Without a word, he grabbed Arthur and backhanded him. “Where’s the meat I told you to get?”
“P-p-please, Father.” Arthur tried to break free.
“I’m not your father, brat! I’m just the one who got stuck raising you.”
When he moved to strike the boy again, Tanis caught his arm. “Enough!”
He turned on her with a sneer. “You need a slap, too?” he snarled at her.
A deep, resonant voice spoke before she had a chance. “Not if you want to keep your arm attached to your body.”
Only one creature growled like that.
Dash.
Her gaze went past the bitter man to...
Whoa. She couldn’t breathe or move as she beheld the handsomest, most splendid male she’d ever seen. With long, wavy, black hair that reached to his shoulders, he towered over Arthur’s father. Power and lethal strength bled from every pore of his body.
He was fierce and massive. A natural predator.
The dragon in her recognized his kind. This one was a true dragon slayer. A warrior of unparalleled skill and cunning.
That was her thought, until she met his eyes.
A vibrant, unholy green, filled with fury. A most unusual color she’d seen only one other time...
Her unicorn.
So... dragons weren’t the only ones unicorns could turn human. And it explained so much. It made her wonder if that was why her father had always been opposed to their kind.
Did all dragons know the unicorns could shift, or was she the only one ignorant of it?
“Who do you think you are?” the human sneered at Dash.
A wicked smile spread across the unicorn’s sharp, chiseled human features. “The one who will rip your arm off and beat you with it if you don’t find another place to assault with your stench.”
Arthur’s father bristled. It was obvious he wanted to argue. But his common sense prevailed. He was no match for the unicorn, and they all knew it.
When he started away with Arthur in tow, Dash stopped him. “You won’t be needingthat.”
“He’s me boy.”
“You said he wasn’t,” Dash reminded him.
That sneer returned as he flung Arthur away from him. “Fine. Take him. He’s useless, anyway.”
Dash caught the befuddled boy and waited until the old man had vanished in the crowd.
Tears streaked down Arthur’s face. “What am I to do now?”
“Live.” Dash ruffled his hair. “I know someone who’ll care for you and not beat you.”
Arthur looked up with hopeful eyes. “Really?”
With a tender smile, Dash nodded. “You shouldn’t have to pay for your life with pain, little one. Never let anyone make you feel that you’re less.” He set the boy on his feet. “Hally?” Tanis smiled at the nickname Dash used for Halla whenever he asked her to do something for him. He always said it like an endearment.
Once again in human form, the hobgoblin stepped forward. “Aye, lord?”
