"I'll go in the rattler with you," Bran said the next morning, to Nee. Grinning at her, he added, "Probably will rain, and I hate riding horseback in the wet. And we never get enough time together as it is." I looked out at the heavy clouds and the soft mist, thought of that close coach, and said, "I'll ride, then. I don't mind rain--" I looked up, realized who else was riding, and fought a hot tide of embarrassment. "You can go in the coach in my place," I said to Shevraeth, striving to sound polite. He gave his head a shake. "Never ride in coaches. If you want to know the truth, they make me sick. How about a wager?" "A wager?" I repeated. "Yes," he said, and gave me a slow smile, his eyes bright with challenge. "Who reaches Jeriab's Broken Shield in Lumm first." "Stake?" I asked cautiously. He was still smiling, an odd sort of smile, hard to define. "A kiss." My first reaction was outrage, but then I remembered that I was on my way to Court, and that had to be the kind of thing they did at Court. I hesitated only a moment longer, lured by the thought of open sky, and speed, and "Done," I said."