Zach drew a deep breath and narrowed his eyes against the wind as he soared across fields, meadows, rivers, and villages. He hadn’t the words to describe how marvelous it felt to stretch his wings and truly soar for the first time since childhood. His flying was rusty, but each day he felt more comfortable with the Horsemen’s natural domain, the sky.

He’d never imagined air could smell so fresh, that water could feel so clean, and food could taste so delicious. Why had it taken so long for him and the other miners trapped in the Vertue Mountains to rebel?

“Great day for flying!” shouted Terra, a black-haired, blue-eyed Horseman who flew in beside him. Being a Fighting Carrier, Terra was elite among Horsemen. Not only did Fighting Carriers undergo the treacherous journeys to the frigid Spikelands and the sweltering tropics to harvest Rock Blood, but they were skilled warriors. Horsemen and humans alike respected them, and for the first time, Zach shared that respect. If it hadn’t been for his friends Terra, Moor and Moor’s wife, Susana, he and dozens of other slaves would still be suffering in the mines.

“Any day is a great day for flying!” Zach replied.

After so many years harnessed and in chains, breaking his back hauling rock and metal beneath the lash of slavers’ whips, any freedom was priceless, though somewhat daunting. Now that he was free, how would he blend with society? While others had learned professions and built families, Zach had nothing. Even the few articles of clothing folded into the leather bag slung across his bare chest had been supplied by Terra and Moor. Clothes hadn’t been necessary in the mines. Horsemen’s wings and testicles had been pierced with metal hoops attached to short chains that kept them from flying and shifting shape. During rare occasions when the weather grew cold, the Horsemen’s full-coat kept them warm. Most of the time they suffered in unbearable heat harmful to humans, let alone Horsemen with their high body temperature. The slavers stole Horsemen children—or full-grown Horsemen, if possible—and used them to dig and haul for profit.

With the maze-like structure of the Vertue Mountains, the scattered mines were nearly impossible to find—not that many people even bothered to look with the StoneSnakes that crept through the territory. The creatures were large and strong enough to squeeze the life out of a bull and swallow it whole. Zach had seen it happen. It had been a favorite punishment of the slavers when he was a child, to force him to watch a captive StoneSnake feed on livestock, then threaten to toss him in, should he not conform. When he was very young, fear had kept him from trying to escape.

As years passed, he grew beyond fear and had taken every chance to flee. He’d torn his hands bloody breaking chains only to be struck with poison arrows that rendered him unconscious before he set a hoof out of the mines. Beatings had followed, so severe he’d often collapsed while hauling loads. Instead of rest, his lack of strength had brought him more lashings. He’d learned to bury his spirit and desires and put his mind and back to work.

In truth, he didn’t mind the hauling. Part of him almost liked it. Some of the older miners had often praised his Highland blood. Highland Horseman were known for their superior size and strength. They boasted many of the best farmers and builders in the world. Their man-half was skilled in architecture and excellent with their hands, while their equine-half was built to haul heavy loads and plow the toughest ground.

Fighting Carriers were known the world over for their speed and endurance during long flights, but even the strongest Carrier couldn’t haul like a Highlander. Zach kept that thought in mind as he watched Terra and Moor race ahead and circle back to engage him in some friendly conversation. There was no way he could fly as fast or as long as those Carriers, but he knew damn well that neither possessed his brute strength. Strength was all he had to sustain him in the world he was entering. He’d get a job on a farm—or maybe in a legitimate mine—and earn enough for his own home. Maybe he could actually have a life.

Moor, a brown-haired Horseman with a sleek coat a bit lighter than Zach’s, flew to his other side. “Our village is just ahead. You’ll like Hornview.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“I know there are a few humans who’d love to hire you,” Moor continued. “Especially now during the summer. There are several farmers and woodchoppers who can use the extra hands. Most of them would be willing to board, I’m sure.”

“In the meantime, you can stay with me and Inez for as long as you want,” Terra said.

“Had our cottage not been wrecked during the storm while we were away, you would have been welcome to stay with me and Susana. Right now we’re both stuck in her old room in the Chieftain’s longhouse until repairs can be made on our place.” Moor looked disgusted. “As if we haven’t had enough trouble lately.”

“At least we’re free of the mines,” Zach said. “And I won’t stay with you for long, Terra. I don’t want to impose.” Zach knew Terra and his wife, Inez, had married less than two years ago and had a baby. The last thing they needed was a houseguest. Not only that, Zach knew Terra and Inez, like Moor and his wife, had met through dream sharing—a magic that had touched his life too closely of late. For the past few weeks, even during his time in the mines, dreams of Sophia had plagued him, allowing him neither restful nights nor peace of mind. He thought the mines had destroyed his emotions, but the love he felt for her was agonizing in its intensity. The desire to track her down and claim her as his own was like a fist twisting his gut, but he couldn’t. Not now. What did he have to offer anyone? Even when he earned enough to provide a decent home, he feared the mines had hardened him too much to give a woman the caring she deserved. Deep inside, he might desire and love her, but how could he bring himself to express it?

Terra interrupted his thoughts as he continued, “It’ll be no problem. When I told Inez you were coming, she said she’d be glad to board the man who headed the rebellion that freed so many miners.”

“It was Moor who stirred us up enough to rebel.”

“I had to. It was our only way out. If it hadn’t been for you, though, Zach, I’d be dead!” Moor called. “I couldn’t believe my nephew and I got captured in the first place. I’m sure his parents were thrilled when he arrived at home.”

“It’s the poison. That’s how they get most of their slaves.”

“All that matters is you and the other slaves were freed,” Terra said. “There it is. Home!”