“Sure. Davidow doesn’t like to report problems to Masenak. He said he had no objection to making me work harder if Masenak and Reardon gave their okay.”

“How much harder will you have to work? You don’t need the care of another horse on your plate right now.”

“I don’t have any choice. I want Gilroy to have as much access to this stable as I can give him, and it won’t be safe unless I can keep everyone else away. Besides, Nightshade won’t be any trouble. She’s no Chaos. She’s a beautiful, splendid thoroughbred, but well trained and almost too well behaved.” She added wearily, “Though perhaps I’m just telling myself that. Anything I do to give Gilroy access might not matter now that Reardon and his people are here. Things are changing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up.”

“Not for you.” She had to clear her tight throat. “You’re riding high and knocking everyone out of your way. Can’t you see that? Just what you’ve told me today should let you know that no one is ever going to take you down.”

Sasha didn’t speak for a moment; then suddenly she chuckled. “Yeah, I did pretty good handling Davidow. I don’t believe anyone could have done it better.” She added thoughtfully, “But it still might be better if Gilroy doesn’t come unless I really need him. It’s a risk for him. Maybe I just wanted him here because I felt so alone. You can’t feel alone if Gilroy is around.”

“No, you can’t, but Gilroy wouldn’t be there just to hold your hand so stop pushing him away. It’s what you’ve done ever since I saw you riding Zeus in that circus ring.”

“And then you stuck around and wouldn’t go away until you taught me not to do it,” she said softly. “Though I still forget and fall back sometimes. But then I remember you’re somewhere out there, and maybe if I let the world in now and then, it won’t be all that bad.”

But Sasha had seen so much that was bad in these last months, Alisa thought with aching pity. Yet she had faced it with incredible strength and endurance. “No, there are so many beautiful things in this world. You showed me a lot of them. The birth of that magnificent foal, how to ride through the hills and feel as I was part of everything around me, all the explorations, all the silences, all the words…We found them together. We’ll keep on finding them when this is over. We just have to hold on and not let all this ugliness surrounding us make us forget to reach out and take the joy that’s there.” Her voice was unsteady. “Okay? Is it a deal?”

“Don’t be silly. Of course it’s a deal.”