The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy #2)(39)

I stepped forward again. And again, only five feet away now. The air sizzled with the pent-up energy rolling off him. I ignored another stamp of his hoof. The pressure of anticipation wound up my insides.

“But you only allow the alphas to ride. Not the assholes who call themselves alphas because of their fragile egos, but the real alphas, right?” I swallowed, wondering if I should step forward again, or wait for the alicorn to make his move. I kept talking to stall and a drip of sweat ran between my breasts. “Real alphas wouldn’t force a creature like you to submit. Those guys garner respect through trust and level-headedness.

“They don’t strive to be the loudest in the room—they can sit quietly in the back, confident in themselves and their abilities. I’ve always wanted to date one of those guys, but they are surprisingly hard to find. So often, Mr. Alpha is a big dickhead who would throw you to the gargoyles while he escaped another way.”

“You’d salivate at the chance to be with me,” Ethan called out from a safe distance away.

“So he’s gay, then?” Wally asked. “That would explain the unicorn fetish.”

I smiled, a soft laugh escaping me as I kept my hands wide, feeling as though I were standing on a knife’s blade. One misstep, and I’d be dodging a horn thrust or a front kick.

“But that guy I described,” I said, “doesn’t have to be a guy.”

The alicorn’s wings snapped close to his body, and his head bobbed up, his mouth opening to expose some pearly white chompers. He reached forward, as I’d feared, intending to take a chunk out of my shoulder.

I reacted without thinking and dodged to the side. My right hook smashed into the sensitive if brutally hard-boned area just below his eye, a scary and painful spot on any creature who depended on sight for their safety and the safety of their herd. I grimaced and fought not to shake my hand. Damn it, that better have worked or I’d have a sore hand for nothing.

His head jerked up and he danced back. His eyes glowed crimson, and I nearly peed myself with fright. Two other alicorns bugled, the sound sharper and louder than the call of any natural horse. It resonated through the air, pushing against my chest and forcing me back a step. Another alicorn tossed its head, and a fourth pawed at the ground nervously. The whole herd’s wings were pressed tightly to their bodies, like a boxer with his hands pulled in.

I put out my hands in a well? Smiling and not sure why. “We’re even. Don’t try to bite, and I won’t punch you in the face.”

He whinnied and bucked once, then struck out at the air with his front hooves, one at a time. His wings snapped out to the sides with a sound like a loose sail taking a gust of wind. My heart leapt, but I didn’t so much as flinch. Instead of jogging backward and trying another approach like I would with a wild horse that needed to be gentled before it could be ridden, I stood my ground with grim determination. It took every ounce of courage I possessed.

The alicorn hopped, spun, and kicked out those two feet back again, the wind coming off them way too close for comfort. He pumped his wings, slapping me with a gust of air, and then rose and did it a second time.

I did not budge, but stood staring into his angry, glowing eyes, hoping I wasn’t about to die with glittering unicorn poop on my shoes.





Chapter 15





Another of the creatures, at the far edge of the herd, whinnied and tossed its head before trotting our way. The alicorns parted way for the newcomer, almost reverently, as though this alicorn was something special. The male alicorn in front of me blew a loud snort but backed off a few feet, bobbing its head. One ear cocked forward, the other toward the newcomer, and his eyes no longer pinched at the edges with irritation.

I just barely kept myself from letting out a shaky sigh.

The smaller alicorn, a female, moved in beside the male, her movements lither than her counterpart’s. With a gray coat covered in huge dapples and a dark mane and tail that shimmered with sparkles, she was stunning. But her wings were what truly drew my notice. The sunlight moved across them like a living thing, highlighting either a golden sheen or the colors of a rainbow depending on how the light touched the feathers. It was the most breathtakingly beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

I moved to her without thinking. Without hesitation. No bravado needed. I paused beside her flank and waited until she bent a front leg, just a little, before hopping up and onto her back, using her mane to steady me.

“Holy cats—”

Pete’s words were lost in the snap of her wings spreading out, one side above the male. She pulled them back in and trotted a bit before turning, allowing me to be the passenger. I let her have all the control, not using my legs to steer like I would one of our old ponies back home. An expectant stillness rolled through the herd.

“She’s waiting for you guys to pick, I think,” I called out, totally guessing on that one. But why else would she be waiting? They must know why they were in these trials.

Ethan was the first to saunter forward with his shoulders swinging and his head high. As expected, he headed directly for the large male I’d just proven myself to. Not following his own advice from earlier, apparently thinking I had it all locked down and he could coast, like normal, he didn’t slow in his approach or put out his hands. He just waltzed over and reached out to the alicorn.

The male pushed forward, fast and powerful, jutting out his wings and swinging his head low. His horn cut through the air, inches from Ethan’s chest as Ethan backpedaled with comically rounded eyes. The alicorn tucked his wings back into his body, and the edge sliced across Ethan’s skin.