Page 188 of Fated or Knot

Poor Tormund. He’d seemed so excited about what he’d planned for our date time, earlier. We just had to make the most of having it shorted to two days. “Oh, I love surprises,” I said.

He stopped at the fence to pick up a bucket full of cut pieces of fruit and carrots, and put his other arm around me. He clicked his tongue until a huge, shaggy-furred mare trotted over with an eager toss of her head. “This is my girl, Rory. I already have the stable hands socializing her with the new arrival,” he said while feeding her a chunk of apple.

My fingertips tingled as I leaned past Rory to catch sight of this new arrival. There were a couple other horses in the paddock right now. One was of the same breed as Rory, while the other…

Oh, stars, she was gorgeous. She was visibly a few hands shorter than her companions, built with finer bones due to her unicorn heritage. I forgot how to breathe when I noticed the short silver horn poking from her forehead, no more than four inches long.

Full-blooded unicorns were small and frail creatures, said to have horns the length of swords, and a requirement for beautiful virgins as their riders. As a kid, I’d dreamed of riding one, but even as a petite p’nixie I was probably too big. And, well, not a virgin either.

A half-unicorn, as this mare had to be, was an excellent middle ground. She wouldn’t care about my status and I just knew she had every bit of beauty that her unicorn parent carried, from her coat as pure a white as fresh snow and hooves that sparkled with silver glitter. Her mane and tail were lavender, and looked silky soft.

I turned a gleeful look toward my mate, who was grinning broadly. I latched onto his arm and exclaimed, “Tormund!”

“I told you I was going to buy you a half-unicorn horse,” he said.

“That’s the most beautiful horse I’veeverseen! What do you mean? You really bought her for me?”

“I did! I got her here as fast as I could. Her former owners couldn’t maintain her upkeep, and…oh, hello.” He was momentarily distracted as the second shaggy mare approached us and Rory wandered off, content with the treats she’d received.

He passed me the bucket and I happily fed this horse. “This girl belongs to Kauz. He’s going to be shadowing us.”

“Really?” I glanced around, but there was no sign of my beloved kinky bat. I supposed “shadowing” didn’t include him riding with us like a chaperone.

“It’s only fair, and he’ll help keep you safe,” Tormund continued. “And, I’m sorry, li’l bird, but you’ll be riding with me. Dad wants me to rush you out of here, but there’s no rushing the adjustment process for an animal. Your new horse needs to get used to you first.”

“Aw.” I knew he had to be right. My only horse had been Meya, and she’d already been quite used to me since she’d been my father’s mare first. “Well, I’d still love to feed her a treat and say hi before we leave. Where are we going on our rugged outdoor adventure, by the way?”

He winked. “You just told me you love surprises. We’d better leave soon, though, to get there before dark.”

I tingled with excited by the prospect of another pleasant surprise. I held up a carrot and tried wiggling it at the half-unicorn enticingly from a distance. To my surprise, she crossed the paddock and came right up to me. Each fall of her hoof sent up silver sparkles of magic. I amended my earlier assumption: with a good dose of unicorn magic in her blood, she’d bereallyfast at top speed.

She munched right through the carrot and waited patiently for more. “You are such a pretty girl,” I cooed, offering her the last dregs in the bucket at this point. Once she’d eaten it all, sheremained by the fence. Those soulful, liquid dark eyes inspected me.

She didn’t seem like a new, skittish horse, unsure of her place in the herd. When I reached for her, she remained in place, flaring her nostrils to take in my scent.

“I wouldn’t—” Tormund was beginning to say, before stopping himself as the half-unicorn eased a little closer and pressed her muzzle into my palm. I stroked her velvety face almost reverently.

“How old did you say she was?” I whispered.

“Five years.”

An adult, then. She was experienced enough to know what she wanted. I wondered if unicorn blood gave her more intelligence too. If so, she was formidable indeed, if clever Meya was anything to go off of.

“Would you like to go on an adventure with us, pretty girl?” I asked. As if she’d understand. She pawed at the ground and neighed, which I took as a yes. I turned my head to give Tormund a hopeful look, not realizing she was mirroring me and doing the same thing.

He scratched the back of his head. “We could see if she’ll let us saddle her…”

As we walked toward the stables, the half-unicorn kept pace on the other side of the fence. Once we were past the paddock, he told me in a low voice, “Her last owners said she was trouble with a capital-T.”

I huffed, offended on her behalf. “What did they mean by that?”

He shook his head, chuckling. “Unicorn offspring are usually too smart for their own good. You should be fine, li’l bird, she seems to like you. But we’re coming right back if she gives you any problems.”

“Of course,” I agreed. My wings practically vibrated with excitement.

As we came back with the proper equipment, he was in the middle of telling me her old owners called her Stella. “You can rename her how you like,” he said.

She apparently heard him and made a whinny that seemed like a sharp protest. “Stella it is,” I remarked. Stella heard me and posed prettily so her lavender mane and tail flowed in the wind. Oh, shewastrouble in the good way. She and I could be good friends. Adventure buddies, for certain.

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