my sister and niece get home, I’m good without knowing the particulars. What I do want to know more about, however, is why they were after me.
“So about those fairies…” I said, unsure of where to even begin.
Eliph’s jaw hardens at the reminder of my attackers, his amethyst gaze flickering with unspent anger. That he’s still wound up is pretty surprising considering that I got a good look at the fairy before he was hauled off by a pair of goblins. He had been all kinds of messed up. The large bloodstains seeping through his clothes from where the unicorn’s horn made contact were bad enough, but seeing the ruin of his broken wings on the floor had been a clear testimony to the violence of Eliph’s attack. One would think that would be enough, but it’s as if he would like nothing better than to tear the wings off that fairy all over again.
This wrecks my childhood fantasies of unicorns as sweet, peaceful creatures of the woodlands. The childish part of me wants to scowl and throw a fit over it, despite the more reasonable part of me pointing out the fact that real unicorns wouldn’t be as perfect as legend tells it. It makes sense that a horn would be more than just a magical head ornament. After all, most horned creatures use their horns defensively on some occasions, as far as I’m aware. And Eliph has a very long spear of a horn that would be quite handy in taking out a threat.
Even as I recognize that, I can’t seem to quite squelch the protest that rises unbidden within me at the thought of it.
“Fairies,” Eliph sighs after a tense moment. “A problem I had not considered,” he admits. “Unicorns have kept to our own over the last few centuries. I do not think any of us realized just how much the fairy courts had corrupted their own bloodlines. Apparently, it is now at the point that they are dependent on infusing themselves with magic from outside sources.”
“And so they eat you?” I surmise as I try not to gag.
He shakes his head.
“Only a fool would go after a mature unicorn stallion. We are dangerous and notoriously hard to kill. But Grimsal here has informed me that they specifically keep watch for vulnerable, unprotected foals and mares.”
“And they can just get away with it?” I demand.
He meets the outrage in my tone with a megawatt smile, but I just narrow my eyes at him. This is bullshit. How could the unicorns not know and defend themselves if there’s a legitimate threat out there?
“I see you, Ahandral,” he murmurs in a velvety voice that has my heart speeding for entirely other reasons than the very real danger I’m in, “and I understand your frustration. I want to demand answers too, to root out how we could possibly have missed such a dire threat. In the end, however, I know that any lack of knowledge on our part isn’t so much a matter of letting evil go unpunished, but rather a matter of distance.”
I make a skeptical grunt at his observation, but he hastens to explain.
“Whatever you think you know… set it aside, Ahandral. Unicorns are not like the race of men. While we may gather with our kin on the high celebratory days, our species spends much of our time in solitude. We have wide ranges, with little love for leaving our close connections with our wells and forests. Except for young males, who enjoy exploring in pairs or small groups, we are so spread out throughout Lehamenin that word of a stolen foal or mare may never reach others.” He hesitates and gives me a sour look. “It’s likely the grieving male would have no idea of the identity of the culprit, or even that his mare or foal was stolen, if the fairies are as organized as they seem. He would grieve and return to the well, with none the wiser.”
“That’s really sad,” I reply quietly, my heart genuinely aching at the thought.
It’s the worst kind of extermination I could imagine, being hunted out of existence by those who covet all that you have. But I’m not a unicorn, so why me?
“And what does all of this have to do with me?”
His eyes seem to study me.
“Do you recall when I told you that you are my magic-bonded mate—my ahandral?” At my nod, he smiles wanly and continues. “It is more than just an attraction. You