The food lost its appeal as I forced myself to chew and swallow the bite. Kull turned away to scan the edge of the clearing, his crystal eyes seeming intent as he searched for potential threats.
His words kept replaying in my head, and I knew I needed to get away from him as soon as possible.
I stood abruptly, leaving my half-eaten meal behind. Neither Wult spoke as I walked out of the clearing and made my way through the forest, stopping near a huge felled tree. Feeling a sudden chill in the air, I crossed my arms, trying my best to clear my head as I stared at the fallen tree. A poisonous vine crisscrossed its crumbling exterior, but in a few areas, the bark had fallen away, revealing a pristine white log beneath—an uncanny reminder of the feelings I still had for him. Not gone, but hidden away.
I cursed myself for making this expedition with Kull. I should have refused to come. It was too soon, and some memories were too hard to forget—old scars that had been reopened. Perhaps it was true that time healed all wounds, but I would never find closure as long as I stayed near him.
Tears tried to push free, but I clenched my fists and forced them back. Focusing on things I could never have would only bring heartache, so I closed my eyes and envisioned our mission instead. Find where the starstone had been located. Find the one responsible for taking it. I took solace in knowing that once the quest was over, I would never have to see him again.
By the time I finally made it back to the Wults, they’d already packed up the food and wore their packs. Heidel handed my pack to me, and I took it from her.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, not meeting Kull’s eyes. “I wasn’t feeling well. Should we continue?”
“If you’re not feeling well,” Heidel said, “then there’s no need to continue. We can wait.”
“No, I’m all right. A bit of a headache, but I’m better.”
“You’re sure?” Heidel asked.
“Yes.”
She turned to Kull. “Very well. Brother, lead the way.”
Without speaking, he turned, and we followed him back to the trail.
The midday sun began its descent toward the horizon as the path took us deeper into the forest. As the sunlight began to fade, the forest grew quieter. The sounds of birdsong and scampering animals became less frequent, while the shadows grew darker under the tree canopy.
Kull pulled his knife free, and Heidel did the same.
“You know,” Heidel said, “if this is the unicorns’ forest, why have we not seen a single unicorn?”
“They may not look like what we expect,” I answered. “If their stone is missing, it is said they will turn into dark creatures.”
Kull eyed me. “What do these dark creatures look like?”
“I have no idea, although I’m afraid you may have already encountered one.”
“You speak of the creature that attacked me in Earth Kingdom?”
“Yes. I don’t know for sure, but Fan’twar said the hair you found came from a unicorn.”
“The creature that attacked me was no unicorn.”
Heidel gripped her knife tighter. “But could it have been a unicorn transformed?”
“It’s a possibility. If that’s so, then the same creatures would be here in this forest, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes. If the stone is in fact missing, and if they have been transformed, then the same type of creature that attacked you would be here now.”
“I don’t like this,” Heidel said. “It nearly killed my brother. What would these creatures do to us?”
“I don’t think we should worry too much. Kull was alone. He would have been an easy target. With the three of us together, we should be safe enough.”
“I disagree,” Kull said. “You weren’t there when the creature attacked me. It did so with calculated intelligence and waited until I was distracted. It attacked my life’s vein, then retreated. It meant to kill me.”
Waning sunlight dappled the ground in patches of dark gold. Evening would arrive soon. I wanted to argue with Kull but found I had no proof that what he said was false. No matter how we looked at it, we were in grave danger in this forest.
“Look over there,” Kull said, pointing to a grove of silver trees up ahead. “I think we’ve found the elder tree grove.”
We stepped into the dale, where squat trees grew in an area cleared of bushes and briars. Deep plum-colored leaves covered the ground and muffled the sound of our footsteps. Some of the trees had large openings cut into their bark, exposing the hollow center, and others were too small, only large enough for one person to crouch inside. We approached a tree not much taller than the others, but its base was wide enough to fit a small car inside. Glossy purple leaves grew from its branches, fluttering gently in the breeze. Unlike the other trees, its trunk remained intact.
“It’s big enough,” I said, “but how will we cut through the bark? There were a few elder trees growing in the dragons’ forest, and once, I spent an entire summer trying to break through the bark. I failed miserably. Of course, that may have been because I was using a kitchen knife.”
Kull pulled his sword free. Bloodbane gleamed in the light cast by the setting sun. He whipped the sword through the air so fast it made it made a swish, and then he cut a precise gash through the tree bark, from the top of the hollow area straight to the ground. Cutting the rest of the bark away took him only a few minutes, and soon we stood before an open, domed tree.
“Well,” I said, “that’s certainly more efficient than using a kitchen knife.”
Kull gave me a slight grin—the one that long ago would have made me weak in the knees. Now it shouldn’t have affected me, but it did. My pulse quickened, and I swallowed and looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze.
“We should find something to cover
