Before I can even get to my office, Tamara waylays me.

"There's something you should see," she tells me, the urgency in her voice surprising me. She's usually very well composed and while she likes to laugh, she very rarely shows any other emotions.

"What's going on?"

"It's the unicorn. He's having... I don't know, it looks like he's having a seizure. He's saying strange things and his body is twitching. I've sent for Theodore and Zephyr, but you know the unicorn better than any of us.

"Where is he?" I ask, fear filling my stomach. I can't deal with another loss.

"Practice courtyard. He went there to..."

I'm already gone, teleporting there before Tamara can finish her sentence.

It's chaos in the courtyard. A crowd has assembled, surrounding Blaze as he writhes on the ground. His beautiful white coat is dirty all over. He must have been rolling around on the gravel for a while.

"What happened?" I ask loudly and the crowd falls silent, quickly opening a passage so I can reach the unicorn.

A Guardian steps forward, only wearing a pair of loose trousers. His chest is sleek with sweat; he must have been training here when it happened.

"He was eating, or at least that's what he said he was doing, when he suddenly whinnied and collapsed. We tried to help him up, but then he started convulsing. Whenever he stops moving, he says the same words."

"Which are?" I ask sharply when he doesn't continue immediately.

"Spring dies, Summer falls, betrayed by darkness. Autumn's missing. Winter's called to help." He shrugs as if that doesn't make sense at all.

"That's all?"

"At the beginning, he muttered something about balances, but maybe I misheard him."

That's all too much of a coincidence. My mother tells me that the balance needs to be kept intact, and a moment later, Blaze does the same thing? Maybe this is just an elaborate plot to make me accept the crown.

The unicorn whinnies in pain and I immediately know how wrong I am. This isn't a plot. This is real.

I approach him, staying out of reach of his twitching hooves.

"Blaze? Can you hear me?"

He suddenly grows still, his ears twitching.

"Touch my horn," he rasps, his eyes rolling back and forth like he has no control about them.

I hesitate for a moment, but then do as he asks, grabbing his horn, still making sure to stay away from his shaking legs.

A flash of rainbow light assaults my senses and then I'm floating, no longer in the courtyard. I know this place...

"Where are we?"

I swirl around and stare at Blaze. The unicorn is looking as healthy as ever, his fur shimmering in the colourful light surrounding us.

"You don't know?"

"We're in your head, silly. This is your dream, not mine."

I blush. "When I first stepped through the Gate at the Calanais Stones, I ended up on a rainbow. This rainbow." I don't tell him that I also had sex on this very rainbow. It's already embarrassing enough to be back here, in the tackiest place in the universe.

"I like it," he says cheerfully. "You've got taste."

"Shut up and explain what's happening."

He whinnies. "So impatient. But you're right, we don't have much time. My body won't be able to deal with the magic overdose for much longer without your help."

"Magic overdose?"

He paws the ground, looking a little sheepish. "I overate."

"Seriously? You ate too much and now you're having seizures?"

"It was on purpose."

I shake my head, incredulous. "You wanted this to happen?"

"When I get gorged on magic, I get visions. Sometimes, not always, but in a place as full of magic as this Palace, I thought it was worth a try."

I sigh. "And you couldn't have warned someone about it?"

"You weren't there," he complains. "And I didn't think it would happen this quickly. Now, when we go back, you need to listen exactly to what I say. I can't always remember, so don't expect me to tell you afterwards. Then, you need to pull the excess magic out of my body. It might make you feel a little weird, though."

"Weird? How?"

He blushes in his strange unicorn way. "Remember sparklies?"

"No. No way!"

I step away from Blaze, glaring at him.

"It's the only way. Just make sure that someone gets you out of sight quickly." He grins. "Especially now that you've decided you're going to be Queen."

"I have not," I protest, but he groans.

"Time to go back. Remember, listen to what I say. Write it down, if you have to. Then get the magic out of me. It hurts."

Before I can say anything, the rainbow light flashes again and I'm back in the courtyard, stumbling away from the unicorn who's still on the ground, his entire body twitching.

"Get my Guardians!" I shout at one of the onlookers. "Now!"

They hurry away and I turn back to Blaze.

"Quiet, everyone! Listen to what he says and write it down if you can," I command, and silence falls. The entire crowd is waiting to hear what Blaze is about to say. I hope he's actually going to say something, otherwise I won't have a clue what to do.

"Spring is taken," he suddenly groans. "Spring is taken. Summer will be betrayed. Where is Autumn? Find Autumn or Winter will thaw. The balance must be maintained. Darkness is coming, there's no escape."

He whinnies in pain and falls silent. Froth is forming around his mouth as his body begins to seize again. I close my eyes and focus on the magic around him. He's a beautiful sight, his entire body made of magic, colourful and bright. Right now though, it's sparking all over the place, like electricity that's about to turn into lightning.

I start to funnel some of the excess magic away from Blaze and into myself. Maybe I should disperse it into the environment, but who knows what unicorn magic might cause if it's set free. It's not like I have any experience with this kind of magic. Except for sparklies. I really hope my Guardians will be there to take me away. If my previous reactions to the unicorn drug are anything to go by, it will be embarrassing as hell.

When I've pulled enough magic away from him - at least I hope so - I open my eyes again. Blaze has stopped twitching and is breathing heavily instead.

I kneel by his side. "Blaze?"

He slowly opens one eye. "Sleep."

I smile. "Sleep as long as you need to."

I get up again and turn to the crowd. "I want someone to stay with him until he can get up by himself. If there's any change, you notify me immediately." Two Guardians bow and take up positions on either side of the unicorn, looking ready to fight off both enemies and curious onlookers. I'm still surprised at the fervour with which people carry out my commands nowadays.

So far, I'm not noticing any effect of the unicorn magic. Maybe I'm strong enough to withstand it now. I concentrate on the magic inside of me. She's sleeping in her cave, her head almost touching the ceiling. She's grown so much, but I don't know how to make the cave bigger. A cloud of rainbow dust is swirling around her. Blaze's magic, just as eccentric and flamboyant as he is. One day, I hope I'm going to meet other unicorns so I can find out whether he's special even among his own species, or whether they're all like him.

I smile at the thought of seeing a herd of unicorns. Do they have herds? I think they're too solitary for that. But still, maybe Blaze has family he could introduce me to. Siblings? Parents? Baby unicorns? I would love to cuddle a baby unicorn. Are they born with horns or do they grow later? I hope the latter, otherwise I imagine the birth to be pretty painful for the mother unicorn.

"I think it's time ta leave," a gentle voice says behind me and I turn to find my Guardians waiting for me. They're forming a line, blocking my view of the rest of the crowd.

"Leave? Why?" I ask in confusion.

Arc laughs. "I dinnae think people want ta hear yer thoughts about baby unicorns." He steps forwards and sweeps me into his arms. "Yer very cute when yer stoned."

"Wyn, can you teleport us to your quarters?" Storm asks and I nod enthusiastically. Nothing better than being in my rooms with my men.

I transport us into my bedroom.

"I think ya forgot the others," Arc grins as soon as we've arrived.

Oh. Yes. Oops.

"Sorry."

"Was it intentional?" he asks, turning me so I face him. His hands on my shoulders feel good, so good. I want to feel them everywhere.

I shrug. "Maybe? Don't know. Dinnae ken."

"Did ya just mock my accent?"

I shrug again. "Maybe?"

"If I was Storm, I'd punish ya for that. But I'm not. I just want ta kiss ya."

I smile. He's so nice. So pretty. His magic is pretty. His aura is sparkling. I want him so much.

"Do it."

He doesn't need another invitation. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close until my chest touches his. His chest is hard, mine isn't. My boobs are soft, although my nipples are getting harder. They want him, just like the rest of me. I giggle, but Arc shuts me up with his lips.

Yummy. I kiss him back and hug him tight. Well, I'm hugging his arse, but that's okay. He's firm and hard there, too, and there's even more hardness pressing against my belly.

His tongue is tracing my lips, tickling me. I laugh against his kiss, the happiness bubbling out of me. I want to hug the entire world. Everything is so nice, so pretty. On the other side of the room, the door opens and my other three Guardians enter. I can feel them. I pull at the bond connecting me to them and all three of them gasp. Funny.

"What did you do that for?" Frost complains. "It feels weird."

Arc stops kissing me so I can reply. Bad Arc. I want him to continue.

"I want to hug you," I announce and take my hands off Arc's arse so I have space for all my Guardians.

"She's totally out of it," Crispin mutters. "I'm glad we got there in time."

"Me too," Storm says, his voice surprisingly dark.

"Don't be dark," I tell him. "Be happy. Like rainbows."

"See what I mean?" Storm sighs. "I'm going to kill that unicorn. Slowly."

"Blaze made me happy," I protest and Arc laughs, his chest vibrating against mine.

"We can see that, lass. Yer very happy."

I nod. "I am. Are you happy too?"

"Yer in my arms, of course I'm happy." He lowers his head to kiss me again, but I'm not finished talking yet. I bite his lower lip to make sure he knows.

"Ouch, what was that for!"

"I need to talk," I tell him.

"Crispin, can you do something about this?" Storm asks. He sounds as if he's in pain.

I wriggle out of Arc's embrace and run to Storm, hugging him instead.

"What's wrong?" I ask him in concern. "Where does it hurt?"

"Hurt? What?" He sighs again. "It doesn't hurt. Everything's fine."

I smile at him. "Good, then we can kiss. Kissing is fun."

Frost roars in laughter, distracting me from my kissing plans.

"I only have one mouth," I observe. "How am I going to kiss all of you?"

"We can take turns," Arc suggests. He's joined us and now, all four Guardians are surrounding me.

"We can, after she's come down from this high," Storm says sternly. "We're not going to do anything while she doesn't have control over herself."

"No, I want to kiss," I complain. "I want Arc's hardness."

Frost is on the floor, laughing, and Crispin is bent over as well, looking like he's having trouble breathing.

"You can have it later, I promise." Storm lifts me up and carries me over to the bed.

"Are we going to have sex?" I ask excitedly, but to my disappointment, he shakes his head.

"No, you're going to lie here and sleep for a bit, until the unicorn magic is out of your system. Then we can do whatever we want."

"But I want it now," I moan. "I need you."

"We're not going to take advantage of you in this state. Sleep and we'll be there when you wake up." He lies down beside me to emphasise his point.

Good. He's close enough for me to reach out and touch his -

"Do I need to tie you up?" he growls, turning onto his back to protect himself from my grabby hands.

"I love being tied up," I say full of enthusiasm. "Tying up is fun."

"Crispin, please?" Storm asks, holding my wrists as I try to get close to him again.

The healer chuckles and appears at my other side, distracting me from trying to open Storm's jeans. He puts a hand on my forehead, so soft, so cool.

"Sleep, Wyn," he whispers and a warm hug surrounds me, helping me drift off away from my rainbow thoughts.