Priestess

Chapter 1

“It is time.”

“Time?” she said aloud before remembering and repeating the question in her mind.

“I have found you.”

A black horse emerged from the surrounding trees. She tensed in anticipation of a Kanovian. Her eyes searched in vain and then widened as she realized there wasn’t a rider. Her gaze leapt upon the animal.

This wasn’t a horse.

What stood before her was a Unicorn. Her arms lost their strength. Her bow clattered to the rocky shore.

The Unicorn galloped toward her. Every inch, including his spiral horn, glistened like polished onyx. He was as muscular and massive as a draft horse, but he moved with all the grace and strength of a fine-boned sprinter.

A stone’s throw away, he stopped short. She looked into the liquid pools of his eyes and saw a gentle intelligence.

He was exquisite.

He shook his thick mane, studying her as a master painter would his subject. “As are you.”

Could it be possible that he knows my thoughts? A crimson blush started at her neck and wound its way upward. “The power I felt, the light,” she said in wonder, “it was you?”

“Yes.” Lodan nodded his head in confirmation and repeated his message, “I have found you . . . Speak of me to none until I return.” Then he whirled and, faster than an arrow flew, disappeared back inside the trees.

Ara stood there until the outline of each and every stone was imprinted on her soles. No one had seen a Unicorn in decades, certainly not in her lifetime. Some doubted they still existed. Could he truly be real? And why couldn’t she tell anyone?

The coming darkness finally jerked her into action. She had to make it home before dark. Clucking to Talbot, she began a ground-eating jog. But despite her swift pace, she broke through the trees well after dusk.

Her legs shaky from her run, she hurried to the enormous oak tree beside her home. Shoving the deer’s hooves into the loop that hung from one of the branches, she hoisted it up and tied it off before taking Talbot to the barn.

With the sounds of his contented crunching playing in her ears, she secured the barn door behind her. Taking a deep, calming breath, she opened the latch and stepped into the brightness of the kitchen.

Her mother’s knitting needles clacked furiously. “Why were you late?” she asked in measured tones.

Ara shuffled her feet. “I had a hard time finding game.”

“You never have a hard time finding game.” Standing, her mother stepped forward and yanked Ara’s cap off. Clumps of damp curls fell around her shoulders. Qessa rolled a lock between her fingers. “It’s dangerous enough to be out alone, but after dark! And swimming!” she spat the last word.

Wishing she weren’t such a miserable liar, Ara looked away.

Qessa’s sat back down, her needles instantly finding their rhythm. Ara wondered what she was making. A cap perhaps? “I used to let you swim all the time, but things are different now. It’s not safe.” She waited for Ara’s response. When none came, she continued, “The Kanovian Assassins have killed as close as Kir. So far, we’ve been spared, but who knows for how long. You’re Gifted, Ara, seeing visions and the like. If they find you, they will kill you.”

Ara winced. Without Tenan’s help, she hadn’t been able to hide her visions from her mother. Or her father for that matter. Consequently, her freedoms had been limited. What would her parents do if they knew there was more to her “I’m sorry, Mother.” And Ara meant it, though not in the way her mother would expect.

Qessa straightened. “Yes, well, you should be.”

Ara exhaled in relief. The Unicorn, Kodan, was yet one secret that would remain safe. At least for now.

Kendrake entered through the back door. He gave Qessa a questioning look. She nodded. With a grunt, he unstrung his bow and hung it before washing his hands in the dry sink. “I see you found a buck. I guess that means you need to make a trip to town. Take the spare venison, a batch of your mother’s cheese, and a couple chickens to trade for the things on your mother’s list.”

“I don’t think Ara should go—”

“She’s seventeen. She can’t hide here forever.” Kendrake snatched a towel and began drying his hands.

Qessa pursed her lips in disapproval but didn’t argue.

Her father nodded to her. “You leave first thing in the morning. Keep to yourself, take your bow, and be wary. The forest is a dangerous place at present.”

Ara clenched her teeth to keep from pointing out that she hunted alone in the forest often enough. She knew it wasn’t the forest he feared, but her Gift revealing itself.

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