Page 107 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

I gave him a startled look.

“Few people know that,” he said, taking my empty plate.

“Is that why the mixing of elves and sylphs is forbidden?”

“Part of it.” He held the plates under a trickle of waterspouting from a stone wall. “Both the sylph and elves are proud of their heritage and want to ensure each race survives. Some believe the magic will wane if the blood is not pure. Although it’s the sylph’s dirty secret, they use human females to strengthen the bloodlines. I suspect the elves do the same.”

“I thought those were just stories,” I said, remembering the stories of changelings we were told as children.

Tharan repacked the cart. “The sylph and elves like to look down upon humans when, in reality, they depend on them to ensure the survival of their respective species.”

I strapped a feedbag onto Arion’s mouth. “Is that why I could absorb the powers of a sylph? Is my blood a conduit for magic?”

Tharan rubbed his chin. “But you weren’t human to begin with. Your mother is a Fate, which makes her a goddess. There’s no telling how much of her magic runs through you.”

I petted Arion as he munched happily on his dinner. “I never showed signs of powers before…”

Tharan threw me a blanket. “Perhaps it is hidden inside of you. There are ways of binding or hiding magic. Your mother would know how to do such a spell.”

“Wouldn’t I have sensed it before?” I threw the blanket over Arion.

Tharan rummaged around the wagon. “I could help you find it if you’d like.”

“Mm… Let’s concentrate on surviving the Highlands. We can leave my powers for later.”

“Fair enough,” Tharan said as he stood over the back of the wagon. Waving his hands, the bed filled with a thick layer of pine needles. “These will be softer than the ground for you.” He placed another blanket on top of the needles.

I swallowed hard. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“The ground will be fine for me.” He patted the soft pines.

Wrapping the blanket tighter around myself, I hesitated beforelaying in the makeshift bed. “Please come and lie next to me so I don’t feel bad for making you sleep in the dirt. You are a king, and I am nothing.”

Tharan smiled as he filled Arion’s water. “I’ve slept in worse places.”He patted the black stallion before removing his feedbag.

“You weren’t a king then.” My teeth chattered from the cold.

He sighed before reluctantly climbing into the wagon with me. “It only seems right for me to keep you warm.”

His body radiated heat as we lay silent, listening to the sounds of the forest. It took everything in my power not to curl my body into his.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the stars. “One last question.”

“You’re inquisitive tonight.” His hand brushed mine gently, making my heart flutter.

“If you’re a half-elf, can you transfer your immortality through the breath like full elves?”

“Do you want to find out?” Our eyes locked on one another. Electricity crackling between us.

Neither of us dared to make the first move.

A twig cracked in the forest, breaking our trance. He held his finger to his mouth before pointing at the ridge above us.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness as a blinding white light crept through the trees. I blinked, unable to comprehend what I saw. The creature came into focus, quickening my pulse.

A unicorn.

The majestic creature moved with an unnatural grace as it weaved in between the trees. Hunted to near extinction, unicorns were rare. So rare few believed they still existed.

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