Page 107 of Follow Your Bliss

Ady’s disappointed voice echoed low into the clearing. “Oh, she’s got thelance.”

Pistachio and I bore down on the prince, and he wheeled his horse around. Despite my perfectly-poised lance, he drove the stallion forward and skillfully turned away at the last minute, rushing past me in the opposite direction.

Damn. This one was significantly better than the last one I’d used the lance on. I reset the weapon into its vertical position and wheeled Pistachio around.

“Are you really trying to kill me?” he shouted from across the clearing.

“Ha!” I barked out an unladylike laugh. “It’s a jousting lance, metal-for-brains. If I wanted to kill you, I’d have brought the real one.”

He brandished his sword, leaning low and spurring his horse into a gallop toward me. What did he expect to do against a lance? He tried pulling his horse aside again, but my blunted lance slammed into his chest, knocking him backwards off the stallion. He clanged to the ground into a bright pile of fallen leaves, and I circled Pistachio around to enjoy the results. The mouth of his visor was twisted open in a lopsided smile, his metal chest dented with the impression of my lance. He rolled almost to his side, but fell back down, unmoving. I was just about to feel bad for him when he got to his feet.

“What’s wrong with you?” He pulled off his dented helmet and tossed it aside.

I cocked my head, appraising. This one was rather good-looking—tall, muscular, kind of dashing. His thick dirty blond hair was a curly, sweaty mess, but he had suntanned, chiseled features under an attractive beard, and his blue eyes were—oh dear. Flashing in outrage. Maybe another tactic would work better.

“I don’t want to go with you,” I said, “and I don’t want to hurt you. But this is my home. Tell your comrades: you all need to stop coming here.”

Forth stood and picked up his sword from the ground. “You must be under some sort of fey dragon spell.” He held his head at an odd angle, his eyes roving all around me as if trying to see the aura of an enchantment. Which wasn’t even possible. “I won’t give up!”

To his credit, he was brave, running full at me with a battle cry. But I urged Pistachio straight at him, daring him to back down or be trampled.

At the last possible moment, he yelled “Bloody hell!” and threw himself aside into a low part of the clearing that had taken on rainwater, landing with a clanking splash that sent mud spraying all over him and his horse. He righted himself, pulled off both gauntlets with jerky movements, and threw them hard across the clearing in my general direction. He stood and wiped the mud from his tightly trimmed beard, eyes flashing. A vein bulged on his forehead, and his fists clenched at his sides.

I hated when they stayed to fight instead of just leaving. More than that, I missed the good ol’ days when Ady used to fight them off for me. She was up there tossing apples into her mouth like a human would eat popped corn, her eyes tracking the fight. She gave me an enthusiastic talon’s up.

“Please.” I reset the lance to its upright position. “Just go away. Thank you for trying, thank you for yourconcern, but I don’t want to be rescued. Today or any other day.”

“What have you done to her?” he shouted, looking up at Ady then back to me.

“Oh, for gods’ sake.” I dismounted and advanced on him with a sword, planning to drive him farther back down the path from whence he came. I punctuated my words with the clanging of my weapon against his. “Go! The! Hell! Away!”

But he was in his element on the ground. Instead of me backing him down the path, he backed me toward the sheer side of Ady’s monolith. I parried blow after blow, but he kept coming, his sword meeting mine at every turn. I was strong, but he was taller and stronger. He backed me up against the mountain, our swords straining together.

His eyes were bright and intense, and his strength was crushing me. I pushed harder, determined not to break, but I was folding.

Unless.

I blinked and shook my head, breaking eye contact and letting upjust a littleon my sword. I looked at him and around the clearing, as if seeing it all for the first time. “What’s happening? Who are you? Please don’t hurt me!”

His face changed from fury to concern, and he loosened his pressed sword.

Ignoring Ady’s snorting laughter in my head, I let him take my weapon. I cowered away from him with my back against the rock. “Please sir, don’t hurt me!”

“I won’t, Princess! I won’t.” He threw our swords aside and held his palms out, backing away from me a little. “See? No weapons. You’re safe now.”

He glanced up at Ady, and I chambered my thigh, delivering a front kick to his face just as he turned back to me. His head spun sideways, and he wobbled off balance as I followed up with a rear-legged kick. He dropped to the ground. I raced to Pistachio, grabbing my secret weapon from a scabbard on her side: Steelbane the Sword Slayer—Baney for short. Forged in dragon fire, Baney lived to break lesser swords.

I whirled around to see him recovered, holding both our swords and advancing on me.

His face was red and twisted. “That was a dirty trick! I came here to help you.”

But that was a lie. No one ever came to help me. I learned that lesson at a very young age.

“No, you didn’t,” I spat at him. “You came here to kill my friend and take me against my will. You’ll get what you get!”

I advanced, a battle cry erupting from my lungs. My first hard strike broke his sword off at the hilt. He cursed and flung it away, drawing my sword up to fight with wide eyes.

I pulled Baney back but hesitated. “You’re going to make me break my own sword?”

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