Read Online Dianthe's Awakening by J.B. Miller - Free Book Online

trifling at times.
    I could not hold back the chuckle when Nightmare took a careful step and she shrieked, grabbing the reigns and his mane for dear life. Dia still managed to glare at me while wrapping her arms around Nightmare’s neck. It was so comical I had to turn away before I embarrassed her more than she already was.
    "Cernunnos," she yelled. "I know you're laughing at me. I will get you back! You have to sleep some time you know." The noise of her screams annoyed Nightmare enough that his ears went back and he turned his head to nip at her.
    "Damn it," she swore. "That freaking hurt. Okay I get it, owwww," she quieted, rubbing her thigh while she sat up in the saddle again. "Sorry," she said softly. "I didn’t mean to hurt your ears. Will you forgive me if I promise not to yell at his greatness while I'm on your back from now on?"
    I noticed she hadn’t promised not to yell at me at all. It was enough for Nightmare though and he whinnied his forgiveness.
    The girl did not even realize she had threatened a god. She glared at me once more before putting all her concentration on what Brónach was teaching her. What was I going to do with her?
    *****
     
    Dia
     
    "I'm on a horse. Oh God, I'm on a freaking real life horse, Brónach. By myself, oh man this is so freaking cool," I laughed. I was scared but exhilarated at the same time. I had never been on a horse by myself before. He was so big that it seemed I was miles up. I turned my head to glance at Brónach. "I'm riding a horse!"
    "You are sitting on Nightmare, Dia. You are hardly riding him," she smiled indulgently. "Shall we see if you can stay on if he's moving?"
    "What," I began. "No wait, I'm not ready for that. This is huge right here. Haven’t you ever heard of baby steps, Bró?" She wouldn’t listen to me though.
    "You will be fine, Dia. Hold the reins as you were shown and grip with your legs. Nightmare will do all the work today, will you not?" she turned to the horse.
    He nodded his head, nearly pulling the reins loose from my grip. Nightmare turned to me and flicked his ears as if saying "Ready?" Ummm, that would be no. Unfortunately, he took that decision away and began to move. The first careful steps nearly unseated me. Why did it look so easy on TV? You see those guys jump on their mighty steeds and gallop away. Did they glue their bums in? That was definitely false advertising.
    I tightened my legs and turned my grasp on the reins into a death grip. "Okay, boy, we can do this. Just don’t let me fall, agreed?" Nightmare rolled his eyes at me as if saying "Lighten up, silly human" and carefully began to walk in a large circle.
    After several minutes of not landing on the hard hard ground, I loosened up my hold on the reign. "Hey, Brónach," I shouted. "I'm riding a horse. How cool am I?" Yeah, I could do this , I thought. Watch out world, here comes Dia, a mighty rider of the wild hunt.
    Brónach called back with an eyebrow raised. "Excellent, Dia, now all you have to do is lead your mount and not allow him to lead you."
    "What do you mean?" I shouted again. Oops, forgot Nightmare didn’t like that. He turned to me with a vengeful look in his eyes and his walk turned into a canter. The freaking ground was closer than it looked but definitely just as hard as it looked. After a few moments of stunned shock, matching golden eyes met. "Ouch, you big brute, that hurts." I held up a hand in surrender. "I get it though, no shouting."
    "Unless you are in battle," Brónach casually added. "Then battle cries are expected. Otherwise, it is confusing. Why would you be screaming if you were not enraged or in need of help." She shook her head. "Really, Dia, you are very like a child. Do not worry though," she added hastily at my mutinous look. "You practically are a child. I will teach you all that you need to know. Before you know it, you will be an outstanding rider."
    "Yeah thanks," I grumbled. "In the meantime, I think I broke my butt." Brónach reached