Page 77 of Stolen
“In our realm, the Unicorn was not just a creature. It was hope. Dreams. Innocence made flesh. The SoulTakers believed that killing it would end dreaming in the multiverse. That all realms would fall to darkness without the Unicorn’s light.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and fuck me, I can’t bear it. I curl my hands into fists, my claws digging into my palms.
Her lips part. “Did it?”
I shake my head slowly.
“No. Because even though the beast died, its spirit did not. That is the great lie the SoulTakers never understood. You can kill a body, but not a dream. Not truly.”
She looks back to the tapestry, and I sense the tremble in her aura.
“So the Unicorn lives on?” she asks, her voice tight with something I can’t name.
“In a way. In Nightfall, we say the Unicorn’s soul scattered like stardust, finding its way into the hearts of those brave enough to believe in impossible things.”
My voice is so low now. A whisper. A breath, really.
A beat of silence passes between us.
Then, quieter than before, she says,
“Someone at the market told me you’re not capable of love. That your heart only beats for the c-crown.”
My jaw tightens.
The words cut deeper than I expect.
I’ve endured blades, betrayal, loss that would hollow out lesser men.
But this?
This shatters something fragile inside me. Something I didn’t even know I was protecting.
Anger rises, hot and fast. My vision bleeds crimson at the edges.
A stranger approached my viyella?
My mate.
My only.
I had guards stationed. I’d tasked Shade with watching over her.
And still, someone slipped through.
Someone close enough to whisper poison in her ear.
Close enough to harm her.
To look into her soft, open face and lace doubt into her heart.
And gods forgive me, he did harm her.
Not with fists or flame.
But with words sharp as razors, slicing into the bond we’ve barely begun to form.
I take a step forward.
