Page 46 of The Princess and the Demon

I plant my feet and pull the string again.

“Good.” He says and turns to walk to a quiver sitting against the wall. He pulls out an arrow, twirling it between his fingers deftly as he walks back to me. The simple movement has me pulling my bottom lip between my teeth.

His eyes meet mine, quickly tracking the movement. I see them darken slightly and I shiver.

He takes the bow from me, handing me the arrow.

“Familiarize yourself with the arrow.” He walks me through the anatomy of it, and I run my fingers over the white fletching. “When you nock it, you want the arrow to be here.” He shows me by placing the end of the arrow against the string of the bow.

I nod, watching as he hands me the bow and arrow.

“So…like this?” I ask as I nock the end of the arrow against the string.

He nods, walking up behind me. “Yes. Now straighten your pointer finger, and you want the shaft just below the arrowhead to rest against the side of your finger. Just like that.”

I try to familiarize myself with the movements, absorbing the way the bow feels in my hands.

“Pull back on the string, but this time keep the string between your thumb and forefinger.”

He spans a hand around my waist as I brace myself and pull on the string. The arrow falls from my finger.

“That’s ok, try again.”

I sigh, resetting the arrow and pull again.

“Good. Now I want you to hit the target.”

I look back at him with a frown. “I’m not-.” He shoots me a warning glare and I bite my tongue, turning my attention to the target in front of me.

Pulling the string, I take a deep breath and release it before loosing the arrow. It wizzes the short distance, hitting the target with a thunk. I spin around to look up at Amon, smiling wildly.

“I did it!”

I bounce in place, squealing with delight.

“Again!” I say, walking over to grab another arrow and resume my position in front of the target.

I repeat the motions, and another arrow sinks into the wood.

I’m well off of the bullseye, but I’m hitting the target, and that counts for something.

“You’re a natural.” Amon says.

A heartbeat spans between us before I walk to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He stiffens against me, but I don’t care. I embrace him, laying my head against his chest.

I swear I hear his heart skip a beat before it begins to quicken.

I feel an arm wrap around me cautiously, and I smirk. It’s progress.

Clearing his throat, Amon pries me from him, taking a step back. “You’ve done well, and I’m proud of you.” He turns and walks to where his quiver sits against the wall. Reaching behind a bush, he pulls out a smaller leather quiver.

“I had this made for you.” He says as he walks towards me. I look down at the quiver, and gasp. There were roses stamped into the leather, along the opening of the quiver and the strap.

“Oh, Amon its lovely!” I gush as I set my bow down to take the gift.

It’s already full of arrows, and I run my fingers along the fletching.

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