by Linda Kage
Christ, I didn’t want this. I hadn’t asked for some true love idiot to show up in my life and ruin everything, to try to make me feel fucking forgiven. I deserved punishment for what I’d done. Yasmin had murdered people with my magic.
I suddenly wanted to tell him to stop looking at me like that, or better yet, I should just cut out his eyes so he could never look at me again. It was better than experiencing this lump in my throat, this craving for something sweet and compassionate that hinted vaguely of redemption. This fool couldn’t right my wrongs. He couldn’t fix anything I’d broken. He should stop giving me so much hope.
“Well, it appears he did know everything about you, after all, didn’t he,” Melaina announced, breaking the stare he held me under.
He definitely knew more than I wanted him to, that was for sure, especially my culpability over it all.
“So what?” I muttered, turning away abruptly to finish securing the saddle to my horse. “It changes nothing.”
I didn’t know who this man thought he was, coming in here, invading my life, and making crazy claims—no matter how true they were—but I did not like it.
I didn’t like any of this.
Chapter 8
Indigo
I had to appreciate my true love’s no-nonsense manner. She definitely wasn’t given to drama or theatrics. Her tidy and economical way of preparing for travel was downright admirable, too. But I had kind of been hoping for a little more reaction from her than this.
Upon learning I was her life partner, she decided to pretend I didn’t exist.
That stung.
“We have places to be,” she told her aunt tersely as she swung into the saddle and glanced toward Melaina, totally ignoring my presence in the process. “So let’s go already.”
“Wait.” I stepped toward her, blinking in confusion. “Where’re you going?”
I mean, seriously. What was this nonsense? She’d just found out she had a true love, and so she was going to leave? Didn’t she want to—I don’t know—maybe get to know me or something?
I guess not.
Instead of answering me, Quilla acted as if she hadn’t even heard the question, and she clicked her tongue, urging her mount into a canter.
Blinking, I gaped after her and shook my head incredulously.
She was different now. The first moment she’d spun around on that rock where she was sunning herself dry and had faced off with me, she’d been filled with a far different energy. Confidence, anger, determination. She’d had no qualms about looking me in the eye then.
Now, all that brave, defiant rage was clouded with vulnerability and uncertainty, all layered under a heap of unrelenting irritation.
When she’d thought of me as her foe, the lines between us were clear. She knew how to deal with me then. But now that she realized I wasn’t here to hurt her, she couldn’t accept me as an ally, either.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind she still wished I was the enemy because she suddenly had no idea what to do about me, and that bothered her.
But she certainly wasn’t going to figure anything out if she just walked away.
“Are you just going to leave me here?” I called. “What is the point of these, then, if you don’t even have some chain to drag me along behind you?” I jangled my wrist manacles to get her attention. “Not worried I’ll run off?”
She shot me a glare over her shoulder. “I’m not the one who bound you. If it were up to me; you’d be dead right now.”
My eyebrows shot up. Well, that wasn’t very reassuring. But I wasn’t going to let it bother me.
“So, then...” I sent her the sweetest smile I possessed—and I had some damn sweet smiles if I did say so myself. “Would you mind doing your true love a favor and removing my cuffs?”
“Fuck off.” She faced forward again and kept sauntering away.
Okay, then. “Politeness; not her thing. Got it.” I turned toward the aunt. “Since you seem to be my warden, could you remove these? Certainly, you know I have no reason to escape. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with her.”
The older woman sent me a sly smile. “Yes, I’m fully aware of your complete devotion to her.”
“Great!” Relief flooded my veins as I hurried to where she was mounting my—wait! Why was she on my horse? How had she even gotten her hands on it? I stopped in my tracks, gaping at her, then shook my head.
I’d round back to that in a second. For now…
I lifted my wrists for her to free them. “Could you unlock these for me, then?”
“Oh...” She backed the horse away from me, already shaking her head. “No. I’m afraid not.”
Um, what?
“What do you mean, no?” I shook my head, confused. “Why the hell not?”
“I find men infinitely more attractive when they’re tied up.”
Yeah, I honestly had no answer for that.
Reaching down, she ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry, darling. It’s for your own benefit. Not only is your sex appeal high right now, but being in such a harmless, submissive position will garner you more sympathy and trust from Quilla and help you get into her good graces more quickly. And that is the end game for you here, correct? Coaxing her into loving you back?”
I frowned down at my chains. If keeping them on made me less intimidating to Quilla, then, of course, I’d keep them where they were. But when I glanced up to admit Melaina might possibly have a small point, she’d already started to leave as well.
“Hey!” I stepped after her. “Where are you going? And how did you get my horse?”
“Oh, is this yours?” She paused and smirked my way as she stroked the horse’s neck. “Why, I just found this beauty here all alone in the woods, and I liked it better than my own gelding. So I sold old Charlie to a traveler on the road for some much-needed coin, and I claimed this girl as my new ride.” Waving her fingers over her shoulder at me, she grinned. “So sorry, but finders keepers.”
I gaped, unable to believe what I was hearing. “But you can’t just steal my horse. And all the possessions in those saddlebags are mine.”
“Not anymore.” Her laugh floated back to me, telling me she was taking my horse regardless.
I scowled.
“So what, then? Do you expect me to just walk to—” I didn’t even know where they were going. “What’s your destination anyway? We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. Our next stop could be days away.”
“Mmm. About four or five days, I’d wager,” she called back.
What the fuck?
That’s it. I refused to move another step. How dare they put chains on me and then just expect me to follow them like some kind of loyal dog? Either they made me a full prisoner and forced me along every step of the way, or they took off my shackles and freed me completely, riding on my own horse, of course.
Those were my conditions.
Because I was not willingly going to just trail along behind them on foot like this as if there was nowhere else I’d rather be.
Even though there really was nowhere else I’d rather be. That was totally beside the point.
Huffing moodily, I climbed the rock Quilla had been sunning herself on when she’d first come out of the water, and I plopped down, waiting with my arms crossed stubbornly over my chest.
Surely, they wouldn’t leave me behind. I was their prisoner. People usually bullied their prisoners into moving and going where they went. So yeah, they’d be back for me. They had to come back.
But the more the seconds ticked by, the antsier I grew. I began to tap my fingers impatiently on my knee. No one was returning. And Quilla was beginning to move out of the immediate radar of my mark from where I could still detect her feelings. I’d lose my true love again if I just stayed here. And we’d have to start our chase all over from the beginning again.
Dammit! They weren’t going to come back. They honestly had no problem with simply leaving me behind.
I scrambled off the rock,
grumbling moodily.
I hope no one ever learned I was doing this. Chasing after your captors who were so blatantly leaving without you was beyond humiliating.
I jogged, cursing the constraints on my wrists the whole time because they seemed to impede my speed. The trusty cat who’d been following me since I’d woken up in the alley in Pinsky, appeared, winding its way between my legs as if excited about going on another adventure, and it tripped me up in the process.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “Careful, please.”
The cat meowed as if telling me to stop whining.
When I finally caught sight of Melaina up ahead, I ground my teeth with irritation. She’d just found my flask of ale in my pack and was gulping from it greedily.
“Really?”
I sped forward.
Glancing askance at me when I finally reached her side, panting from the effort it had taken me to catch up, she tossed me a superior, knowing little smirk and tucked the drink away again. “I knew you’d follow.”
I only scowled back. “Horse thieving is bad, you know. I’ve heard of people being hanged for stealing another person’s stead.”
Grandpa Atchison had told me all kinds of stories about a place called the Wild West.
Melaina sighed impatiently. “If you’re so opposed to the idea of walking, why don’t you just ask your friend there for a ride?”
“My friend?” When I realized she’d tipped her head toward the cat who was following a few steps behind me, I snorted. “Yeah. Very funny.”
Melaina rested both her hands on the pommel of her saddle and considered me. “Oh, my dear sweet boy. You have no idea, do you? Wow. The heights of your stupidity are truly adorable.”
I lifted my eyebrows at her pleasant insult as she went on.
“As the master of disguise, you do realize I can see everyone in their true form, don’t you?” She motioned toward the feline. “That pathetic disguise included.”
The cat laid its ears back flat and hissed at her before it caught up to me and crawled up my body to sit on my shoulder again.
Melaina sniffed back. “Bitch,” she muttered at the animal and waved her fingers in the feline’s direction.
The cat popped out of existence.
“Hey!” I started, reaching for my bare shoulder, only for a full-sized horse of pure sleek white to appear next to me, its hooves scrambling on the few rocks it found itself on.
“What the—?”
As I gave a startled lurch, it loped forward to grassier ground and then shook its mane aggressively in Melaina’s direction, whinnying its displeasure.
And that wasn’t even the most shocking part. On top of the horse’s head rested a distinguishing feature that set it apart from every other horse in existence.
“That...” I gaped, backing away slowly as I pointed at it. “That’s a fucking unicorn!”
“Yes, pet.” Melaina nudged my shoulder with her foot. “Now stop staring before you make her feel self-conscious. Unicorns are never pleasant when they’ve been upset.”
“But—but—” I turned to gape up at Melaina. “I thought unicorns were extinct.”
“You mean, just like dragons were extinct until about five years ago when one suddenly popped up and charred an entire army to ash? Seriously, darling. You delight me with how truly ignorant you are.”
Ignoring that, I turned back to the unicorn in awe as it nudged its head at me, dipping its head as if offering me its horn. Compelled, I reached out slowly and stroked the golden and ivory swirled cone. Almost immediately, a feline purr vibrated from the unicorn’s throat.
“Holy shit,” I murmured in awe before glancing up at Melaina. “I had no idea they could shapeshift.”
“Why?” Melaina arched an eyebrow. “Because you considered yourself such an expert on them?”
Frowning, I turned my back to her and refocused on the magical beast before me. The redhead really was a buzzkill.
“Unicorns are real,” I murmured, dazed by the news.
“Hey, what’s taking so long?”
I jumped and glanced over as Quilla returned to us.
When she saw the unicorn, she stopped short, blinked, then frowned at it a moment before she glanced toward her aunt. “So he attracts unicorns now?”
Melaina seemed amused as she answered, “Apparently.”
“Swell,” Quilla muttered in disgust, turning back to frown at the beast. “It was parading as the cat, I presume.”
“Yep.”
“And you didn’t think to warn me about that?”
“And ruin the surprise?” Melaina trilled out a laugh. “Never.”
“Figures.”
My mate sent the unicorn a repulsed sneer as she studied it a minute longer. All the while, the unicorn butted her head at me, urging me to stroke her hide in a new spot.
When I did, giving the animal whatever loving scratches she wanted, Quilla snorted and turned away with a dismissive, “Whatever. Just don’t lag behind.”
The unicorn hissed at her, flicking out a forked serpentine tongue.
“Whoa.” I leaped a step away. Is that really what their tongues looked like? I had not been expecting that.
As if reading my mind, the unicorn turned back to me and opened her mouth, displaying what looked like the inside of every other horse’s mouth with a normal horse tongue.
“Okay, then,” I decided. “So, not only can you change fully from one animal to another, but you can change one body part at a time, too. Right. Good to know.”
The unicorn immediately changed back into the cat, only to flicker back into the unicorn.
I laughed. “Cool trick.”
“Show-off,” Melaina muttered.
The unicorn hissed at her too.
Which made me realize. “Wait. You can totally understand everything we say, can’t you? I knew it!”
The unicorn bowed her head to me. And then suddenly, a saddle appeared on her back.
“Uh...”
As I ogled the reins, Melaina nudged my shoulder again. “Well, stop standing there with your mouth hanging open, drawing flies. The most powerful magical beast in the Outer Realms just invited you to ride her. You don’t turn that shit down unless you want to insult her and end up with a nasty curse that follows you and your family for generations to come, now do you?”
No, I really didn’t.
I hastened to mount the unicorn. It was clumsy going, getting onto her with my hands bound, but once I was seated, the unicorn was surprisingly the most comfortable equine I’d ever ridden.
With a grin, I turned toward Melaina to share my success, only to remember she wasn’t my friend, but my captor. And a freaking horse thief.
My smile died.
“Is that how the Graykey family curse began?” I asked a thoughtful moment later as I set my pace alongside her. “Someone pissed off a unicorn?”
Melaina ignored the question, but the horse under me shook its head back and forth, answering no.
“Oh, hmm.” We reached the main road then. As soon as we exited the forest, I spotted Quilla up ahead, still ignoring us, but otherwise safe.
A family in a wagon was headed our way.
Leaning forward, I whispered into the unicorn’s ear. “Maybe you should hide your horn.”
If word got out that unicorns were still around, she’d be in danger.
The horn immediately disappeared.
Wow. That was still amazing how they could simply change like that.
The family neared, then passed right by us. I offered the driver and his wife—then the three young kids riding in the wagon in the back—a smile and nod, making sure to keep my manacled hands hidden out of sight, and they good-naturedly waved back.
Once they’d moved on, the unicorn changed colors until its coat was a sleek black. A few seconds later, it became brown, then gray, speckled, and back to white again. As it kept alternating, I glanced around, hoping no one else was seeing this.
“Umm...” I
nudged Melaina. “What is she doing?”
Ahead of us, Quilla glanced back at the question, and my heart gave an odd thump for gaining her attention. But as soon as the horse changed colors again, she sniffed in disinterest and turned away again.
“It looks like she’s trying to find out which color you’d prefer her to be,” Melaina finally explained. “It’s like she wants to please you or something.”
“I—oh.” I palmed the side of the unicorn’s neck. “Color doesn’t matter. Just...” I wanted to tell her to simply please stop changing them because it was making her really stand out, but I didn’t want to upset her. From all the stories my mother had told me about unicorns when I was young, they didn’t like to be told what to do. They were proudly their own master and could be easily offended. And they were downright malicious to anyone they considered a foe. So the last thing I wanted to do was make her a foe.
“You should be whatever color you like most,” I suggested carefully.
“Ooh, pick the brown and white speckled one,” Melaina suggested. “You know, like a mix between Pinto and Appaloosa. Those are my favorite.”
Scowling at her for trying to steal my animal friend’s decision from her, I leaned closer to the unicorn and stroked her neck as I murmured, “You be whatever color you want to be.”
The unicorn’s hide immediately turned black and white striped, like a zebra’s, and its long mane shortened into a monochromatic spike.
“Uh...” This was not at all what I’d meant. I’d hoped for something inconspicuous so no one else would mess with her. But everyone would stare if I rode by on a freaking oversized zebra.
But I’d already told her to choose for herself, and I couldn’t take that back without being an ass and maybe upsetting her.
I cleared my throat. “Er, looks good.” And I patted her shoulder companionably.
Under me, the animal began to purr.
“I should really give you a name, though,” I added on an afterthought.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Melaina advised.
I looked up. “Why not?”
