“I’m going to kick you and run off, do you understand?”
Torin laughs and scoops up Kit before swinging on with practiced ease. He’s like a little kid on a pony ride at the fair, and I’m like the pony that just wants to eat grass and buck the little kids off. Thankfully, walking on all fours is second nature in this form, so I plod along in misery like an overworked nag.
“Surely you can go faster than this. Think about this… the faster you go, the sooner this is all over with.”
I contemplate that and then bolt. A part of me is hoping it gets rid of the pesky man on my back, but I should have expected more from a god of war who’s likely ridden many mounts into battle.
Instead, I can hear him laughing as he holds Kit so I can see where we’re going. Thankfully, the foolish man already carried me about eight miles, so the remaining two won’t take long at this speed.
“Is this really that much fun?” I ask.
“It’s thrilling. Besides the glitter, which I could do without. It’s in myeyes,in mymouth. I’m going to be wearing it for weeks.”
After traveling for another minute, Torin says, “I’ve been thinking, Riley… I know you miss working for the Magical Interference Unit, so I don’t understand why you don’t just tell them what’s going on and go back to work for them. They can put you in lighter jobs. You’re still quite capable.”
I want to ignore the question, but I know he’s a very persistent and stubborn man. So I decide to remind him of what I told him before.
“Because the unit is comprised of the highest-ranking magical agents. They’re quite strict when it comes to who can and can’t work there. They would never allow me to rejoin with this curse.” I leave out the fact that without my sight, I feel lost. Kit gives me so much, and yet… the moment she’s gone or has fallen off my shoulder, I feel incapacitated. And I hate it. I get frustrated and angry. But if I give up, if I just work at the library, I don’t have to worry about anything.
“You really think they’d turn you away even though you’re clearly quite talented and have done so much for them?”
“That’s not how they think. Those regulations have been in place since the founding of the unit… it’s not going to change now just for me.”
“They don’t know what talent they’re missing out on. Any man who will turn into a unicorn for me and let me ride him gets my vote.”
“I’m going to stop here and you’re going to give me your clothes,” I say once I see the discount store at the edge of town.
“But I don’t want to lose my elusive unicorn,” Torin protests as I do a full-body shake to get him off. Of course he stays glued to my back, so I try walking under a low branch. He grudginglygrabs the branch and swings off my back. Then he pulls off his pants right then and there while I rush over to block him from the eyes of a preteen who’s walking into the store.
“Let’s hide around the corner.”
He follows me over to a secluded spot where he undresses while I shift before changing into the clothes he hands me. Then I hurry inside the discount store, feeling like I’m swimming in Torin’s clothes. I grab a battery charger and a change of clothes which I pay for before leaving. Once we’re both dressed, I ignore his cries to ride my ass, and head down into the subway instead.
“How dare you do this to me? I brought you to ecstasy and back and still you treat me this way,” Torin grumbles. “I let youfondle me.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I was the one letting you fondleme. Pity fuck, remember?”
“First one was pity, second one was not so much pity… but the third one? That was me letting you touch my godly cock.”
“Your ‘godly cock’ is only going to know the feel of your own hand if you don’t straighten up. Now get on the subway. You’re getting good at this,” I say as it pulls up and I cram him on. There are no open seats, so he clings to the bar with so much crushing strength, I kind of feel like the bar is bending. All the while, he’s battling sparkles out of his mouth and shimmering. I pick up Kit and aim her at my face so I can use her as a mirror to look at myself, and I discover that I don’t have a single sparkle on me. Huh.
“I hate this. I hate this. I hate this,” Torin declares while the passengers stare at him. It’s this odd mix where their expressions go “Damn, he’s fine” with a dash of “Why the hell is he so sparkly?” and a dose of “Why is he crying like that?” His sex appeal is apparently off the charts, and the sparkles are just adding to it.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
“I sure am.”
“Then this is worth the ride,” I say before we get off at the second stop. He’s pleased it was a short ride, and when we reach the surface, I cross the street and head straight into a buffet.
“What is this place?” he asks as we’re seated.
“It’s called a buffet. So everything you see, you can just go over and pile onto your plate. There are different kinds of food, too. We’ve got different international cuisines, steak, seafood, pizza, and way more. You can have it all.”
Torin nods approvingly. “This was worth the subway and the sparkles.” He rubs a sparkle out of his eye.
“I thought you’d be happy,” I say as I lead him over and hand him a plate to get started. He follows behind me and proceeds to grab something from every single tray in the first area. His plate is now a tower of food that he has skillfully stacked so it won’t fall. And when he reaches the table, I stare in amazement. “You… know you can have as many plates as you want, right?”
“Yes, but I wanted it all now,” he replies before beginning to feast. He asks what every item is, and when I have no clue, I just make up a name. The more ridiculous, the more he laughs. He has to be aware that I’m just saying shit, but he seems to enjoy it and roll with it.
