Huntress by Malinda Lo Page B

and Farin saw each other, they knew immediately that they had found their one true love.”
    “How did they know?” Shae asked. “Sparks flew from the anvil?”
    Con grinned at her. “Don’t you have any faith in the power of love?”
    “Do you, Prince Con?” she teased him, and the tone in her voice made a tingle run through him. She was watching him with her head half-cocked, and he noticed a sly smile turning up the corners of her mouth.
    He responded, “You’re avoiding the question.” The expression on Shae’s face changed just slightly—he wondered if it was self-consciousness—and she ducked her head and poked at the fire again.
    “Tell the story, Con,” she said lightly, but she avoided his gaze.
    “As you wish,” he said, feeling a little surge of anticipation. Shae had always been friendly with him, never anything more or less, and for the first time Con became aware that he might like it if there was something more. While she prodded at the burning coals, he continued: “As I was saying, when Farin and Anmin first saw each other, they fell in love. They resolved to marry as soon as possible, but when Anmin told her father of her intentions, he flew into a rage and told her he had already arranged her marriage to the King’s nephew. When she saw that he had no intention of backing down, she decided to elope with the blacksmith. However, the following morning, she awoke to discover that her father had been robbed during the night. All of the goods he had been transporting to Cathair had been stolen, and because soot had been found in the room where the goods had been stored, her father believed that Farin was the thief.
    “Farin was brought to the village magistrate, who listened to the merchant’s suspicions and found Farin guilty. But Farin insisted he was no thief, and he also knew that the magistrate could be easily bribed. With Anmin’s help, Farin appealed to the provincial magistrate, who also sided with the merchant. Farin was about to be thrown into prison when the King’s Magistrate agreed to hear his case—thanks to Anmin’s hard work—and Farin was so convincing that the King’s Magistrate told him that if he could face the judgment of the unicorn and survive, then he would be set free. Of course, if the unicorn found him guilty, he would be gored by the beast and die.”
    “No one ever survives the judgment of the unicorn,” Pol said. “We are all guilty of something; the unicorn never finds anyone innocent.”
    “In some of the tales they survive,” Taisin put in.
    “Really? Which ones?” Pol asked.
    “Hang on,” Con said. “Let me finish this tale first. So: Farin was taken into the Wood to seek out the unicorn.”
    “In the version I heard, the unicorns were kept in a special enclosure at the palace,” Taisin said.
    Con blinked. “An enclosure?”
    “Yes. There was an enclosure, adjacent to the King’s Magistrate’s office,” she said. “The accused would be brought there and judged.”
    “I can’t imagine the creatures would submit to being enclosed,” Pol said.
    “Because you’ve seen them before?” Tali said skeptically.
    “No, but they’re not horses to be trained. You might as well keep a phoenix as a songbird.”
    “I’m sure that’s been attempted by some king or another,” Shae said. “Con, please continue.”
    When she spoke his name her eyes flickered to him, and warmth spread over his skin. He swallowed. “All right. So, Farin was taken to the unicorn to face his judgment. Of course, Farin was innocent, but his heart was so pure and his love for Anmin so true that the unicorn not only let him live, he showed him who the real thief was: Anmin’s own father, who had sought to incriminate the blacksmith to prevent him from marrying his daughter. When Farin returned to his village, he immediately told the merchant that he knew his secret, and he threatened to tell Anmin as well. But the merchant knew that if his daughter found out, she