Page 23

Neith

T he average supernatural would not be able to track and trap a unicorn. They aren’t cute and fluffy, they aren’t docile creatures like most human lore portrays them to be, I know that much.

If they were easy to catch after all, then they would most likely be extinct by now, and not just rare and sought after.

All of these thoughts rush through my mind in a matter of seconds, and helps me come to the conclusion that I would rather be safe than sorry.

Especially in this situation, and because of that, I bend down and pick up the heavy remains of the bear trap-looking thing and then hoist it down to the river.

The whole time that I’m doing this, the unicorn watches me with what I can only describe as a perplexed look.

I would explain to it what I’m doing, but in a moment's time, it’s going to be pretty self-explanatory anyway.

Plus, I am kind of hoping that it stays around for a little bit longer just because it’s a fucking unicorn and is most likely the only one that I will ever see in my lifetime.

Even if I get extra years as a supernatural.

I am actually really surprised that it has stuck around for this long, and I’m worried that if I speak to it to explain, then it will remember that it’s still here when it doesn’t need to be and run away.

Refocusing on my task and not thoughts of the unicorn running away from me, I put the broken pieces down by the edge of the river.

It’s really fucking deep and is moving really quickly.

Which means that it will be pretty difficult for anyone to get to the bottom of it to fish these pieces out, and that by the time that they do, there will be no usable evidence on the pieces of the bear trap anyway.

Just as I’m about to throw the first piece into the fast-flowing water, a thought occurs to me.

Shit.

This is a Supernatural Realm, and there are most likely water supernaturals of some kind in the river, and they may be able to get something off the trap before it disappears.

I am aware that I am overthinking this.

Placing the piece back down, I get another one of those big leaves and gather some more water, bringing it back and completely drowning the pieces of the bear trap, and hopefully washing off any trace evidence.

I then pick the pieces up one by one since they’re really fucking heavy, and then throw them as hard as I can into the river, watching them sink out of sight.

When the last one has disappeared, I turn around and I have to admit that I am once again pretty fucking surprised that the unicorn is still there.

“I think I have gotten rid of any trace of you now,” I tell it since it’s actually here. “You can go now, it’s still not safe here. I have absolutely no trace of you on me either, so you don’t need to worry about me taking something that doesn’t belong to me.” I turn in a slow circle to show it.

I can hardly believe my eyes when, instead of turning away from me and escaping like it probably should, it starts to approach me cautiously. Instinct tells me to stay still. This creature is incredibly dangerous, but at the same time, it hasn’t hurt me yet.

As it approaches, I realize that it’s dark as night coat is actually fucking glittering, I become even more aware of its size and it’s deadly and incredibly sharp looking horn.

It’s bigger than Mael, for certain, and probably just as deadly.

One thing is for sure, as soon as I get the chance, I am doing as much research as I possibly can into unicorns.

I bet Raiden knows some interesting facts.

He’s probably watching this and getting ready to ask me thousands of questions, which I’m going to try my best to answer.

Of course, that’s assuming that they’re back from their task and watching. I roll my eyes at my thoughts. I’m clearly a lot more nervous than I thought I was at the approaching unicorn because I know for a fact that the guys are back. That’s where I was going before I got pulled here.

Right, that’s enough of being stuck in my stupid and clearly confused thoughts.

It’s been a long day, a long week, actually. I don’t think anyone would blame me for my mental confusion. Fortunately, no one but me can hear my mental confusion.

I’m still fucking rambling.

My thoughts are stopped dead in their tracks as the unicorn comes close enough to touch.

It slowly lowers its head, in an almost similar way that Mael did.

I’m cautious, it could be about to stab me, but I don’t need to be.

It gently nudges my cheek in a soft greeting, and my smile is so wide my cheeks hurt.

I know that I am never going to get the chance to do this again.

This is literally a once in a lifetime situation.

Because of this, I slowly lift my hand and stroke the side of its face, and it leans into the touch, clearly enjoying it.

Much like Mael, I highly doubt that the creature ever feels a soft touch from people like me, and I’m glad that I can give that to it.

After a few more magical moments, I sigh.

“This is really amazing, but you should get going. I don’t want anyone else to come and find you,” I say softly, if not incredibly reluctantly.

The unicorn snorts, which makes an unexpected giggle escape me because it tickles my cheek.

It doesn’t step back like I expected it to though and instead it moves so that its head is resting against mine, my head just below its horn.

It has to bend so low that it is practically kneeling on its front legs to do so.

I feel a tingle of magic at the place where its head touches mine, and I try not to let the feeling alarm me too much.

The voices aren’t screaming at me in warning, and even the small amount of magic that I have access to isn’t doing anything that would concern me.

Of course, that doesn’t really mean anything because my magic is elusive at best.

The magic from the unicorn seems to flow over me and then gathers on the inside of my left wrist. It doesn’t hurt, it tingles. The unicorn nudges my face gently one more time and then steps back. It looks pointedly at my wrist, and I take that as a sign that I need to see what the magic has done.

On the inside of my wrist is what I can only describe as a tattoo, apart from it looks like no tattoo that I have ever seen before.

It’s not in black ink, or even colored, at least not a color that I have ever seen.

It’s pearlescent and shimmery. I pull my wrist closer to my face so that I can get a better look.

My eyes widen, “Oh my fuck, it’s fucking glittery, that is so cool.”

The unicorn snorts in what I can easily identify as amusement, but I’m too busy studying the tattoo and the pretty ink. It’s a replica of the unicorn’s horn, with vines and even a couple of flowers around it.

It’s absolutely stunning.

I have no idea what it means, and although I could ask the unicorn, it’s not like it’s actually going to be able to tell me.

I guess it’s just something else that we’re going to have to research. I say we because I know that Raiden, if not all of the guys, are going to want to research this, if they don’t already know.

The unicorn whinnies, gaining my attention, and I feel the same kind of magic that put the mark on my wrist build in the air. A thick, supple leather cuff appears on my wrist that completely covers the mark on the inside.

I nod and glance back up at the unicorn, “Alright, message received. Don’t show anyone. Can I show my most trusted?”

The unicorn whinnies in agreement and nods, then bends its head so that I can stroke its nose again before it finally takes off. I watch as it disappears, marveling at the way that it moves with such ease. There’s absolutely no sign of pain or fatigue from its ordeal.

I glance down at the bracelet. I desperately want to look at the tattoo underneath it again, but I acknowledge that it may not be a good idea to do that right this moment when I am most definitely still being filmed.

I mean, there’s a good chance that everyone has seen it anyway, but there is also a small chance that the unicorn did some kind of magic or something that meant that anyone watching couldn’t see. So instead, I ignore it.

Looking around, I can’t help frowning as I realize that a portal hasn’t shown up.

So far, every time that I have finished a task, the portal has shown up to take me back to the castle.

But this time it hasn’t, does that mean that my task isn’t over yet?

I glance down at the slice on my hip, I really hope not because I’m pretty fucking tired now, and not only is my hip now causing me pain since the immediate threat is over and I can feel it now, but the poultice that I put over my burn is no longer working as effectively as it was, and that’s starting to cause me a bit of grief too.

It then occurs to me that I was actually heading in the direction of the castle when I came across the unicorn, so maybe the last part of the task is that I have to head back to the castle myself?

I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to do, if I’m being completely honest with myself, and I’ve got no feelings or anything like that which would tell me whether what I’m thinking is right or not, but I do know that I can’t just stand here.

Someone could come looking for the unicorn at any moment now, and if they do, I do not want to be here.

The trouble is, I can’t quite remember what direction I was walking in, and I had been walking for a while before I came across the unicorn so I really don’t want to have to turn around and go back to the point where I could see the castle through the trees to try and work out a way back.