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The up-above witch vanished. Cub blinked in the sudden darkness and fell back to the rocks onto which he had crashed hours earlier. Or had it been weeks earlier?

Oh, to see the rise and fall of the sun once more! To measure time and watch it pass! These were things that Cub dearly missed.

But he now had a new thing to think about, until the else-hand let him breathe again—its witch and her chains, and the pale-gowned girl climbing the mountain.

What had the witch called her?

Queenie.

Queen.

.16.

The Black and Bleating Night

Thorn awoke from dreams of Zaf-shaped flowers and storm clouds that spoke with her father’s voice to the sound of someone whispering beside her ear, “Something’s hunting us.”

Thorn lurched upright.

She saw a shape creeping through the stubby swamp trees toward the patch of stone where they had stopped to rest. Flies of fear buzzed in her ears.

The thing hunting them was tall and slender, like a piece of the night above. It was bigger than Noro, and notched all over, like bits had been chewed out of it.

Thorn’s heart raced.The Gulgot?

But everyone said the Gulgot was the size of a city, or even a mountain. This thing was big, but not monster big.

Bartos stepped forward, his hand moving slowly for the sword at his belt. His skin gleamed with sweat.

Zaf crouched on Thorn’s other side, her pale, glowing hand gripping Thorn’s wrist.

“I thought your light would keep the swamp from eating us,” Thorn said through her teeth.

“And so it did, for two days.” Zaf glared at the approaching night-fiend. “I suppose our luck’s gone running.”

Thorn drew a quick, thin breath.

Then the thing inching toward them shrieked and pounced.

Thorn didn’t have time to scream.

Noro leaped into the air from behind her, his horn flashing, and kicked out with his shining hooves. The creature careened through a clump of moss-draped trees.

And in the soft flare of Noro’s horn, Thorn saw what their attacker was.

A unicorn.

A monstrous one.

Instead of a gleaming white like Noro’s, this unicorn’sshadow-struck coat was sewn from the swamp. Patches of moss and murk stretched across its jutting bones and jagged spiked spine. Thorn could count its heaving ribs. Its mane and tail were long knots of ropy vines, and when it opened its mouth to scream, Thorn saw a set of gleaming dark fangs and three forked black tongues.

Bartos put himself in front of Thorn and Zaf, raising his sword. “Thunderingskies. What’s happened to it?”

“The Gulgot,” Thorn whispered, just as Zaf, beside her, growled the same:“The Gulgot.”

The monster tearing their kingdom apart, sending darkness flooding out across the Vale, had touched this unicorn and...changedit.

The unicorn ran at Noro, trumpeting shrill cries that sounded like no words Thorn recognized. Noro dodged its long black horn, skidded around the beast, whirled, kicked out with his hind legs. The other unicorn darted away, then reared up with its own legs flailing.