Page 5 of Winter Goddess
Well, now it's not really worth the use of magic. I turn around two corners and enter the courtyard through a white wooden door, delicately carved with vines and flowers.
Blaze is awkwardly standing in the centre of the square, nudging a weird looking flower with his horn. He must be bored.
The unicorn is fascinating to look at. He's sparkling throughout, not just on the outside. His aura is covered in rainbow sparkles, not unlike the rainbow mist in his cave. His horn though is the most extraordinary thing about his appearance. It's where all of his magic seems to be concentrated, swirling and writhing in the confined space. His magic is bright silver, almost too bright, and a lot more powerful than I had imagined.
"Blaze," I say loudly and he turns around. "What a pleasure to see you again." I remember how I last saw him, singed and scared of me, and add, "I apologise for what happened last time. I wasn't quite myself."
He bows his head. "I know, don't worry about it. I didn't leave because of you. I was called away."
"Is that so?" I take a seat on one of the benches. It's freezing cold and I funnel some magic into the metal to make it nice and cosy. Before, I would have had to do a lot of complicated thinking to achieve this, now, I just think 'get warm' and it happens. I would have never had to take lessons with my guys if magic had been this easy from the beginning. At the same time, I'm glad that I have acquired a detailed knowledge of how magic works. If I ever lose these new powers, I won't have to start back at zero.
"I have news from a friend of yours," Blaze begins. "But first, I've heard Queen Beira is unwell?"
I nod and sigh. "Yes, she's been ill for some time. I've taken over her duties until she recovers."
"Will she recover?" Blaze asks, his voice a little sharper than I'm used to. I look at him in surprise.
"Yes. Once Angus has been defeated."
"Are you sure?" The unicorn sounds as if he doesn't believe me in the slightest.
I sigh again. "Yes. Now, what's that message? What friend?"
"The pretty Guardian who went to the dragons. Ada."
"Wait, you know where Ada is?" I almost jump up from the bench in surprise, but just about manage to control myself. Behaving like that wouldn't be very Queen-like. Princess-like, I mean. I'm not the Queen.
"Yes, I do. She called me to her, even though she didn't know that she was doing it. She and her Guardians have travelled far and have had quite a few adventures. I'm not sure I believe all she's told me, but who knows, maybe it's true. Anyway, she's followed that dragon to his Realm."
"The Dragon Realm?" I interrupt. "We thought that they support the Morrigan. They've not replied to any of our messages, and their ambassador has disappeared."
"They didn't support her, not willingly at least. She had a hold on them, but not any longer. Ada says the dragons will support you, but they want to meet you in person first. They want to decide whether you're strong enough to lead them into battle." He chuckles. "They're almost as proud as unicorns."
I let his words run through my mind again. Dragons. Ada. The prisoner. I'd almost forgotten about her and the man she'd freed from our dungeons. There had been a lot more important things to deal with, and we didn't have the resources to invest in searching for them. Now, I'm quite glad we didn't. It seems she's managed to achieve quite a feat by herself.
"Where do they want to meet?" I ask Blaze. "Are they coming here?"
He shakes his large head. "No, they aren't trusting enough for that. When you find out what happened to them, you'll understand. They want you to come to the Dragon Realm, and soon. I'd recommend tomorrow."
I gape at him. "Tomorrow? Do you know how full my schedule is? I can't just disappear on a merry trip to dragon land."
He whinnies. "You're a Goddess now, Wyn. You can do whatever you want."
"How do you know I'm a Goddess?"
"You smell different. I bet the sparklies wouldn't have as big of an effect on you now as they used to. Want to try?"
I shudder at the memory of the first time I took his sparklies. I'd turned into a hormonal, lovesick weirdo. Then, I got addicted. No, I don't ever want to get near that stuff again.
"Are you trying to provoke me?" I ask the unicorn and he snickers.
"Maybe. It's fun. Now, do you think I could get some food? It's been a long ride here."
I smile. "What would you like? I don't think I know what unicorns eat, to be honest."
"Magic. We eat magic. You should know that by now."
"How does that work?" I ask. I didn't have a clue. When we had our very first picnic in his cave, he didn't eat with us, and on my visits after, I never saw him eat either. But magic? Is he eatingmymagic?
