“But I wasn’t there, and Sasha only thought about having two more splendid horses in her life. She couldn’t have been happier. She spent three or four days at Rossi’s farm and settled the mare and stallion beautifully before she went back to the circus. Even those high-strung, wild Niseans loved her. That’s why Rossi wanted her back when the mare was about to give birth.” Her lips tightened. “That’s when Chaos came into her life. I should never have taken her back to Rossi’s horse farm. It was the worst thing I could have done. I should have found a way to keep her away from him.”

“And you had a crystal ball that told you that? Not likely. Which brings us back to square one. You’ve practically given me the entire history of Chaos and his ancestors, which was interesting enough, but not really first on my agenda. Why is it so urgent that you get Sasha away from Masenak before the race with Chaos?”

“Because of what Chaos can do and what he is. Why else would I tell you all that stuff if it wasn’t important? I could see that Masenak knew how good he is when he was talking to Reardon. He wasn’t being cocky as Reardon might have thought. He was excited. He must have forced Sasha to show him just how fast Chaos is.”

“And how fast is he?”

“Very. Remarkable. The last time I visited her at St. Eldon’s, he was tearing up the roads at blinding speed—and that was in the hill country.”

“Comparison?”