The Unicorn Hunter by Rachel Kirkaldie

Author:Rachel Kirkaldie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Published: 2017-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

Erik found a large rock to sit on and passed the time until sunrise by jabbing a stick into the mud near his feet, pretending it was Torel’s heart and he was holding a dagger. He remembered Torel’s hateful laugh and his skeletal face, and the anger at his own failure came so swift and sudden that he clenched his fist and snapped the stick in half.

Torel … of course that wasn’t his real name. Erik wouldn’t have given his real name if Torel hadn’t known it already. So what did Erik know about him? He knew that Torel was uncannily powerful and seemed to know an awful lot about killing unicorns. Torel, for all his treachery, struck Erik as being too intelligent for such a trade. Unicorn hunting was reserved for the desperate and foolish.

Connor and Jessalyn had been lucky to escape, but Erik was sure Torel would not give up his prize so easily. He would be back for Jessalyn. He and that despicable white sword.

Since his humiliating defeat this afternoon, Erik couldn’t get Torel’s sword out of his head. Something about it had reacted to the wound in his shoulder. Could the sword be made of unicorn horn? Was that what had slaughtered King Gillam’s knights? Erik found it difficult to believe that the only intention of a man that powerful was to raid the treasuries of Gontir, and then go quietly on his way. Men like Torel did not go “quietly,” not until they’d gotten what they wanted.

He didn’t realize he had slouched over, arms on his knees, and fallen asleep until someone woke him with a start by poking him in the chest. He straightened stiffly, his shoulder protesting, and found himself face-to-face with the princess.

She was scowling at him. “Fall asleep at your post? Some guard.”

He found himself captivated by her for a moment, before he remembered how much she grated under his skin. He couldn’t see much of her; her face was shrouded in the hood of her cloak, protecting her from the light drizzle that was steadily lengthening into fat drops of rain. Her pale skin was ghostly in the dark.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping, Highness?” he asked at length, his breath a puff of mist.

“I find myself unable to with the ruckus of Connor’s unearthly snoring. So perhaps I should take over your post and let you continue your nap.”

“That’s not necessary.” He stared at his boots, hoping the conversation was finished.

“Why did you do it?” she asked suddenly.

“Do what?”

“Kidnap me. Did you really expect Kale would pay the ransom and you’d be off free and clear?”

“I don’t suppose we would have done it if we expected to get caught,” Erik replied. He carefully avoided her persistent stare. Of course, most of him had expected to get caught, but the details of Torel’s treachery were none of her business.

Jessalyn narrowed her eyes to slits. Erik suspected that she would claw his eyes out at any moment, if only the thought of getting blood on her hands weren’t so repulsive to her.

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