The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,92

rope. That would scare them. Instead, I just made my way closer as if I was sure they would accept me, so they did.

Because that was how unicorns worked. Moving too fast would startle them. It was too close to the attacks the trees made when trying to get a meal. Moving too slow would put them on high alert. It was too similar to how meat-eaters would hunt them, trying to attack with surprise. This? Walking up to them as if I was a true member of the herd? They understood it.

When I was three paces away, the young one rolled onto its belly, angling its horn toward me. I simply kept my eyes on the ground beside it, but I didn't stop. Not until I was close enough for the beast to skewer my leg. Once it let out a sigh, I knew it had relaxed again, so I reached down to touch the crest of its neck and started pushing aether into it.

The unicorn tensed, flicking both of its ears forward. For a moment, I thought it would get up, but it simply relaxed again, realizing that my touch felt good. I only wished that I could tell it that it felt just as nice to me. The silky hair was smooth beneath my fingers, and its unkempt mane was coarse, but I could feel the cables of the muscles along its neck, proving this was no weak animal.

As if the young one's reaction was all the proof the rest of the small herd needed, they began to lower their heads and graze again. The grass on Tyrnigg was safe to eat. It didn't seem to be the best-tasting, but it hadn't evolved to fight back. And in here, there was nothing but dappled shadows and ankle-high grass. No threats except for me.

When the youngest one looked a little brighter, I let go and reached for a female who'd come close to see what I was doing. She flinched at my movement, and then reached out her long neck to sniff my hand. When I felt her muzzle tickle my knuckles, I dared to reach just a bit more so I could pet her once. She bobbed her head at the new sensation, and then rubbed her nose against my hand a little harder.

So I gave her a little of the life Sia had stolen. This one was the whitest, and the way she snorted as she pressed into me seemed to be some kind of sign for the rest. The entire herd moved closer, but in that lazy way that unicorns had. They all grazed, but each step carried them my way, their ears all turned in my direction.

"She didn't mean to hurt you," I said softly, still in my own language. "I don't think she even knew you were here. You see, the woman I love..." I lifted my hand to reach for the shoulder of a third unicorn. "She got hurt. She died and came back. Doing that is what made you all hurt, but it was an accident. She would never hurt you." I stroked the female's shoulder. "She thinks you're beautiful."

Then the male pushed his way in, breaking my contact with the female. Without hesitation, I stroked his neck. "Like you, I have to take care of my lovers first. That is our job, isn't it?" I shifted my hand to scratch the spot just under his mane. "Being the strong one means we have to let them come first, even more than the other things we care about."

He snorted and walked away, leaving me three more to help. The pinkish-colored one warned me off with its horn, but I ignored it. We both knew I was stronger, so it couldn't hurt me. That was nothing more than her attempt to let me know she didn't trust me yet, but when my hand slid across her shoulder, sharing the aether I'd just reaped for her, she relaxed completely.

"People do not understand things that fight first," I told her, making her ear flick toward my voice. "They think it is cruel or angry. I don't. You are too beautiful to be either one. You are just trying to survive. Death is a scary thing. When I picked up my Muse, I thought she was gone. I thought I would never see her smile again, so I understand. It scares me too, so I don't blame you for fighting first."

The pale pink, nearly white