Bright Side
Page 6
Her grandmother looked abashed. “Can I see?”
Ystella inclined her head. “You may as well.”
She went behind the nearest shed and stripped. She stepped out as her equine self with her horn sparkling in the sun.
Her family looked at her as she pranced toward them, and her sisters squealed and rushed up to her, throwing their arms around her neck. Her mother cried and stroked her forehead. Her father got a measuring tape and looked at her horn.
Her grandmother was wobbling in place, and Magnus moved to catch her when she collapsed.
Bryt had her hand over her mouth, and she was shaking. “There hasn’t been a unicorn born to a herd for centuries.”
She kept staring.
Magnus filled in some details for her. “Your granddaughter was conceived at the Crossroads to two very strong and determined people. Wild magic came into her at birth.”
Bryt stood and pulled away. “How do you know that?”
“The Crossroads keeps records.”
Magnus stood at the ready in case Bryt collapsed again.
Her mother looked around. “Ystella, do you know that healing herbs and wild flowers are growing where you step?”
Ystella nodded carefully. Her father was still fascinated with the horn.
Bryt asked Magnus, “Why weren’t you balanced? Isn’t that traditional with creatures of power?”
“It is, but the wild magic is not suitable for the Crossroads. We didn’t want to blow a hole in the place, so we just left as standard mates.”
Bryt straightened. “I will make some calls. I will see if there is a mage out there who can do what needs to be done.”
“There is one, but she lives at the Crossroads.”
“And she couldn’t do it.”
“We would be an explosion in a paper bag.”
Bryt nodded. “So, we will see if we can remove the bag. There has to be somewhere on earth where you can spill extra magic and not have it strike a population.”
Ystella couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her grandmother was scheming to get her a balance ceremony on the heels of her being disowned and banished. Life could certainly turn on a dime, but looking on the bright side, she might have more life with Magnus than either of them thought.
It took seven months of negotiations, but finally, Ystella was dressed in a flowing gown and holding a bouquet made of the wildflowers that she now trailed in any form where she touched earth.
She walked out of the white fluttering tent with her sisters walking in front of her. Music was playing, and mage Melwiss was standing at the center of the three-part platform. Her sisters led her toward the stairs, and she lifted the edge of her skirt, stepping up to the platform, and she stood on her mark.
The mage was wearing a catcher’s mask and protective padding. She raised her hands and began the ceremony.
When power began to flow out of her, Ystella remained calm. Her body was overfilled, and now that power was flowing toward Magnus, she was worried.
Her family was nearby; the descendants of his siblings were there to watch their great-uncle several times removed get balanced.
Melwiss kept pulling the power until she apparently got bored. The existing magic was mixed, divided, and it began to flow into them once again.
Magnus’s eyes were wide, and he looked over at her in surprise as his skin smoothed and took on a slightly olive tone. He was getting younger.
She smiled. She didn’t feel any different herself, but a look at her hands showed that her skin had shifted into the more mahogany spectrum.
Melwiss straightened and lifted her hands, “And now to release the extra energy.”
The pulse shot out of her and spread across the small, isolated island.
Ystella walked over to Magnus, and he met her halfway. “How do you feel?”
“Strong. Energised. Younger.”
She stroked his cheek. “You look younger, but I wanted you scarred and scruffy, I will get used to you being pretty.”
He growled and wrapped his arms around her, bending her back and kissing her thoroughly. When he released her, she was laughing and her heart was finally in the right place with the right man. It had just taken a little bit of hiding until the right man found her.
* * * *
For thirty kilometers, flowers bloomed and barren sand sprouted lush and vibrant flowers and healing herbs. All women and men attending the balance ceremony were blessed with fertility, and no one really took into consideration that they had just witnessed the bonding of a goddess and her consort.
They would figure that out much later.
Author’s Note
Unicorns have always been magical to me, but a normal-looking one has always been sadly lacking. So, if a normal unicorn was around, it had to be extra special.
Sorry for the wait. I am getting back on the horse.
Thanks for reading,
Zenina Masters
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.