The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Naill’s brows lifted as he blinked slowly. “That was…
impressive.”
My brows knitted. “What was?”
“You just hoisted yourself onto Setti,” Casteel said.
“So?” The corners of my lips turned down.
“You didn’t use the stirrup,” Kieran pointed out as Naill
mounted the horse that Kieran stood beside.
“What?” My frown increased. “Are you sure I didn’t?” I
must have. There would’ve been no way for me to seat
myself on Setti without placing my foot in the stirrup or
without aid. The horse was far too tall for me to have done
that, nor did I have the kind of upper body strength required
for that kind of feat without a nice running start.
And I would’ve probably failed spectacularly.
“You totally didn’t,” Naill confirmed. He stared at me
with a bit of wonder that I figured had more to do with the
fact that I wasn’t a vampry.
“Here.” Casteel stretched up, wiggling his hands. “Get
down here for a moment.”
“I just got myself up here.”
“I know, but this will only take a second.” He wiggled his
fingers again. “I want to see something.”
Sighing, I placed my hands in his and let him lift me off
Setti, who watched us with an air of curiosity. I really hoped
that none of them expected me to seat myself again with all
of them watching. “What?”
Casteel dropped my hands and stepped back. “Hit me.
Hard. Like you mean it.”
My forehead creased. “Why do you want me to hit you?”
Naill folded his arms over the pommel of the saddle.
“That’s a good question.”
“Hit me,” Casteel urged.
“I don’t want to hit you.”
“That would be a first,” he replied, his eyes twinkling in
the sunlight.
“I don’t want to hit you right now,” I amended.