Page 15 of Must Love Scones and Secrets
I only hoped that fixing her teacup would cheer her.
My stomach knotted when I realized I’d been very rude to the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my entire life: red hair, wide blue eyes, a sweet button nose, and an endlessly kissable mouth. She was?—
“Do you like bloomberry wine?” Elder Thornberry asked, interrupting my thoughts.
Perfect.
She is perfect.
“Honestly, sir, I’ve never tasted it,” I admitted. “We favor ale and mead in the north.”
“Well, I’ll ensure you have a bottle while you’re here. My family bottles the finest bloomberry wine in all of the Summerlands,” he said proudly.
“I would be honored.”
The elder smiled widely.
Was everyone in Moonshine Hollow this welcoming? People were always crowding around me in Frostfjord, but their intentions had not always been so pure. Here, people just seemed interested in meeting me.
Me.
This was the very reason I’d come here.
I needed to get out of my own way.
We arrived at the stables, a large building suitable for housing at least a dozen horses. Inside, I noticed stable hands working diligently and a young woman with flowing blonde hair brushing a horse. She paused when she saw us, craning her neck to see what was going on.
I followed Elder Thornberry to the back. There, a unicorn mare and her foal had been housed. The unicorns we had inthe north were vastly different from the creatures before me. In the Frozen Isles, they were shaggy creatures with coats of gray, brown, or black and steel-colored horns. These unicorns were far more dazzling. Their coats were silky white, with manes and tails that shimmered with streaks of rainbow colors, their golden horns glistening in the stable’s soft light. They reminded me of the nykur, mythical creatures from our northern legends. Yet, some claimed they still roamed deep in the Frozen Isles. When I was a boy, I thought I’d once spotted one, but the creature vanished when I tried to move in for a better look.
“Elder Thornberry,” I said, turning my attention back to him, “tell me more about the affliction facing your unicorns. In your message, you mentioned chaotic magic. Can you explain what you mean?”
Elder Thornberry gestured to the foal. “It comes in fits and starts. You just never know what’s going to happen. One moment, everything’s fine, and then they stamp their hoof or shake their mane, and that horn lights up. Then…chaos.”
“What do you mean?”
As if on cue, the foal started prancing about his stall. He whinnied and kicked, and then there was a sudden blast of light from his horn. I winced at the bright light. The whole barn glowed. Afterward, a loud protest erupted, accompanied by the frantic clucking of chickens. I turned to see the chickens that had been pecking through the straw now suspended four feet off the ground, encased in shimmering golden halos. They flapped and shook, trying desperately to free themselves from whatever magic had gripped them, but to no avail.
Then, as abruptly as it began, the spell dissipated with a peculiar zapping sound. The golden orbs holding the chickens vanished, and they dropped to the floor in a flurry of feathers, squawking indignantly.
“Chaos,” Elder Thornberry said, gesturing.
“I see,” I said as I watched the chickens hurry from the stables, clucking loudly in indignation.
“The effects are less pronounced in the mare, though she managed to turn an entire trough of water into ice and summon a tiny snow flurry,” Elder Thornberry explained.
“And the same thing is happening with the other unicorns? The herd in the fields?” I asked.
Elder Thornberry nodded gravely. “Yes, all manner of chaos is unfolding out in the fields. My Master of Grove is concerned about the bloomberries. We don’t want something to happen that disrupts the wine harvest this fall. But, as much as I worry about the wine, I’m far more troubled for the poor unicorns and what this may mean.”
“Understandable,” I said, glancing at the mare and foal. “I will observe this pair but should also visit the herd.”
Elder Thornberry nodded. “I’ll make arrangements for someone to take you out tomorrow. There is a small cabin out in the fields where you can stay, but for now, I have a room for you here in the house. It’s quiet and private, with plenty of space for a northerner to stretch out.”
“That’s very generous, sir,” I replied, “but you don’t have to. I can easily stay in a lodging in town.”
“I’ll hear no debate. You’ve come a long way to help us, and you’ll need a good place to rest. Now, I’m off to rejoin the elders. My daughter, Emmalyn, who’s been listening to this entire conversation, will be sure you find your way. Right, Emmalyn?”
“Of course, Father,” came a cheerful reply from nearby. The blonde-haired girl I’d noticed earlier appeared, smiling warmly.
