gleams off their coats makes them look metallic, as though they’re not real. You think they are a mirage thrown up by the desert. You wait, holding your breath, expecting them to all dissolve back into the sand.” Allie stopped, painfully aware of the familiar ache in her heart, pulling her down into darkness.
    Eloise nudged her back into the present. “You know Soiron loves it when you two go out for a gallop.”
    “You have a horse here?” Jared asked with interest.
    “No, only nobles are allowed to keep horses in the stables.” Allie reminded him of their different stations and managed to keep the hurt from her words. “But Eloise has been kind enough to let me exercise her mare and I have loved having her company these last few weeks.” Her friend’s generous loan of her horse had touched Allie. “But now the term has started, won’t you want her back?”
    Eloise snorted. “Not likely. Horses and I don’t mix. They’re too independent and they never seem to go in the direction I tell them to.”
    Zeb looked up at Eloise and blinked as though seeing her for the first time. “Well, we are in agreement on that, Eloise. Horses might be necessary at times for transportation, but I have some ideas that will hopefully make them redundant. I cannot comprehend Jared’s fascination for riding every day.”
    Allie laughed and, looking up, met Jared’s gaze. He wore a similar smile. Not everyone understood the escape found on horseback, but his grin told her that he did. It was something they shared and another piece she added to the impression she built of him.
    “Perhaps we could ride out, one afternoon?” he asked.
    “So you can lure me away from school grounds to continue your interrogation about why I am here and where I have come from?” She tried to suppress the laughter in her voice. Given Marshall used to work in military intelligence, his attempts to extract her history were painfully obvious. Failing to follow the example of his master, Jared employed all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But, when one was born and raised in a guild, dealing in secrets and information was absorbed through one’s skin.
    Jared gave her a wide smile that made her stomach churn. “Has Marshall’s military intelligence training not been up to par?”
    “Well, military intelligence is an oxymoron. But yes, try to be more subtle about it.”
    He gave an easy laugh. “You could just tell me your history?”
    “Where would be the fun in that?” She picked up a bread roll and shredded it, popping the pieces into her mouth. She chewed and considered her next words. “Perhaps though, we could consider a truce? If I promise not to start any fights or steal anything in front of you, will you stop pacing behind me like a nervous prison guard?”
    He met her gaze, an unfathomable gleam in their depths. “I might have to hang around more, to keep you on your best behaviour.”
    Allie paused. Part of her brain warned her to keep her distance from him. Another part wanted to nudge her closer. “That’s up to you, but I doubt your fiancée will be happy with that arrangement.”
    His scowl came back. Allie was quickly learning what buttons to push to wind him up. “She’s not my fiancée. Nothing is official yet.”
    “What do you call her then?” Allie was curious to know how he labelled the