Page 20 of Forging Bonds, Part Two (Broken Ashes #5)

It doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and I need to figure out what is being asked of me so I can pass the trial and get back to check on the guys.

Up ahead I see a slight break in the trees and I make my way toward it, my feet come to a sudden stop as I realize that the break in the trees is actually because I’m on the top of some kind of cliff, one more step and I would have plummeted to my death.

It does give me a fantastic view though, and in the distance, I can see what I am almost one hundred percent sure is the castle.

I figure that there’s only one way to know for sure, and that’s to start to head in that direction.

For all I know, that could be the trial, just to head back to the castle.

“Oh yeah, because the trials have been that easy,” my sarcastic inner voice replies.

I tell her to fuck off and ignore the fact that the voices decided to murmur in what I could only describe as agreement with her.

I begin to push forward through the trees, and one thing is for absolute certain, there hasn’t been anyone out in this part of the woods for a really long time.

Not regular people anyway, there are no well-worn trails here, and no sign of anything other than animals.

It’s really nice actually and there’s a sense of peace to it that I find relaxing instead of worrying.

After I have been walking for only a couple of minutes, a sound pierces the night.

It’s not very loud, but it immediately has me freezing in place.

It sounds like something is in pain, a lot of pain.

I calm my heart rate and slow my breathing as I make sure that I don’t move at all, so that I can hear what direction it’s coming from if it comes again.

As I wait, it does occur to me that I have heard distress sounds coming from the woods before, and those were to lure me to what should have been my death, but actually turned out to be one of the best friendships I have ever had.

I love Mael.

This sounded different from that. When the kelpies tried to lure me in, they used the sound of a distressed human.

I have only heard this sound once so far, but it was very definitely an animal, and one that was in pain.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that.

Although there was no doubt in my mind that it was a human who was in distress and needed help back at the guy’s house, I really should approach this with caution.

Of course, because of who I am, the second that the panicked sound of pain happens again, I take off in the direction that the sound is coming from instead of thinking about it a bit more.

I’m not stupid though, so I do move through the trees as quietly and quickly as I can, making sure that I don’t announce my presence just in case it’s being attacked, or it is a trick again.

The deeper that I head into the woods, the more I realize that it is a lot further away than I initially thought it was.

That could mean that I’m being led into a trap, but the sounds that are coming sporadically are so filled with pain and panic that I can’t turn back now.

I just can’t. My lips twitch with amusement as I briefly imagine that the guys are going to have a lot to say about my apparent need to follow unknown noises deeper into the woods.

I almost feel like waving or winking at them since I know that they’re watching, but I’m pretty sure that makes them even more nervous when I do that.

So for now, I refrain and focus on what I’m doing and getting to this poor creature as quickly as I possibly can without making too much noise.

As yet another cry sounds around me, I put on a burst of speed. I need to get to it.

The voices give me a warning, and I slow down, moving at a walk and slowly advancing forward as I round a tree. I see what’s making the noise, and when my eyes find the creature, I can barely believe my eyes.

At the base of a huge ancient oak tree, next to a rushing river and caught in what looks to be similar to a giant bear trap is a goddamn fucking unicorn.

They’re rare, like really fucking rare, and if I’m being honest everything unicorn related that I have seen at the Obsidian Market I have just assumed is there for gullible customers and is definitely not the real thing.

I really didn’t think that they existed, and yet right here in front of me is undeniable proof.

It’s fucking huge. I mean, I would have to guess that it’s even bigger than Mael and he’s pretty fucking massive.

To be fair, on closer inspection, I don’t think it would be too much bigger, but its size is even more impressive thanks to the huge, wickedly sharp black horn that is protruding from its head.

It fucking glitters and it’s probably one of the most magical things that I have seen, and yes I am aware that I am surrounded by a lot of magical shit, but there’s just something about seeing a unicorn that makes everything pale in comparison. At least in this moment it does.

Its fur is as black as you can get and almost seems to absorb the light around it, and its mane and tail have threads of gold, silver, and copper threading through it and adding to the general sparkle that encompasses the whole of it, the sparkle that is beginning to fade.

I know nothing about unicorns, not about the creatures.

I don’t know about their likes or dislikes, I don’t know about their habitats or what they eat, and I don’t even know what their gifts are.

However, I do know from the stories told at the Obsidian Market that they are fierce fighters, extremely deadly, and they like to live far away from other people and supernaturals.

I thought all of this was just tall tales that the dealers told everyone to make their wares seem more legitimate, and it must have worked because they were never short of customers.

Anger threads through me as I think about the kinds of things that they were selling.

Unicorn horns were sold for millions of dollars, but that was nothing compared to the blood.

The shimmering gold blood that was sold in tiny two-milliliter bottles was sold for tens of millions, and I’m not even exaggerating.

They were nearly always sold out and had a waitlist of customers who wanted them.

I always thought it was fucking insane.

Looking at this creature now, my anger grows at the fuckers that could hurt these beautiful creatures, they’re a dying breed, brought to near extinction thanks to being hunted and because of the magic that their blood and horns carry.

Huh, I guess I knew more about them than I thought I did. I frown, I don’t know how, I really did think that they were the stuff of fairytales and legend.

Another pained sound snaps me out of my confusion. The unicorn is really badly hurt, and I need to get its leg out of the giant bear trap that is clamped down on it, and has torn into its leg, making it bleed.

Fuck.

Whoever has set that trap has definitely done it in the hopes of catching a unicorn and will be back to check their traps.

I have no idea how long I have to free it, but I do know that I need to do it as quickly as I possibly can.

I know that it is probably going to attack me.

It’s in pain and it is fucking terrified, and since I have no idea what kind of magic it has I could be dead the moment that it sees me, but I can’t walk away.

I can’t leave it in pain, and I can’t leave it to its fate, which is very definitely death and an extremely painful death as well.