In the week that she’d been traveling with the creature, she’d become better attuned to his feeling-thoughts. So much so that their communications seemed no different from any other kind of conversation. She still didn’t quite understand how it was possible. Was it his magic? Or hers?
“All right,” Cora said. Urgency propelled her to her feet. If the hunters were on the move, she and the unicorn had to be quick to follow. Not too quick, of course. Quick enough not to lose their trail but not so fast as to risk crossing paths and getting caught.
The sun was barely beginning to rise by the time Cora and the unicorn started off down the game trail the hunters had been following. She assessed the markings the hunters’ feet had left behind. They were perhaps an hour’s walk ahead of them. She was pretty sure, at least. She’d learned some tracking with the Forest People, but without much opportunity to practice, her skills were rudimentary. But after a week of following the hunters, she’d begun to understand what it looked like when the tracks they followed were too fresh. That was when the unicorn would get skittish, halting her with warnings ofdangerandslow down. Thankfully, his senses were stronger than hers. His scent and hearing far keener.
Or perhaps it was his magic. If that were the case, Cora wondered why he couldn’t simply guide her directly to the next party of hunters that held captive unicorns. Then again, he’d nearly been caught the last time he’d approached one of their camps.
Wouldn’t have been close to getting caught, came what she’d come to interpret as the unicorn’s voice,if not for freeing brethren. A wave of indignation rippled off the creature, echoed by Cora’s own. Not only could the unicorn understand her spoken words, but now and then he seemed to pick up on her thoughts too, even with her mental shields in place. Likewise, she was always able to glean his emotions and communications, shields or no.
“Oh, and how many of your brethren did you save before I came along?”
Another ripple of affront. His lack of answer told her his grand total before she’d freed the brown unicorn on his behalf must have been zero.
“By the way, it’s rude to read people’s minds without permission.”
Then stop listening.
Cora cut a glare at the unicorn. “I didn’t meanme.”
He gave no indication that he cared whom she’d meant. With a huff, she returned her attention to the markings on the trail before her. She was relieved there were no tracks of any captive unicorns in tow. Her companion had confirmed as much through his own senses.
They continued at a moderate pace well after midday. Cora saw no signs that they were gaining too closely on their prey. But when the unicorn halted suddenly on the trail, ears twitching back and forth, she knew they had.
They’ve slowed. Left trail.
It wasn’t an unusual course of action for the hunters. While they were clearly following a direct path along the game trail, and their pace suggested expediency, they’d still break to hunt now and then.
Cora pulled up short next to the unicorn, and he led her off the path. They backtracked a good ten minutes and waited. Waited. Waited.
The waiting was Cora’s least favorite part. Walking felt productive. Tracking busied both her body and her mind. Whenever they were forced to stop outside of evening rest, however, Cora felt caged. Restless. It made her recall James and the other vile hunters, the blood at Maiya’s temple, the arrow piercing Erwin’s neck. The latter stirred feelings of equal parts disgust and triumph. It made her want to do more, to hurt the hunters more. Based on their behavior and the two brands she’d spotted, she suspected the entire party was comprised of the worst kinds of criminals. With Erwin dead, there were four left. Four men she held a personal vendetta against. Four men she yearned to put down. She remembered all of their names from that night. James, of course. Gringe, the leader. Velek. Sam. All names that made her blood boil.
She wrapped her fingers around her bow, letting its familiar heft steady her. Ground her. Root her in place. She didn’t draw her weapon. Didn’t nock an arrow. Instead, she reminded herself why she couldn’t make a move on them yet.
She needed them alive. Needed a trail to follow.
The party the hunters joined next had more unicorns. That was the reason she was out here to begin with. Once she foundthem, she could do work that mattered. She wasn’t sure exactly how she’d free the captive creatures without getting caught herself, but she knew she’d need to keep her head on her shoulders. Exercise patience. Caution.
It made Cora’s muscles twitch with frustration just thinking about it.
“Do you have a name?” Cora asked, keeping her voice low. The question was more to distract herself, but it was something she’d been wondering the past week.
The unicorn rippled with confusion.You know I am unicorn.
“Yes, but do you have a name unique only to you? You know…like how I am a human but my name is Cora.”
I don’t remember. His words were tinged with agitation. She got the distinct feeling he was grasping for an answer to her question…but it was lost to him.
Cora furrowed her brow. Could he be such an ancient creature that he no longer remembered his name? If so, where had he been all this time? “Where are you from?”
A pause. Then,Forest.
“What forest? These forests? Have you always lived in Khero?”
Again, she got the sense he was straining to find the answer. It was almost painful for him.Not these forests. Like here but not here. Close, but not close at all.
Cora wanted him to elaborate but his feelings of frustration were enough to tell her he likely couldn’t. Theories began to buzz through her mind. What if the unicorns hadn’t been extinct but in some sort of slumber? What if they’d been…trapped in some way? Of course, if unicorns were returning, then perhaps other fae creatures were too. There could be dragons, pixies, kelpies, selkies?—
Only my kind, he said, cutting through her thoughts.Only my kind are here. No others. A wave of sorrow seeped from the unicorn, sinking Cora’s heart.
