Page 43 of Unicorn Shifter Academy
It was where the strongest among us gave everything they had to ensure the rest of us survived.
And the Academy served as a place to protect that which gave us our power.
But the system only worked when all of the Houses contributed equally.
Frowning, I noticed that the Sun crystal seemed to be malfunctioning. A dark shadow hid that part of the campus from me, but I’d spotted my brother heading that way. He’d take care of any disturbances and remedy the situation soon enough.
He and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but I knew I could count on him when it mattered.
“I take it you do not have good news for us,” a voice boomed, redirecting my attention to the hologram of a male with a long white scar on his forehead.
He didn’t look older than thirty, like most immortal supernaturals, but I wasn’t fooled by his youthful appearance.
He was as ancient as time.
I didn’t answer him immediately, primarily because I was considering my response. Belial wasn’t the most dangerous of the Elders, but he was a close second. He had once been a demon but found a way to slide his moral scale and redeem his soul.
It had changed him into a Unicorn—a creature of raw magic and perfect power.
That was the extent I understood of his history. For all I knew, he was one of the first Unicorns to exist and a founder of one of the Houses, but it was impossible to know which.
The Elders only wanted us to know that they were beings of raw power.
It was probably everything someone like Belial had sought for. I didn’t believe for a moment that he had become a Unicorn Shifter out of the goodness of his heart.
No, his interests were in power, control, and most of all, Calamity.
He was the reason we had a collection of creatures locked in the ruins. He had been the most outraged among the Elders to learn of Khimaira’s escape.
Losing one of his pets was indeed an absolute travesty.
I didn’t bother informing the Elder of the losses we’d sustained thus far. “We have located Khimaira,” I told him, knowing that’s what he would be most interested in.
His black eyes sparkled with interest.
It was always eerie to converse with an Elder directly like this. While my eyes had turned silver by my acceptance as a Conduit of the Houses, prolonged exposure to every brand of magic the Unicorns controlled eventually burned out one’s soul.
Evident by the dark, soulless eyes that stared back at me.
Demons didn’t have souls, not exactly, so I supposed that Belial never had a soul in the first place. Or maybe he earned himself one early on in his transformation, only to ironically lose it again.
While an interesting quandary, I had more important problems to focus on.
Such as the matter of my own survival.
Because if any of the Elders ever discovered that I was lying to them, they’d rip my horn from my head and let me bleed out to death.
“Go on,” he pressed, not trying to look too eager, but the way he ran his fingers through his hair gave him away.
He once had horns, so the rumor went, and he often subconsciously tried to feel for them when he was anxious.
I imagined it was similar to how I felt in human form without my horn. It was as if a vital piece of me was missing, and I didn’t care for it.
“The Legion is tracking her now,” I told him. Since I would require more updates from Eli and Raze, there honestly wasn’t more to say on the matter than that.
“Hmm,” he said, nodding. “I expect an update by nightfall tomorrow.”
“Of course, Elder Belial.”
