The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow (The Guild Codex: Unveiled #3)(7)

Her eyes tightened unhappily as she glanced at the third horse before making notes on her clipboard. I exhaled slowly, hating this. Hating that I’d just sentenced that buckskin to death.

He was scared. Maybe he was in pain. He might be the sweetest horse in the world with extra attention. But Hearts & Hooves Animal Rescue relied entirely on donations and fundraising to rescue horses, and our budget for this auction was small. We had to choose animals with good odds of being adopted by a caring new owner.

When the auction began, the best horses would be bought and sold by ranchers, breeders, and enthusiasts. Those animals didn’t need any help. But as the auction wore on, the horses would get older, thinner, wilder. The buyer pool would shrink. Most people would leave. They’d be long gone by the time the last of the horses were chased into the show pen and herded around, frightened, limping, bony, and weak.

By then, there were only two kinds of buyers left: charities like Hearts & Hooves, desperate to save lives with their limited funds, and the meat buyers, loaded with cash, their semi-trucks parked in the lot and waiting to be stuffed with animals headed for the slaughterhouse.

Dominique pushed her red-framed glasses up her nose, a sheen of sweat on her skin. “We have thirty-seven candidates, then.”

Thirty-seven horses that were in too rough of shape to be bought by a reputable owner but still had a chance of being rescued and rehabilitated—if we bought them instead of the meat buyers.

“How many can we afford?” I asked.

“Depending on how much those soulless bastards drive up the prices …” She bit her lower lip. “Six.”

My hands clenched. I hated this. Hated it, hated it, hated it.

“Thank you for coming, Saber,” Dominique whispered. “I know it’s hard.”

I forced my limbs to relax. “I’m glad I can help.”

Greta and I took turns. Neither of us could handle back-to-back auctions. I had no idea how Dominique could bear it. Yes, we saved a few equine lives every time, but for every horse we saved, we had to watch a dozen more disappear onto the meat trucks.

Usually, Ríkr came with me, but I’d asked him to stay home this time. Now that I knew he had the power to level this whole operation, bringing him along would’ve presented too much temptation.

Side by side, Dominique and I headed toward the auction building. I looked at every horse we passed, doing them the courtesy of acknowledging their existence, their precious lives that so many considered worthless.

“Colby is moving to Ontario,” Dominique said abruptly.

My head swung toward her. “When?”

“Mid-August. He got accepted at the University of Toronto.”

Colby was a frequent volunteer at the rescue. Though he wasn’t the most knowledgeable about farm animals, he always worked hard at whatever we assigned him. We had other volunteers, but their hours were sporadic.

“Good for him,” I mumbled.

She nodded, forcing a smile. “We’ll need someone to make up for his hours.”

Easier said than done. Most volunteers showed up all excited to cuddle baby goats and groom horses, only to discover that the jobs we needed help with weren’t fun. Mucking stalls and scrubbing floors weren’t glamourous and rewarding.

“I was wondering …” Dominique hesitated, peeking sideways at me. “… if Zak might be interested in volunteering?”

Hearing his name out of the blue felt like a punch to the solar plexus—I’d been doing such a good job not thinking about him—but the surprise quickly passed, a frown replacing it. “How do you know his name?”

“Oh.” She smiled uncertainly. “Didn’t he mention it?”

“Mention what?”

“That day when he was waiting for you to get off work for your hiking date—”

Our hiking date? Did she mean when we’d trekked into the mountains to slay the heart-stealing Dullahan before it killed again?

Dominique was still talking. “—introduced himself and asked if he could help with anything. It took me about thirty seconds to realize he knew his way around horses. He’s a hard worker.”

I almost rubbed my hand over my face, remembering at the last second that my palms were covered in dust. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I didn’t realize you didn’t know. I figured he would have told you about it.”

“Did he tell you we’re dating?”

“No.” She touched my arm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

I understood why she’d made that assumption. She’d stumbled upon me and Zak making out like we were seconds from tearing each other’s clothes off, followed by him staying the night, volunteering at the ranch all day, then meeting me for a “hiking date.”

She sighed. “But that’s really a shame, because he’s the hottest stud I’ve ever seen on my ranch.”

I rolled my eyes. “His personality doesn’t match.”

“Really? He wasn’t talkative, but he was excellent with the horses. Gentle and patient.”

Having seen him interact with our horses a few times, I couldn’t disagree.

Since realizing three days ago that Zak had disappeared without a word, my initial reaction had been a furious desire to track him down and give him a piece of my mind. But with no clue where he’d gone and no way to contact him, I couldn’t even try to find him.