According to one faerytale, unicorns are drawn to virgins. Weird. Why?
Never mind the last note. I just read another faerytale that contradicts the virgin thing.
Scholars say unicorns have been extinct for over five hundred years. Why are they back? Where have they been all this time?
Unicorns avoid populated towns and cities. Alright. That might be helpful. Be prepared to spend a lot of time sleeping in the woods, brother.
He felt a pang of homesickness then. Not for the first time, he wished Larylis were with him. Aside from the three years Larylis had lived in Selay, they’d gone on every hunt together. Larylis hadn’t enjoyed hunting as much as Teryn did, preferring to admire the flora and fauna, but he had the aptitude to make a clean kill. More so, his company was second to none.
“What’s that?” Lex asked, shaking Teryn from his thoughts.
Teryn refolded the paper and returned it to his pocket. “A letter from my brother. He took notes on unicorns for me.”
Lex’s next question came with a hint of hesitation. “Do you get along with your brother?”
“I do. He’s been my best friend my whole life.”
“You’re lucky,” Lex said with a sigh. “I don’t get along with mine.”
“Why is that?”
Lex’s jaw shifted back and forth. When he answered, his words were ground out between his teeth. “Ben is a sniveling little troll who’s constantly trying to upstage me. He’s three years younger and yet he’s the one who secures an engagement alliance first, and to aproper princess.” He said the last part with clear mocking. “Well, guess what? Hisproper princessstill has baby teeth. She won’t be old enough to wed for at least a decade. Oh, and then he takes overmyproject to build the stupid wall between Tomas and Norun—” He cut off suddenly, his cheeks having grown red. “Never mind. I hate Ben. Let us not speak of that brat.”
Teryn pursed his lips to hide his smile. “Very well.”
“What did your much-less-annoying-than-mine brother’s notes say?”
“Nothing helpful. Unless, of course, you’re a virgin. If you are, we could test a theory and use you as bait. I saw an illustration in a book once. The virgin princess had flowers in her hair. We could weave you a nice crown of cherry blossoms.” He gave Lex a teasing grin.
Lex smirked and rolled onto his back. “Your tone suggests you assume Iama virgin. So let me enlighten you and say that I am not.”
“Really.” Teryn couldn’t help the note of surprise.
Lex cut him a glare. “I have a lady back home. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Oh, I imagine you’re quite the bodice ripper in Tomas.”
“Onebodice. And quite the bodice it is, let me just say.”
“Is that so? If you’re so taken with her, why are you competing for another woman’s hand?”
Lex scoffed. “You and I both know I’m not competing. Besides, participating in the stupid Heart’s Hunt was nevermyidea. It was my father’s. If you haven’t gleaned as much already, my father wants his sons to marry princesses. Well, my lady isn’t one. But once I come back with the trade agreement we spoke of, I think Father will finally approve my request to marry.”
Teryn considered that. It seemed like a fair plan. Of course, it all hinged on whether Teryn actually won. “What’s her name?”
“Lily,” Lex said with a dreamy sigh.
“What’s she like?”
Lex waggled his brows. “You recall that water nymph statue? Lily puts her to shame.”
“In what way?” Teryn tried to keep a straight face. “Her silent disposition? Her failure to respond to your touch?”
Lex rolled his eyes. “I meant her shapely form.”
“Prince Lexington wouldn’t know a shapely form if it fell naked onto his lap.” The brusque voice silenced Teryn and Lex as Helios stalked into camp. Teryn felt as if the temperature had plummeted with the prince’s arrival.
Lex said nothing in reply. It was one thing for Teryn and Lex to tease each other. Their exchange of lighthearted jabs was friendly. But there was nothing lighthearted about the way Helios teased. His every word always held a sinister edge.
