Malvolia shuddered, holding her injured arm against her chest. She licked her lips as Alfred explained everything to Sioni. Her Sioni. She narrowed her eyes and murmured something under her breath, a garbled forgotten language bristling on her tongue. The words felt uncomfortable in her mouth, sharp and tasting of metal, but she had to say them. She looked down upon herself as her hands grew porcelain white, the wrinkles smoothing away. She reached up and brushed her soft, supple cheek. She needed Sioni’s blood to make this permanent, to make it more than an illusion.

Her raven hair caressed her shoulders, and she wove a different spell, cold and too-sweet, hurting her teeth. A beautiful white horse with fire in its eyes, a horn gracing its forehead, emerged from behind a nearby tree. The prince and Sioni darted off, and she climbed swiftly onto the Unicorn. It bolted after them silently, hidden in a lavender- scented silver mist

Her lips curled into a snarl. She would have Sioni, no matter what.