“Perhaps you should. I value prudence and intelligence, even when it’s not my own. And sometimes, especially because it’s not my own. And for the record, unicorns arenotfluff and effing glitter. Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t fart or piss rainbows.” He actually shuddered.
Dumbfounded, she watched as he headed off into the crowd. How strange that she’d taken him as arrogant.
Now that she thought about it, he wasn’t. He did actually listen to Halla’s advice a great deal. And unlike her, he watched and weighed matters before he acted. He was very thoughtful. Circumspect.
There was something deeper inside him. Something...
He was vanishing! Oh, he was leaving!
Her heart skipped as she realized that fact.
Not wanting to be left alone again in this world that she really didn’t understand, she ran after him. It wasn’t weakness that made her follow. Just confusion. She hadn’t tried to live among human people, only to escape them.
Dash seemed to know a good deal about the human realm... like his friend he’d told Halla to take Arthur to. Unlike her, he wasn’t a stranger in these lands.
Prudence dictated that she at least remain friendly with Dash until she found her dragon slayer fraud.
So, she headed after him.
And as she followed, she noticed how much attention he drew from others. Men and women. Especially the women.
It wasn’t just that he was handsome and well-dressed in his black leather armor and cloak. It was how he carried himself. With the confident swagger of a beast well accustomed to respect and victory. To command.
By that cocky swagger, it was obvious his conquests weren’t just on the battlefield.
Yet he paid no attention to any of the people he passed. He strode forward with a determined stride that made her very curious about him. All the time she’d been held captive by her last unicorn master, she’d never cared to learn anything about unicorns or anyone else. She’d hated them all and wanted them dead.
This time, she was curious.
Baracus had never shifted forms around her. He’d been a gray, filthy horse with an equally gray horn. While he’d spoken to others, he’d never once deigned to speak to her.
Not even when she’d killed him for her freedom.
There had been nothing remotely appealing about him.
Unlike Dash, who bled sex appeal from every molecule of his body.
For the first time in her life, she felt attraction for someone, and it terrified her. It was so unexpected. Because of what Baracus had done to her, she’d never, ever looked at another male of any species and found them attractive.
Never looked at anyone.
She’d expected to live out the rest of her life alone and chaste.
But as she watched Dash, she wanted to touch his hair and see if it was as soft as his mane had been.
Don’t you dare!
Men were cruel and hateful. She knew that better than anyone. So were women. Sometimes even more so. No one could be trusted. Not for anything.
Her heart had been shattered and she would never trust anyone again.
They were enemies and they must remain so. She was nothing to Dash other than a servant he’d bargained for, and that was all she’d ever be. There was no need to ever delude herself with stupidity. Her days of dreaming and believing that the world was a kind and decent place were over.
He thought of her the same way he did Halla. A burden that followed him around.
She was no longer that little dragon in the valley who believed in fairytales. In the kindness of strangers. That one day she might find someone she could share her life with. A wonderful life partner who would value her and treasure her. Treat her with respect... like Davin did with Marla.
That would never be her life. And thinking about it would only lead to more heartbreak and sorrow.
