“Couldn’t you just use your magic?” she asked.
“It’s not an endless source, but for you, I suppose I could.” He nudged her shoulder, his lips playfully ruffling her mane, easing the tension that hung between them. His touch lingered a moment longer than necessary, and she found herself leaning in towards him, a soft desire creeping into her heart. “After all,” he said, breaking the silence that had formed. “I have aMr. Dreamytitle that I need to live up to.”
With a step backwards, he unleashed his black shadows. They travelled from the tip of his horn, down his neck, wrapping around his legs before winding down to the ground. Everything they touched dissolved into darkness, and the darkness grew. Stepping backwards, she watched the shadows engulf the forest in a perfect line, creating a path for them to walk along. In the blink of an eye, the shadows disappeared. The ground now darkened to such an extent that it looked like a bottomless pit. One step on it, and you’d fall forever.
Damien ventured forward first, and when he didn’t immediately fall to his death, Luna cautiously trailed behind him. It wasn’t long until the silence was too loud, and she had to break it. “Are all unicorns as powerful as you?”
He shrugged, as best as a unicorn could. “Some.”
She swished her tail, the strands of hair feeling like the bristles of a paintbrush as they grazed her rear. It bothered her that she knew so little about Damien. With everything that had happened today, it felt like a lifetime had passed between them. “Care to explain?”
He exhaled through his nose, as if weighing how much he was willing to say. “I come from a strong bloodline,” he started, but then hesitated, his gaze flickering away for the briefest second. “My power is greater than a typical unicorn . . . Although, compared to my older brothers, I’m a weakling.”
“You have a family?” The question escaped her before she fully processed it. Of course, he had a family—he wasn’t born out of thin air.
If a unicorn could arch an eyebrow, he certainly was. “Well, yes.” He chuckled, though the sound was measured. “My parents are like two old bickering grumps who never see eye to eye on anything. I’m the third of five, with two older brothers and two younger sisters.”
“My brothers . . .” He stopped short. A muscle tensed in his jaw before he continued, smoothly changing course. “They’ve spent their whole lives trying to outdo each other. It gets old. And my sisters,” he continued, his voice easier now, as if this was safer ground, “they’re complete opposites of each other. The youngest, Arleen, is sweet and kind but has a fierceness in her heart that is unmatched by anyone I have ever met. Whereas my other sister can be cold, but her heart is giving beyond measure.”
A faint exhale left him—almost amused, almost resigned. “They both have their own ways of keeping me busy,” he added after a beat, almost like an afterthought.
For the first time, he felt less like some magical beast shrouded in mystery and more like a person; like someone with a past and a family, with complications of his own.
“Do you all get along?”
“I rarely talk to them.” The words came too fast, too clipped. Then, as if realizing that answer might say too much, he added more lightly, “I’m kind of the family’s black sheep.”
“Black sheep?” she echoed, tilting her head.
A ghost of a smirk played on his lips. “Let’s just say my family and I don’t always see eye to eye.”
There it was again. That careful avoidance. He wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling her the whole truth either.
“I’m probably closest with Arleen,” he admitted after a pause, and this time, there was something raw just beneath the surface. “But my father sent her away to be married, and I haven’t spoken to her since she got engaged.”
The idea of him not speaking to his siblings gutted Luna. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to no longer speak to Emily. “Do you think that will change after she gets married?”
“Doesn’t matter because I’m going to make sure she doesn’t marry him.” He blew a short snort. “But that’s enough about me. It’s your turn.”
She supposed that was only fair. She went on to tell him about her family and what her childhood was like. He politely nodded along as she spoke, showing genuine curiosity in her upbringing. When Luna revealed the details about her birth mother’s decision, he seemed especially interested. She paused, stopping midsentence to ask, “Do you think my parents were unicorns?”
Something flickered in Damien’s eyes, but it disappeared quickly. “For you to be a unicorn? Yes, they both would have been.”
The forest path ended, and a wide, calm river unfolded before them. The soft murmur of the gentle current echoed through the air like an invitation, drawing them closer. Moonlight bathed the water, giving it a silver glow; its reflection rippled on the surface of the water.
Luna envisioned this was what it would be like to walk into a painting. The gentle breeze rustled through the trees, stirring her mane. She closed her eyes, savouring the cool caress on her face. “What is this place?”
“Do you like it?”
She turned to look at him, gazing into the never-ending forest of his eyes. “It’s beautiful here.”
A smile tugged at the edges of his lips, the corners wrinkling ever so slightly. He swung his neck, gesturing to the river edge. “Are you okay crossing? It’s not very deep.”
“I think so,” she said, moving to join him beside the river.
A gasp escaped her lips at the sight of the white unicorn in the water staring back as she leaned towards it. Her coat mirrored the purity of freshly fallen snow, and her white horn shimmered. As Luna gazed at her rich sapphire-blue eyes, a whirlwind of emotions danced within her. The transformation hadn’t just changed her physically. She knew deep down that every aspect of her life from now on would be different. Even if it seemed the same on the outside, inside, she would look at things a little differently, with a new, scary perspective. If Damien managed to help her become human again, she would have to keep the knowledge of her true identity a secret when she returned home. Tonight was the only night, possibly for the rest of her life, that she would ever be free. Free of the secrets. Free of the lies.
A unicorn as black as the night stepped into the image, joining her reflection. His body grazed against hers—a touch that sent shivers rippling through her entire being. She looked over at him, meeting his gaze in the water’s rippling surface.
