And before she could say anything more, excitement broke out all around them.
Tanis frowned as she tried to figure out what was happening.
Dash pulled her close to his side. It took her a second to realize that he was doing so in order to protect her from the rushing crowd that would have trampled her easily in their excitement.
“Is it true?”
“Have you heard?”
“I want that money!”
“Give me the poster!”
Voices ran together, sharing news. But she couldn’t quite tell what the news was that they were passing.
Dash grabbed a man as he rushed past. “What’s going on?”
The man handed him a poster. “The High King’s left his palace without his army. His guard’s hunting him. There’s a bounty being offered for his life!”
Chapter 8
Tanis froze as she saw the amount being offered for Dash’s life. One million gold sovereigns. It hung there like a tangible, taunting beast.
Never had she seen a bounty so high. Not for even the worst criminals.
“Who’s offeringthat?” she whispered
Dash handed her the poster. “Seven kingdoms are providing a portion of it. Doesn’t name which seven. But it’s to be paid to whomever delivers my head to my palace... so I would assume the ringleader is already sitting on my throne.”
Her jaw went slack.
Until she saw the drawing, then she almost laughed. Luckily, she caught herself before she did so. “Well... good news. It’s not an exact likeness.” She turned the picture toward him. “Your cheeks aren’t quite that sharp. Nor is the cleft in your chin so pronounced. You do have whiskers, but not that thick, and your ears aren’t freakishly small. You only have a slight widow’s peak, not that deep V thing they drew that makes you look like a vampire caricature. And while they did do a good job on your lips, they totally messed up your eyes. Thank the gods they didn’t get a better artist.”
He didn’t appear the least bit amused or flattered by her attempt to make him feel better.
Folding it up, she held it out toward him. “Look on the bright side, it’s not enchanted. Imagine if they’d hired an elf or wizard to draw it. Those are terrifyingly accurate and animated, to boot.”
He gave her droll stare.
“Well, they are. Besides, all you have to do is change back into a unicorn and who’ll be able to identify you, then? I mean, really. A solid black unicorn? No one would ever know it’s you.”
He smacked his lips at her and the black unicorn on the poster. “We don’t all look alike.”
“Don’t you?”
He glared at her as he snatched the poster from her hand. “No.”
She gestured at the horses around her to prove her point. “Really? You can tell them apart?”
“I promise you, another unicorn or centaur would know the difference immediately. Just as a dragon would know you in your dragon body.”
“Fair point.” Biting her lip, she glanced at the crowd that had yet to recognize him. “So, what do we do?”
“Get out of here as quickly as possible.”
That was a sound idea. Survival was normally a good thing. “You lead. I follow.”
Taking her arm, he gently pulled her through the crowd that thankfully wasn’t paying any attention to them. Yet. Even so, she kept waiting for them to realize who they were and pounce.
