Page 70 of Faeling
“They’ve moved off,” Ravenna argued. “They can’t mean us any harm.”
“Sentimental fool,” Ulrich growled. “Unicorns have slain many kin. They’re to be killed on sight.”
Glaring up at the lord commander, Ravenna said, “It’s bad luck to slay a unicorn.”
“Perhaps foryour kind,” Ulrich sneered. “An orc wears their horns as trophies.” Nodding at the others, Ulrich said, “Track them.”
“No!”Run fast!
I won’t leave you, Crow.
Oberon, they mean to kill you!
With Ravenna holding onto him, the hunter looked first at her and then his comrades, obviously unsure what to do about the human woman dangling from his arm.
“Unhand him.Now,” Ulrich warned.
“They aren’t a danger!”
“Kone,please—” The hunter gripped her arm with his free hand, trying to pull her off.
“You would defend a unicorn?” Another laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.
“She’s mad,” scoffed another, blocking her in.
“I said unhand him!” Ulrich clapped a heavy hand on her other shoulder, fingers digging below her left clavicle.
“Please don’t hurt them!”
“What’s the meaning of this?”
Their scuffle stopped, and as one, they all looked up the ridge. At the top stood Vallek, Mattias, and over a dozen berserkers. Rage contorted Vallek’s face, his nose wrinkled like a great cat’s, his mouth pulled down.
“Unicorns, my king!” Ulrich hurried to explain. He pointed out where they’d been spotted. “Not four-hundred yards from camp.”
“Unicorns? This far south?” Mattias said.
But Vallek said nothing, glowering down at the strange tableau they must have made. As if she’d caught fire, the hunters released her.
Ravenna spun around to face up the slope. She met the angry gaze of herazai,unsure what he was maddest at. Probably her.
That mattered less to her than Oberon’s safety.
Bending, Ravenna knelt on the needles and detritus, folding her hands before her.
“Please,” she begged, “please spare them. They’ve already moved on.”
Vallek’s eyes rimmed in white to see her kneeling. “Unicorns have long been the enemy of orcs.”
“These aren’t your enemy.”
“How could you know that, foolish woman?” Ulrich demanded. “They aren’t pretty ponies, these are warhorses! Bred to hunt and kill orcs!”
“If they meant to hurt you, they would have already,” Ravenna spat.
Ulrich huffed, spitting on the ground near where she knelt.
“Enough.” Vallek didn’t need to raise his voice, the low warning carrying down the slope to them. Ravenna shivered with its impact.
