66. Unicorn
Morning light shone through the tiny holes in the canvas tent as Lyra stretched awake.
A shadow darkened the bottom half of her door, and she lurched upright.
Judging by the height and shape, it was a male, but which one of her companions she wasn’t sure.
She threw her legs off the side of her long cot and set to putting her boots back on.
The shadow moved then and cleared its throat.
“Yes?” Lyra asked.
But there was no reply.
An unusual noise had her sitting up taller. It was a squelching sound, like when your boot gets stuck in mud.
Then there was a groan. A groan deep enough that her cheeks heated.
Surely not, she thought as she tiptoed to the tent door and peered out.
It absolutely was.
Ridge sat very rigidly as Maelys lay between his spread thighs. The shaft of what looked to be an enormous cock slid in and out of her mouth.
Lyra’s eyes bulged as Maelys worked Ridge into a pulsing, thrusting mass of male.
Sunlight shone on Maelys’ golden brown hair as she bobbed her head up and down, at the same time she twisted her fist around him.
Lyra knew it was possible because Wilder had done that very thing to her, but she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t asked her to do that in return. It was obviously enjoyable if Ridge’s bucking hips were any indication.
When Ridge increased his thrusting from his seated position, Maelys popped off and stood.
“Hurry and fuck me before they return,” she whispered as she grabbed Ridge’s hand and scurried off into the trees.
Lyra stood frozen as a statue. The intimacy of that moment was not hers to partake in, but she had enjoyed it. The freedom that Maelys exhibited, the power she held over Ridge at that moment, was astonishing.
Lyra hadn’t realized something like that was truly possible. Or that you could take pleasure in it.
With slow, deep breaths, she worked to calm her pounding heart.
After what felt like an hour, she had mastered herself enough to step out of the tent and into the dappled light.
The campsite was empty.
Maelys and Ridge were probably not too far away from finding their completion. But where had the others gone?
Instead of doing something stupid like searching for any member of their guard, Lyra plopped down beside the ash remains of their fire.
The sky was turning a powdery blue, and the birds chirped in the trees. They had to be getting close to the Mannereds. The land felt different here. More orderly than what they had come from.
A shimmer caught her eye, and she turned to see a creature appear from between two large ash trees. Lyra’s breath caught, and she scrubbed her eyes with her fists. There was no way. With a stuttering breath, she smiled at the unicorn.
Its white mane glittered iridescently, like that of the pearls from the ocean. Its twisting horn dripped with blood and gore.
It took a step closer to her, and Lyra stood. She had read so many stories as a child about them, but she never fathomed they were anything but a fairy tale.
Once more, she blinked to see the creature taking another step towards her. It was magic. Pure undiluted magic. The unicorn was majestic, but with the gore dripping from its horn, it was also monstrous.
Lyra considered the juxtaposition of it all. The creatures associated with rainbows and sunshine were the same creatures that mutilated or murdered others. Like her.
Outstretching her hand, she took another step closer, at the same time the unicorn did until she brushed her hand up its snout. It felt like velvet before she got to the long mane. Up close, the hair was white, but also every shade of color.
It smelled like the fluffy purple petals that had been in the Wilds. Closing her eyes again, she savored this moment. The feel of the life next to her, the softness of its warmth, and the lightness of its scent.
The wind sang through the trees, and with it, the unicorn’s ears flicked. It stood up taller and backed away before it disappeared into the thicket again.
“Farewell,” Lyra whispered.
Her life felt complete now that she had pet a unicorn.
“Who are you talking to?” Maelys asked, tightening her scabbard back around her waist.
“A unicorn.”
Maelys started laughing so hard she bent over at the waist. Ridge appeared out of the tree line and stalked towards them.
“What’s so funny?” He had the expression of a man who had hoped that laughter wasn’t about him.
“Lyra,” Maelys breathed in between laughing. “Said she was talking to a unicorn.”
Ridge chuckled then, but Lyra crossed her arms over her chest and leaned to the side, jutting her hip out.
“What is so funny? I did!”
Maelys straightened and wiped the tears from her eyes. Silently, Wilder and the others appeared, looking dirty but happy.
“Why is Maelys crying?” Dust asked.
“She was laughing at Lyra because she saw a unicorn,” Otto confirmed.
Maelys froze. “She really did?”
“We were out there for hours,” Wilder growled, turning to Otto.
“You don’t like to know.”
Lyra looked from person to person. “What is happening?”
Dust cracked a grin and shook his head. “We were out looking for a unicorn all morning. They’re practically impossible to find, and Wilder has been looking every time we’ve come here for the last, I don’t know how many years.”
“One hundred. One hundred years.” Wilder continued glaring but shook his head. “Let’s pack up and head out before the wulvers decide to follow us.”
Lyra smirked at Wilder as he passed, and he returned it with one of his own.
“You didn’t tell me,” Lyra said, stepping behind him and following back to the center of camp.
“Tell you what?”
“That the unicorns existed. I told you about all those books I read,” Lyra replied.
Wilder halted, and she stopped with him. “I didn’t know if they truly were real and didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
He jostled the pack on his back, and the flap covering the contents shifted enough that she could see the twine of a rope.
“Were you planning on catching it?”
Wilder’s eyes never left her face, and they even seemed to soften. “Maybe.”
“Why?”
“So that you could see it too.”