Page 4 of Princess Takes Academy
The smell of his blood made my stomach rumble like I hadn’t eaten for days, but I wasn’t hungry. Not exactly. He lifted his wrist up for me but didn’t press the cut to my mouth. It was my choice. I liked that.
I breathed him in like he’d done to me. He smelled like the ground after a spring rain. Earthy, but also bursting with life.
If I tasted him…
I could do anything. Anything at all. Even tear apart a gigantic crocodile or golden eagle.
I pressed my mouth to the cut and tasted his blood. Mama always made me think of the jungle. Papa, like his jaguar, but sparkling with ancient magic. Queen Shara had tasted like the darkest, richest chocolate cake that Sarah made with her secret recipe.
Keras tasted like coffee beans and spices laid out to roast in the summer sun. His thoughts fluttered into my mind like butterflies. My eyes filled with tears at his grief. His horror, watching his mother fight the crocodile, even knowing she couldn’t win. She’d died. Alone. Without a single Blood to help her.
:You will always have me now,:he whispered in my head.:You will never fight alone.:
:Neither will you.:
Isis laid Her hand on my head, or I might have kept drinking from him for hours. He tasted that good. I might never get enough.
“Thank you for taking care of Keras. Now I would like to give you a reward.”
I shook my head and grinned at him. “I have a friend now. That’s reward enough for me. I don’t have anyone to play with, and Papa gets tired of me trying to ride his jaguar.”
She smiled but shook Her head. “No, I insist. You asked for unicorn Blood, and here I’ve gifted you with a fine king rhino instead. So…” She punctured Her own wrist and offered Her blood.
A goddess’s blood. Given to me.
Eyes wide, I stared at her. “But… I’m not your daughter, not like Queen Shara.”
“You’re her heir and she’s my daughter, and so you are my daughter too. I’d be honored to give you a small taste of power that should satisfy your yearning for unicorns until they’re strong enough to come to you.”
Like Keras, She waited until I leaned forward hesitantly. She didn’t bleed, not like us. Her blood gleamed from inside her skin like a red coal, but it didn’t flow out or drip. As soon as I pressed my mouth to the small cut, Her blood filled my mouth. My ears roared with rushing winds and my stomach pitched like the eagle had dropped me off the top of a mountain and let me fall crashing back to earth. She didn’t taste like anything specific—it was more of a feeling. Like being swept away. Lost. Only to find myself looking back in the mirror I forgot I was holding.
I opened my eyes but didn’t remember closing them. Had I fallen asleep? I couldn’t remember. I opened my mouth to ask what had happened, when Keras made a funny sound.
I turned to glare at him, but he wasn’t laughing to tease me.
His eyes were soft and glowing with wonder. “Wow. So that’s what you wanted in your Blood.”
What?
I looked down at my feet.
Hooves.
I had shiny crystal hooves.
Fur. On my legs.Fur.Purple and teal and pink and—
I squealed with excitement and it came out like Esperanza’s neigh.
:Do I have a horn?:I asked Keras.
:Yes. A long spiral horn that glitters like ice.:
I was so excited I hopped.
Which sent another surge of joy through me. Because when my hooves struck the ground, I sparkled. Glittery lights floated up from the ground like fireflies.
I pranced to the side, sending bright rainbow sparks into the air.
