the darkness falls around me at night
I start to nod. "Yeah, I’m—" But the crunch of hooves cuts me off.
More.
I whip my head toward the sound, already scrambling through the snow. My heart kicks into overdrive. There’s no time to be scared, no time to answer. I lunge toward the glint of a dagger half-buried in slush, fingers closing around the hilt just as the void-luxere charges.
It’s faster than I expect.
I don’t have time to think, only to move—dive, roll, twist. Its antlers scrape past me, one on either side of my head as I shove upward, driving the dagger deep into the side of its skull. The momentum knocks me flat on my back, pinned for a breathless moment beneath its twitching weight before I manage to squeeze my legs out from under it, soaked in snow, flecked with red, hair matted and sticking to my cheek.
I stagger up to my knees, breath puffing out in clouds, the dagger still clenched in one numb hand.
"I’m great," I say hoarsely, glancing toward the man and the unicorn like this is totally normal. My voice is dry as the dunes. "Really making a good impression, aren’t I?"
I swipe my arm across my face and give him a blood-smeared grin. "I’m Theea," I add, just in case I die in the next two minutes. "Nice to meet you."
Then I plant my boots in the snow and lift the dagger again, squinting toward the sound of more hooves cracking through the frost.
More.
I whip my head toward the sound, already scrambling through the snow. My heart kicks into overdrive. There’s no time to be scared, no time to answer. I lunge toward the glint of a dagger half-buried in slush, fingers closing around the hilt just as the void-luxere charges.
It’s faster than I expect.
I don’t have time to think, only to move—dive, roll, twist. Its antlers scrape past me, one on either side of my head as I shove upward, driving the dagger deep into the side of its skull. The momentum knocks me flat on my back, pinned for a breathless moment beneath its twitching weight before I manage to squeeze my legs out from under it, soaked in snow, flecked with red, hair matted and sticking to my cheek.
I stagger up to my knees, breath puffing out in clouds, the dagger still clenched in one numb hand.
"I’m great," I say hoarsely, glancing toward the man and the unicorn like this is totally normal. My voice is dry as the dunes. "Really making a good impression, aren’t I?"
I swipe my arm across my face and give him a blood-smeared grin. "I’m Theea," I add, just in case I die in the next two minutes. "Nice to meet you."
Then I plant my boots in the snow and lift the dagger again, squinting toward the sound of more hooves cracking through the frost.
Theea
and covers me in silence so bright
