Page 61 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

I hadn’t planned for this part. The hair hit me with the force of an avalanche, knocking me to the ground alongside Pollox and covering us both with a blonde cascade.

“What the—” Pollox groaned. I felt him try to push the hair away.

“Sorry, I couldn’t get down otherwise,” I told him, also fighting to free us. “How are you?”

“You keep asking me that question at terrible times. I was just hit with a catapult’s poisoned projectile and fell off a tower. I’ve had better days.” He managed to claw his way up to pop his head out of the hair, and I quickly copied him. “If you wait, I can transform back and burn away all this hair.”

I looked toward the forest. No one had appeared, but it was only a matter of time. “Well, not to rush you or anything, but there are people headed this way who could be here any minute.”

He stared at me from across the puddle of golden, knotted tresses. “Well, this certainly turned into a hairy situation.”

“With all the near-death experiences we’ve had today, I don’t think this is the time for jokes.” Despite all my fear for Pollox, I couldn’t resist smiling. “So don’t tangle with me. Is anything broken?”

“Dragon bones don’t break.” He struggled to his feet, wincing from time to time. “I hadn’t finished transforming by the time I hit the ground. I have a walloping headache though. The dragonsbane didn’t get to my bloodstream, so I should be able to shift soon, but not quite yet.”

“Rapunzel!” Father’s voice called out. Looking around, I saw him and another rider emerging from the forest across the meadow.

“Quick,” I hissed to Pollox. “You can enchant wood, right? Enchant the comb to be sharper so I can cut this off. I’d rather not have a hundred-foot hair train following me.” I handed him the comb from my pocket, and Pollox stared at it, focusing intently as it began to shimmer.

“It’s more difficult when I look human,” Pollox grumbled, still watching as the comb’s edge began to sharpen and elongate.

“I like when you look human,” I told him, watching as Father and his helmeted companion came closer. “It makes kissing much easier, so I won’t complain.”

Finally finished with the comb, Pollox smiled and returned it to me. “There is that benefit.”

I used the sharpened edge to hack through my hair just above elbow-length, and the last bit fell to the ground as the two riders came and dismounted.

“Rapunzel, thank goodness we found you,” Father said, eyeing Pollox.

“Father, this is Pollox,” I said, hesitantly introducing them. Would he remember his name from when I’d blurted it out before? “Pollox, this is my father, King Harrigan, and…”

“Griffin.” The other man had removed his helmet to reveal the face I loathed more than any other. “And that’s my wife.”

I automatically moved toward Pollox for protection, who wrapped his arm around my waist without hesitation. I’d expected that Pollox would take a step back after Griffin’s claim, but he did nothing of the sort.

“I’m not your wife,” I spat at him.

“Now, now Rapunzel,” Father began in a placating tone. “The rest of the troop is coming right behind us as backup in case the dragon returns. We’ve been through this, remember? You’re confused.”

“I’m not! You’re the one who signed a marriage license on my behalf without my consent.” My muscles were all tensing. In his human form, Pollox was completely untrained in battle and couldn’t even run correctly, and I was equally useless in combat and had nothing other than a small, sharpened comb for protection. If it came down to a match between Pollox and me against Griffin and my father, both of whom were competent fighters, we didn’t stand a chance.

“It’s the dragon fever,” Griffin said, eyeing Pollox up and down and taking a step forward.

Pollox calmly pulled me back, placing himself between me and Griffin. “There’s no such thing,” he said. “And I advise that you stay away from her.”

Griffin narrowed his eyes. “Are you an expert on dragons?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m a dragon hunter, and this woman promised that she would marry me more than a month ago.” Pollox spoke so confidently that both Father and Griffin paused. “I’ve come to collect on her promise. Whatever you recently signed would be invalidated as this woman obviously didn’t give her consent to you, but I have a claim on her, as she does on me.”

Understanding blazed in Griffin’s eyes as he drew his sword. “You!”

“Me,” Pollox answered calmly. “And if you try to steal from my hoard, I won’t hesitate to protect it. Now back away. I won’t ask again.”

Griffin stared around at Father. “Don’t you see?! He’s the dragon! If we kill him and take his heart, we’ll both be invincible!”

“No!” I screamed at them. “I forbid you from harming this man.”

Pollox smiled wickedly, looking more like a roguish highwayman than ever. “I’m no man. I’m a dragon.”

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