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There was no way Snow could see or hear her from inside the stable. But the mare immediately settled down. It was uncanny.
Marian gulped and wiped away a tear. “Let’s go.”
After a last peek around, we stole outside the abbey walls and started down the dark road. At first, we race-walked, keeping our steps quiet. Then we jogged and finally broke into a run. After half a mile, I stopped, shaking my head at miles of open territory ahead.
“Are you sure Winthrop is the best option?” I asked.
“It’s our only option,” Marian insisted.
We’d gone over it all in the library. Lord Winthrop was her father’s oldest friend and a staunch supporter of the king. He was also the only person with enough standing — and enough loyal footmen — to get word to everyone else quickly and quietly.
Still, Winthrop was miles away.
“We’ll never make it before dawn. Not at this rate. Maybe we could steal some horses…”
Marian shook her head. We’d been over that too. Even in an emergency, she wasn’t willing to steal from honest folk. My own fault for introducing her to the locals, I suppose.
“Are you telling me a lion can’t run through the night?” she huffed.
Now that put my tail in a twist. “Of course I can. But what about you?”
“Oh, I can definitely run as fast as a horse, and all through the night.”
I tilted my head. How exactly did she plan to pull that off?
“Oh, ye of no faith.” She tossed her head and threw back the monk’s robe I’d given her as a disguise.
I stared. “What are you doing?”
She gave me a firm look. “Trusting you. With my life. With the future of the kingdom. And now, with my family’s greatest secret.”
The air shimmered around her shoulders as she shed layers of clothing. My breath caught. Up until then, my best guess as to her true nature had tended toward witch or sympath. But that shimmer was the sure sign of a shift.
I held my breath, watching, waiting. What kind of shifter had no telltale scent? What species could run through the night as far and as fast as a horse?
“Hm-hmm.” She cleared her throat.
I blushed and turned at that silent command. She was down to her undergarments by then, and those would be next.
A moment later, a bundle landed by my feet. “Would you be able to carry those?” she asked. “I’ll need them later.”
I nodded dumbly, knowing I ought to shift too. But at that moment, I was too frozen in anticipation to move.
Most shifters produced a little groan while transforming, because bone and muscle didn’t rearrange without making themselves felt. But Marian didn’t make a sound. When her feet scuffed over the frozen ground, I strained to identify what I heard. Four clunky feet, by the sound of it, because the scuffing was louder than the sound made by paws. Then came a little murmur, and I turned slowly.
Come along, already, Marian chided, using mind-talk that was faint at first, then clearer. Shift. There’s no time to waste.
There wasn’t, but holy hell. All I could do was stare.
Four dainty hooves. A long, silky mane as dark as her human hair. Wide nostrils, intelligent eyes the same color as a starry night.
I stared and stared and stared.
Horse shifters were rare, but Marian was something rarer still.
“Unicorn,” I breathed, watching as the spiral of her single, long horn reached its full length. The white of it contrasted with the black of her body and the inky night.
“You’re a unicorn,” I sputtered.
