They stared at each other for a long minute, and then Esofi tore the last gemstone from her dress and let it fall to the floor, never once breaking his gaze.
“Princess, there are at least twenty dragons out there!” yelled Henris. “I can’t let you—”
Esofi felt like perhaps she had been possessed by a demon as she threw a wave of sparkling pink light at the man who had been her loyal protector, slamming him against the wall. Henris looked dazed as Esofi sprinted past him, her mind already on the upcoming battle, all too glad to shed her thoughts of weddings and disappointments.
Nobody else tried to stop her, and Esofi made her way down to the stables, knowing a horse was her only chance of getting to the city wall before the dragons overran Birsgen. There were no hostlers around to aid her, and so Esofi went to the stalls, hoping perhaps one of the horses might still be saddled.
To her great surprise, the unoccupied stall next to Adale’s horse now had a resident in the unicorn that the twins had brought. It was clearly agitated, swinging its head from side to side and gazing up toward the sky.
It knows. Then inspiration struck.
“Do you speak Ieflarian?” she asked, looking the unicorn full in the face.
The unicorn did not respond, though it did stare at her.
“Dro vaq Sibari na?” she asked. “Dei vou Rhodiania? Vaai Dassauvi? Vod Eska? I’ve already spoken to a dragon; I know you can understand me!”
The unicorn merely continued to stare, though now it seemed like it might be amused. Or perhaps that was merely wishful thinking.
“I know you’re angry at us, and you’ve a right to be,” said Esofi. “But there is an emperor coming to kill us all. If he succeeds, you’ll never get back home. I think I can stop him. But I need to get down to the city wall. If you help me, I will…” Esofi wondered what in the world she could offer a unicorn. “I will make it illegal to trap your kind for any reason. You will be safe from Men for the rest of your…” Esofi hesitated again. “How long do unicorns live for?”
The unicorn laughed, Esofi was certain of it, exhaling rapidly through his nose and making an amused sound from within his chest. Esofi gave an incredulous laugh as well.
“Very well,” it said. No, not it—he. The unicorn had a sonorous voice that matched his beautiful form. “But only because I know the dragons would not grant me that same protection or even the protections I have now.”
Esofi felt a little ill. “You mean they’d eat you?”
“My poor mad cousins? Yes,” said the unicorn. “Now let me out of here. It smells of sorrow.”
Esofi threw the latch and wrenched the stall open. “Thank you. And I am sorry—I didn’t realize you weren’t an animal. I didn’t realize the dragons weren’t either until only a few days ago.”
The unicorn turned his head to one side as if inspecting her. “One spoke to you? But that is forbidden.”
“Why?” asked Esofi. “Why aren’t you allowed to speak to us? It would make things so much easier if you could! You could have representatives at King Dietrich’s court, and nobody would mistakenly harm you.”
“You misunderstand,” said the unicorn. “I am not forbidden to speak. I merely choose not to. The dragons, however…the emperor has ordered their silence. It makes them easier to control. He would face more opposition if his subjects began to think of Men as their equals.”
Esofi had a thousand questions, but the unicorn knelt with his front legs so Esofi could easily climb on to his back. It was difficult with her heavy and complicated skirts, but the unicorn rose easily, as though she weighed nothing.
“What should I hold on to?” asked Esofi, who had never even considered riding without a bridle or saddle.
“Not my mane, you’ll tear at it,” said the unicorn. “Put your arms around my neck. And try not to dig in your heels.”
Esofi did as he said, leaning forward against his warm neck. His horn gleamed in the fading light like a naked blade, a fearsome weapon. Yet he had not used it to escape the twins or attack any of the Ieflarians.
The unicorn broke into a canter, and Esofi clung tighter. He was far, far faster than any horse and rounded the side of the castle within minutes. Then, with the road down into the Temple District in sight, he broke into a gallop.
He could have outrun any horse in the world easily. Esofi had wanted to ask him more questions on the way to the city wall, but now she was afraid that she’d bite off her own tongue if she attempted to speak. She gritted her teeth together and watched the assorted districts of Birsgen fly past, occasionally catching a glimpse of an openmouthed citizen staring at her in wonder.
As they drew nearer, Esofi could see the dragons hovering in the sky, occasionally swooping down to engage with the guardsmen that had flooded out to defend the wall. But they weren’t truly attacking, not yet.
The unicorn skidded to a halt. “I will go no further. I do not wish for them to catch my scent.”
Esofi slid off his back and tumbled to the ground. Her legs felt strange and numb, and she couldn’t feel her fingers at all, but now she was close enough that the shouting of the city guards, followed by echoing roars, reached her.
“Which one is the emperor?” Esofi asked.
“I could not guess, Princess.” The unicorn lowered his head for a moment. “I wish you well.”
“Thank you,” said Esofi solemnly. “And I meant what I said—if I live, I will make this country safe for your kind.”
“I know,” said the unicorn. “I would not have carried you if you had lied.”
Esofi felt her eyes widen. “You are a Truthsayer? But that is Iolar’s magic! You are a creature of Talcia.”
“And you are a creature of Iolar who carries Talcia’s magic,” the unicorn reasoned. “Is that any different?”
Esofi swallowed. “Thank you,” she said again.
The unicorn nodded at her before turning and galloping back in the direction of the castle.
Esofi hurried the rest of the way to the wall. But as she neared, she realized it wasn’t just city guards who had gathered. There were some priestesses of Reygmadra in their heavy plate armor and some paladins from the Order of the Sun in their chain mail and even some artisans from Inthi’s District, their hands alight with orange flames. A few bright spots of color caught her eye, and she thought her own battlemages stood among them, having somehow beaten her frantic dash to the wall.
It was only when she emerged from the guard tower and onto the wall that she realized that they were not Rhodians at all—they were her own students, the newly gifted Ieflarians.
They gathered around her when they caught sight of her, hope and joy in their faces. They weren’t ready. They barely knew how to maintain a shield. They would be slaughtered! Esofi felt sick as she searched for a diplomatic way to order them back to the dubious protection of the temple. Talcia could not have meant them to die so soon and so terribly. It was unthinkable.
“Who is in charge here?” asked Esofi. There was a moment of silence as all the gathered Birsgeners looked around at one another.
“You are, Princess,” said one of the neutroi of Inthi at last.
Esofi had been afraid of that. “Where is Captain Lehmann?”
“We sent for him,” said one of the guardsmen. “He was at the betrothal. He’s on his way, I’m sure of it, along with the battlemages.”
“We’re battlemages!” objected one of Esofi’s students, a skinny woman who had worked as a shepherdess just outside the city before she’d been gifted.
“The true battlemages, then,” the guardsman retorted dismissively. Esofi’s students seemed prepared to show their disagreement, but she cut them off before the infighting could begin.