“Got your fill or would you like to paint my portrait too?” She tapped the underside of his chin with her blade, forcing his gaze back to her face. Her cheeks were tinged pink as if his assessment had embarrassed her. Or enraged her, more like. She scowled. There was something familiar about her dark eyes, but he couldn’t place why. Perhaps it was just that she was so unexpectedly stunning. In a wild and terrifying sort of way. Like a wildfire. He had no doubt she was equally as dangerous. “I said who are you?”
“You don’t know me?” Too late, he realized the folly of his question. While he expected his face to be well known in his own kingdom, this was Khero. Besides, he didn’t quite exude royalty in his current state.
She lifted her chin. “Why should I?”
He assessed her again, studying her grip on the dagger. Her height. Her reach. She was shorter than him by at least a foot. Even though she appeared comfortable enough wielding a blade, his reach was far greater.
She stepped in closer, angling the blade so its edge kissed the skin at the base of his throat. “Answer my question. Who are you?”
“My name is Teryn Alante,” he said, keeping his voice level.
She gave no indication she recognized his name. “You hunt unicorns.”
He hesitated before answering, which earned him a sharp bite from the dagger’s edge. “Yes.”
Her eyes roved the side of his neck, then inspected his hunting vest, as if she were searching for…something. Her expression flickered with confusion before she steeled it behind an icy mask. “Who do you work for?”
Teryn frowned. “No one.”
“Who sent you to hunt unicorns, then?”
“A spoiled harpy named Princess Mareleau. Do you know her?”
Another flash of confusion crossed the girl’s face. Her grip on the dagger slackened, and he took the opportunity to launch a step back. Before she could react, he struck her wrist and twisted it, forcing her to drop the blade. She unsheathed a smaller knife from her belt and slashed out at him. Her blade sliced his forearm, but he closed in on her anyway. Taking her free hand, he twisted her arm at an angle, wrenching it behind her back and spinning her around until she faced away from him. He tugged her arm close to his chest while she continued to try and slash him with her knife.
“Will you stop trying to stab me?” he growled. As she suddenly froze against him, he realized how close his lips were to her ear. He angled his face away from her, caught off guard by that realization.
“No,” she said with a grunt and slammed her heel into his instep. He winced but didn’t release her. She tried to stomp on him again, but he widened his stance and hooked a foot around her ankle. Her balance gave way, and he assisted her fall to the ground. He pinned her knife hand overhead to keep the weapon’s tip from his face.
“Mind telling me why you’re accosting a prince?” he said through his teeth as he finally pried the knife from her fingers and tossed it a few feet away.
“Like I care about pretty princes.” She lifted her head and slammed it into his nose.
“Seven devils,” he cursed, feeling blood streaming over his lips. He sprang back, hand to his nose. She brought the heel of her palm to his sternum and sent him falling on his back. He rolled onto his side, felt his hand come around the shaft of his spear. Rising to his feet, he swept his weapon out in an arc, then lifted it in preparation to throw. His eyes were glazed from the pain of his probably broken nose. It took a moment for his vision to clear. When it did, he found the woman several paces away, bow drawn, arrow nocked.
Their eyes locked, weapons still. Her chest heaved above her bodice while his rose and fell beneath his vest. “I’m not trying to hurt you,” he bit out.
“Perhaps not, but you tried to kill my friend.”
“Friend?” Realization dawned as he remembered what had happened before the woman had attacked him. “Wait, the unicorn? That’s your…friend?” He saw no sign of it now, nor had he any time during their fight.
“How many unicorns have you killed?” she asked.
“None.”
“But you were going to kill Valorre.”
Valorre. Was that its name? Was this unicorn not a wild creature but a…pet? Teryn recalled Helios’ bewilderment over the tracks they’d found. They’d appeared alongside a small set of footprints—this woman’s footprints. Not a boy’s.
Teryn’s spear arm was starting to ache from holding his position. He needed to de-escalate this situation. Quickly. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I’m sorry I tried to kill your friend.”
“Sorry isn’t enough. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot you where you stand.”
“If you missed the part where I said I was a prince, then you may not have noticed the spear aimed at your heart either. So allow me to point it out.”
“I can shoot faster than you can throw.”
“Want to test that theory? Even if your arrow struck true, you’d have the entire Kingdom of Menah hunting you down in recompense.”
