Free The Unicorn Thief by R. R. Russell Page B

circle of mounted soldiers around her. Their confusion and concern turned to amusement.
    How dare they laugh! Fighting angry tears, Twig turned to Wonder. A tuft of orange feathers fanned out from her perfect white flank.
    â€œNo!” Twig dropped her sword and fell to her knees.
    â€œIt’s just a sleep inducer. She’ll be fine in a few minutes. You, on the other hand…” The soldier chuckled. He nodded at two men behind him.
    Rough hands grabbed Twig’s collar and hauled her to her feet. Twig stared into a shrewd, battle-scarred face.
    â€œYour unicorn gave you away.” He kept a tight grip on her as he spoke. His voice was low and raspy. “The queen would never waste such a well-built young mare on a messenger.”
    â€œCould be she sent this ‘messenger’ on her supposedly harmless mount to attack the prince once we let her into our camp,” a skinny young soldier said.
    â€œWhy would I go barging in like this then? That doesn’t make any sense.”
    â€œâ€™Cause you’re just a girl, and a lousy rider at that,” the skinny one replied.
    Twig bristled and wanted to say something smart back, but tears pricked her eyes; the burn of a cry tried to make its way up her throat.
    â€œYes,” said Raspy Voice, “but why would the queen send an inferior rider to penetrate our camp?”
    Another soldier approached. “Ackley.” Raspy Voice nodded at him.
    â€œLooks like there’s just the two of them, her and a boy. Quite a bit bigger, but riding a runty horse.” Ackley leaned to Raspy Voice’s ear, and Twig barely caught his whisper. “He insists on having a word with the prince, alone. He’s certain the prince will want to see him.”
    ***
    Ackley tossed Ben’s weapons into a heap.
    â€œThis way,” Barlow said. “To the prince.”
    Ben followed him to the largest tent, positioned in the center of the camp. Inside, the Boy King sat in a cushioned, gilded chair, his arms crossed, green cape trimmed with braid—not dyed but made of real gold thread.
    â€œSo, I have a visitor?” His voice was high—surprisingly boyish. “Interesting, since I’ve already received a message from the queen today.” He rose and strode over to a desk in the corner of the tent, picked up a rolled-up paper, and cast it to the ground with a flourish. “First an insult, a threat to war, even as I journey to the castle at the queen’s request. And now this—invasion. You are no messenger of the queen, are you?”
    Ben bowed deeply, though it pained him to do it. “No, Your Highness.” He couldn’t let the Boy King think this was a gesture of war. “But I assure you, we’re not—”
    â€œSpies? Assassins? I will find out who you are, and there will be war! Make no mistake about that. Thievery! Low-down thievery! That’s what she’s accused me of. How would I steal a unicorn out of her own stable, when I was five days’ travel away at the time, you tell me that!”
    No doubt the queen thought it had been a professional hired by the ruler of Eastland, perhaps to diminish Westland’s forces and to bolster their own, or perhaps just to mock her. If the rumors, and the queen, were right, that meant that someone with access to the key to the passage, with knowledge of its location, had passed these on to Westland’s enemies. Someone had ventured all the way into the Earth Land in order to help provoke this war.
    Reynald gestured for Ben to rise. He leaned in, just inches from Ben’s face. “Soon enough, I’ll prove myself against Westland’s riders. There will be none who can match me!”
    â€œYou are a champion of tournaments.” Though Ben would’ve resorted to flattery if that was what it took to get them out of here alive, his statement was true.
    â€œI am a champion of nearly every test of skill! All but the