South of Surrender (Hearts of the Anemoi) Read Online Free PDF

keep moving, Laney . There was a landline at the end of the barn she could use.
    She moved along the railing, and the cuts on the back of her calf pulled with every step. Chrys’s soft treads followed just behind her, like he was prepared to catch her should her legs give out. The hair on the back of her neck raised. Who the hell was this guy and what did he want?
    And why didn’t she feel as fearful as she thought she should? Being blind, hurt, and alone with a strange man didn’t exactly put her in a position of power.
    A man who was a horse.
    Laney groaned and paused next to an occupied stall, her breathing coming a little harder. “Hi, Windy,” she murmured to the colt, the horse’s presence making her feel more grounded, less alone. Gathering her resolve, she continued on to Sappho’s, where she had to rest again. The mare pressed her muzzle into Laney’s uninjured hand and nickered. “Nothing to worry about here, baby.” Sappho shook her head, as if disagreeing, and pushed her big, elegant nose against Laney’s side, making her stumble a step away from Chrys. She grunted at the quick movement. “Hey, what was that for?”
    “I don’t think your horse likes me,” came the strange man’s low voice.
    “She’s protective of me.” A noise caught her attention. In the distance, tires tore up her long stone driveway. Seth’s truck, if she wasn’t mistaken. Years of relying on them for information about her world made her ears especially sensitive. Relieved as she was that Seth had arrived, she mentally prepared for the massive freak-out likely to happen when he saw her injuries. Blowing out a shaky breath, she said, “I think the cavalry has arrived.”

Chapter Four
    The barn felt suddenly still. That odd gold light shined in front of her and a warmth caressed her face, then both were gone. “Chrys?” She turned around. “Chrys?”
    What the hell is happening?
    “Chrys,” she said again, louder. Behind her, Sappho nickered. She was totally losing it. Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes. “Please answer me.” She scanned her nearly useless vision over the space. The light and the man were gone, as far as she could see and hear. She was alone.
    Truly alone, this time.
    The roar of the engine in Seth’s big pickup drew closer and the strange events of the past twelve hours weighed down on her.
    Laney’s head spun and her injuries left her shaky. Her knees went soft, and she leaned against the front of Sappho’s stall. The horse chuffed at her like she was concerned.
    Hot tears gathered and Laney looked to the ceiling to force them away. Had she imagined the whole thing? If she had… She batted away an escapee tear. If she didn’t hold it together, Seth would go all Papa Bear when he saw her.
    The truck’s tires crunched over the gravel and finally came to a halt near the open barn door. His footsteps seemed to retreat, as if he was heading up to the house.
    “Seth?” she said, but her voice cracked. She cleared it and called again. “Seth?”
    Outside, his pace halted, then quickened into a run. “Laney?” The hard soles of his boots tore into the gravel and finally echoed off the barn’s concrete floor. “Sonofa— What happened? Are you okay?” He hovered over her.
    “Seth,” she whispered, a sob suddenly lodging in her throat.
    Calloused fingers cradled her injured hand. “I knew something was wrong. Damnit. Where else are you hurt?”
    “The back of my leg,” she said, his familiar presence calming her. Seth had always been like the older brother she never had. No, more than that. A true friend. Someone who got her, who understood what was important to her. Someone she could rely on for anything.
    He moved around her, examining her wounds. “How did this happen?”
    “The barn.” Laney pointed toward the far end of the stable. “The roof. In the storm,” she managed.
    “Why didn’t you call me? And why the hell did you try to walk in the debris on your own?”
    “Any