About this ebook
Martias wants to spend one night feeling at home under the pine trees of his native land. Being bound with a death sentence makes it hard to bring a friend along.
Martias seeks time away from his repetitive daily life of learning and memorizing lines. He doesn't belong with the humans. Banishment from his centaur tribe means he can never see any of them again. Yet, the forest calls to him and makes him wonder how he can dedicate himself to this life when he feels so excluded.
After persuading his only friend, a young knight in training, to go with him for just one night, Martias longs for more, maybe even a glimpse of a centaur tribe. With some convincing that they might be able to see the knights they know in action, Martias and his friend head off toward a war going on somewhere among the mountains.
Being alone gets harder when running toward battle and perils around them grow. Death might not be the worse fate imaginable. Secrets found in a cave could keep Martias from returning to his quiet life.
The Unicorn and the Secret is the tale longed for by readers of the Sacred Knight series about how Martias' friend got his unicorn. If you like epic, expanding fantasy worlds, then you'll love Dawn Blair's enchanting legend, whether you are just starting this fantastical series or you want to deepen your adventure.
Buy The Unicorn and the Secret to read how a homesick outcast discovers the choices he needs to create his own life.
Dawn Blair
Come take an adventure with your multi-dimensional, time-traveling tour guide, Dawn Blair. Telling stories of noble hearts and fantastic places, Dawn enjoys creating stories full of action, fantasy, quests, and maybe a touch of technology. For as long as she can remember, she's been telling stories, starting with tales of cats and dogs. No one ever dared to ask her to "imagine" something because it would send her creativity spinning. One fateful day, her grandmother, certainly tired of listening to the endless prater, sat Dawn down at a typewriter and told her to write the story out. Growing up on a ranch in rural Nevada, she had plenty of time and space to let her imagination roam free. When she wasn't out playing or working in the alfalfa fields or swimming at the pool, she was at home typing away at her novels. Dawn moved to Idaho and, after a second fateful day where an instructor taught her to see as an artist, her life expanded to include other creative endeavors: painting, illustrating, animating, and photography in addition to writing. They all became mediums for the way she could share stories. Soon, she had won numerous awards for writing, painting, and photography, as well as gaining readers and collectors worldwide. All while raising her two fantastic boys as a single mom. Dawn decided to start recording audiobooks. Knowing nothing about the process, she began learning and transformed a simple home setup into a home studio, a sequence marked by a third fateful day in her life when she decided to quit dabbling and get serious. Dawn aims for improving her audio with each narrative tale she completes. Still in Idaho, Dawn spends every moment she can exploring strange worlds, seeking out brave lives and magical civilizations. She wants to touch your life with magic, open your mind, and make sure you will never be the same again. Let her show you the sights. Let's be on our way, shall we? Sign up for your adventures at: www.dawnblair.com
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The Unicorn and the Secret - Dawn Blair
The Unicorn and the Secret
A Sacred Knight Tale
Dawn Blair
Morning Sky StudiosCopyright © 2020 by Dawn Blair
All rights reserved.
This book is protected under copyright laws of the United States of America. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The story and characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual events, persons (living or dead), or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover and layout copyright © 2020 by Morning Sky Studios
Cover design by Dawn Blair/Morning Sky Studios
Cover art copyright © Ateliersommerland |Dreamstime.com
Torch © Kretiw |Dreamstime.com
Also by Dawn Blair:
Onesong
Tangled Magic
Sacred Knight
Quest for the Three Books
Manifest the Magic
To Birth a Destiny
History of a Dead Man (companion novella)
Prince of the Ruined Land
The Loki Adventures
1-800-Mischief
For Sale, Call Loki
For A Good Time, Call Loki
For More Information, Call Loki
For More Mischief, Call Loki
1-800-CallLoki (Omnibus of novellas 1-5)
1-800-IceBaby
Wells of the Onesong
Fractured Echo
Fall’s Confession
The Doorway Prince
Stardust
Mystery of the Stardust Monk
Alexander’s Den
Ninjas
By the Numbers
Space Ninjas Aren’t Real
Other stories
The Last Ant
Broken Smiles
Oxygen
I’m With Cupid
Let’s Make a Deal
Nonfiction
The Write Edit
90 Seconds to Courage
Children’s Picture Books
Eggs at Play
Contents
The Unicorn and the Secret
About the Author
The Unicorn and the Secret
Bound for greatness. Those words described Martias’ friend, Steigan, perfectly.
Over the top of the gilded prayer book, Martias sat on the yellowing grass in the Temple courtyard watching Steigan, who sat on a wrought-iron bench nearby sharpening his short sword. The steady cadence of the whetstone singing against the metal blended with the lulling silence in the mid-afternoon. Martias wanted to forget his attempts at memorizing lines and merely stretch out over the ragged grass to find sleep. Blissful sleep which would take him away from the stillness of his everyday routine.
But the boy caring for his weapon a short distance away reminded Martias of the need for dedication, the sheering sound grating every so often and keeping Martias from falling into an after-lunch nap.
They were the only two out here enjoying the warmth of the final days of the harvest season. The breeze carried on it the scent of wood fires lit inside the Temple for heat. Martias wondered if any of the smell also came from houses in New Lilinar across the lake. Humans had such a distaste of the cold.
But realizing that Martias would like company, Steigan often came with Martias to spend time outdoors. That compassion and dedication to their friendship put Martias ill at ease when he thought about the future.
It didn't matter that Steigan was an orphan; he had plenty of people around him who wanted him to succeed, including his mentor, Arlyn, and his adoptive parents, Sim and Lucinia.
Martias, on the other hand, had no one and was bound with a death sentence.
The centaur rose, snapping closed the prayer book he held. For a moment, he stared at the golden edges of the book before tucking it away in a leather pack he carried with him and cinched the ties closed. He couldn't sit here another moment pretending that his highest goal in life was to become a high-ranking sapere. His destiny had once been far different.
He stamped his dark hooves against the compressed ground, missing the spongy coolness of the forest floor. He needed to run. Just not into other centaurs. That thought made him feel so alone.
Where are you going?
Steigan called out.
Martias rolled his head and shoulders. I don't know. I just feel restless.
Wait up.
Steigan was already halfway to his feet, the whet stone slipped away in his pouch and sword sliding efficiently back into his scabbard. Every move spoke of the hours of training he'd had, probably ever since Arlyn thought he was capable of holding a wooden sword.
Martias sauntered over to the guardhouse by the drawbridge of the castle-like walls surrounding the Temple and its grounds. He picked up a bow and a quiver full of arrows that lay against the stone and slung it across his back. Then he started over the open drawbridge.
Leaving!
Martias shouted back, already at a trot. Let the human run.
Steigan's pace picked up as he raced across the wooden bridge and octagonal causeway halfway between the Temple and the shoreline. Martias lengthened his stride a little more, then felt guilty for leaving Steigan behind. He stopped and waited as he reached the other side.
What he really wanted was time and space to run. Just some time alone, him and the pine trees. Maybe a night of frolicking in the moonlight. Just one night.
Martias turned. Why don't you get a horse and we go out into the forest?
Why?
Steigan glanced around, but Martias didn't know what exactly his friend was looking for. It's going to be time for evening prayer and training soon.
We have plenty of time. Come on, Steigan. Let's just go out for a little while.
Steigan nodded, then began to smile. All right. I'll be right back.
Martias watched as Steigan headed over to the stables and spoke to Kadlyn, the gamekeeper. They disappeared into the stables together and Martias' attention wandered back toward the forest. He hadn't seen another centaur