Page 4 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

Only, nothing happens.

I try again.

Still no luck.

I scream in frustration, but it comes out as a very loud, very angry whinny.

Stupid, idiotic magic. I heard Aleks was stuck in his horse form when we awoke, and I’m assuming Alexei and Grigory were, too, but I wasn’t.

So why am I now?

I inhale, and I dig down deep, and I think about what my body should feel like, and I push toward that as hard as I can.

Still, nothing happens.

I scream again, this time releasing all the fury that’s been bottled up inside since Aleksandr and Grigoriy tricked me with their back-to-back proclamations of surrender.

The woman that’s somehow connected to me starts walking toward me. It must be a witch they’ve summoned to try yet again to destroy me. I created a shield around myself with electricity and water before I confronted them, and I’m guessing it has made me hard to kill. Instead of checking in with any of the others, the witch draws nearer. . .all alone.

And she’s smiling.

She must be totally unhinged. Most witches are, so that makes sense. I imagine she can sense my power—the deep well of my magic—even if I can’t access it right now.

She reaches through the fence, clearly already preparing to attack. “Look at you.”

I snap my teeth at her, pretending I’m not wary of her touch. Acting like a dumb beast often convinces people to lower their guard. They don’t expect intelligence when they see idiocy.

Bizarrely, she laughs. “You’re a feisty one. I like that.”

A man I’ve never seen before is walking past. “You shouldn’t reach through the wire. He’s headed for the kill pen. He’s just here until they can arrange transport.”

Kill pen? They’re planning to execute me in this form? Did they somehow freeze me in my horse shape? What spell did they use? How can I force my way around it?

The witch looks utterly appalled. “The—what?”

“Apparently he’s a total maniac.” The man tilts his head strangely, as if he’s looking at something very distasteful—only he’s glaring at me. Hardly surprising, if he was brought in by Aleks, Alexei, or Grigoriy. “After watching him just now, I don’t even fault the owner. He’snuts.”

I’ve literally been awake for two minutes. What’s he talking about? Did he mean, because I was sleeping through a rainstorm? I was magically cursed! I want to zap him to teach him to watch his tongue. I want to. . .I realize that for the first time since the early 1900s, I can’t tell whether his soul’s light or dark. My powers don’t appear to be working at all, because I can’t tell with the witch either.

Without seeing into their souls, without the ability to detect their goodness or their depravity, I feel. . .off-center. No magic. Stuck as a horse. Somehow already linked to this witch. And I can’t even tell whether the people who are evaluating my life are evil or good. I rear back and scream in helpless fury.

“Still. Thekill pen?” The witch sighs pathetically, her shoulders drooping. “What a shame.”

Does she feel sorry for me? Why would she?

“They say he can’t even be approached, much less ridden,” the man says.

I wish one of them would approach me. I may not have much experience as a horse, but I’m pretty sure I could take either of them down with one solid hoof-strike and still break free. It’s this confounded seven-foot-tall electric gate that I can’t figure a way to escape.

“At least they could try gelding him first,” the witch says. “Maybe he’d calm down.”

Geldme? The anger I felt before deepens. Broadens. This time when I rear back, I hold it for a moment, screaming my displeasure. When I finally drop back to all four hooves, the mud around me sprays all over the two idiots in front of me in a very satisfying way. I have so much frustration, so much anger, that I find myself moving again, lest it overcome me. Even with my frenetic activity, and even though she’s whispering, I still hear the words.

“You shouldn’t be killed. Someone should save you.”

I freeze, confused. When I turn back to look at her again, I can’t help wondering whether, somehow, I’ve misunderstood the situation. Why would a witch want to save me? I assumed, based on our connection, that she was some sort of local witch, but what if that’s not true? Horses are generally useless, but their sense of smell’s quite good. I scent the air, checking for the pungent herbs and strange odors that usually accompany dark mages and witches. I smell none of it. I move closer and try again.

Still no trace.

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