Finally, we burst outside, scared the hell out of Doran and a few of his gardeners, and kept going right for the stable. Sarosh saw us coming and smiled, his hand raised in a greeting, but he soon caught on to something being wrong.
“What’s happened?” he asked Ottokar. “Are we under attack?”
“No, not here.”
“What?”
“Long story,” I said as Hydris went inside the stable. “We need the unicorn and the second fastest horse because the barrier with Summer is breaking—that was the explosions—and Mannix has a whole platoon there waiting to invade.” Huh. Guess it wasn’t that long of a story.
“And we’re getting married,” Ottokar said before grabbing Sarosh up in a filthy kiss.
“And I turned Mannix into a puddle!” Hydris said with way too much glee as he led Silver Sparkle out of the stable.
Sarosh stood there looking dazed, his lips still pursed from his lover’s kiss.
I left him to Ottokar and refocused on Hydris. “Hon, I’m sorry, but look at her. And look at me.”
He stood beside her and kissed her cheek. “Silver Sparkle, my wuvvy duvvy do, I need help getting to the border with Summeras fast as possible—which I know you can do so easily—but we need to take Bridge and he’s scared you’re not big enough to hold him.”
The unicorn snorted and raised her head, doing the same thing he did when he stared down his nose at someone taller.
I put my hands up. “I’m worried about your back! This isn’t about me. It’s about your health and safe?—”
I cut myself off as she started growing. Literally, she went from slender and pony-sized to a hulking Clydesdale with a horn as big around as my forearm.
“There you are,” Hydris cooed from three feet below her nose. “Lookit my pretty baby! She’s so…” and he said a bunch of unintelligible baby talk as he threw his arms wide and leaned on her in what I assumed was an attempt to hug her now massive bulk.
I nodded at the unicorn. “You’re incredible. I’m a gnat in your presence. Please forgive me.”
She gave another snort and tossed her sparkling silver mane.
“You first,” Hydris said as he flew over to me.
“First for— Oh, god.”
He picked me up and flew me over top of Silver Sparkle’s back. I spread my legs and braced myself for… I didn’t know what, but all that happened was him setting me down on her.
“Hold my hips,” he said as he hovered above me.
“Why?” I asked even as I reached up and held onto him.
“I don’t want to just drop on her. Lower me down gently.”
He stopped fluttering his wings, and I had his full weight. I lowered him in front of me until he was sitting on her back, too, his wings spread against my chest.
Hydris leaned forward and patted Silver Sparkle’s neck. “Okay, baby, go ahead.”
Instinct had me grabbing onto Hydris when the damn unicorn took off like a rocket. Flames should’ve been shootingout of her ass, that’s how fast we were going. And yet, I wasn’t jostling all over the place, bouncing without a saddle, my legs flapping. Nope, it was one of the smoothest rides I’d ever taken—and I meant in cars, trains, and planes. I was afraid I’d fall off if I looked, but I wasn’t sure her feet even touched the ground.
Which was when I realized that I was riding a unicorn to stop a war with a winged prince sitting in front of me and holding his hands out while he giggled. Never in my life would I have thought this would actuallybemy life.
Chapter 13
Ihad nothing to reference to say how long we zoomed through field and forest on the back of a unicorn to the border with Summer, but it felt insanely fast and Ottokar was nowhere to be seen behind us. We startled the hell out of the soldiers who saw us first as Silver Sparkle came to a screeching halt in their midst.
Immediately, Hydris hollered, “Where is General Albion?”
Fingers pointed mostly in the same direction.
