Page 51 of Enchanted Heir
“What?” Owen asked as he spun and walked backward. “No more blood until Krew is here, you know the rules.”
“No, I know,” I amended. “I just wondered if you’d help me with something.”
“This ought to be good,” he smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “Forget it.”
He stopped his backward walk and crossed his arms. “Jorah, what is it?”
I blurted out, “In exchange for more cookies, can you teach me how to defend myself? I’m tired of creepy men thinking they can touch me.”
Owen stood there watching me, not saying anything.
I closed my eyes for a moment and continued. “And eventually, I’d maybe like to hold a sword, but for now, maybe just defending myself would be good. My father kind of taught me the basics, what to aim for and such, but he’s been gone awhile, and I could definitely use a refresher.”
Owen didn’t say anything, so I opened my eyes to see why not. Maybe I was being completely unreasonable or possibly paranoid since I was constantly surrounded by either Owen or Krew, or both.
“I’d be honored,” he choked out.
“Owen?”
He looked up at the sun through the trees and I noticed his eyes had a sheen to them like he was trying hard not to cry.
Owen crying? What was the realm coming to? “Owen,” I snapped. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’d just be honored,” he repeated. “I wasn’t able to teach my sister. So there is no way in hell I’m not teaching you.”
“What happened?” I asked quietly. “To your sister.”
He walked closer and put up a sound barrier around us. “We were all here at the castle one night. I had just finished training. So there was a big celebration of sorts. My younger sister is pretty, and while at the party, the king touched her. Rubbed his hand along her back, touched her hair. That sort of thing.”
I thought I might throw up. “Did he—?”
Owen shook his head. “No. But I had to stand there and watch. And just about when I couldn’t contain my magic for a second more, Krew found me.”
I stayed quiet, letting him tell the story. “The king was so drunk he fortunately doesn’t remember her. Or at least we don’t think so. My family may be from Savaryn, but we live about halfway to the Rallis wall.”
So they were somewhat inferior within Savaryn then.
“The king really only likes the select Savaryn at the castle, so my family is not invited much. And when we are, my sisters are always ill, or something of the sort. Krew and Keir have been pretty creative in coming up with excuses for them to not be here.”
I thought of the king having that dancer dance right in front of him the night before. I gave him a nod. “I understand.”
“Wren will never go near him again. Or Kensie either, for that matter. Neither of them can ever be near him again.” He shook his head, and I saw his magic faintly glowing. “That was the night Krew not only saved my life by keeping me away from his father, but that was the night he and I started scheming on how we would take down the king. That was the night the disloyal were born.”
I reached my hand out to help calm his magic. It worked, but the sound barrier stayed strong around us. I found the only way I made those fall was by touching them directly.
“So yeah. If you’d like to learn how to defend yourself, I’d love to teach you. I’m actually pissed at myself for not offering it before now.”
“Owen,” I argued. “I am with you all the time and we both know if it’s the king, there just isn’t much I could do anyway. Plus, where would you teach me?”
“You have been with me three times and still cornered. And that’s not even counting the attack.”
I stepped back and put my hands in the air. “Okay. So defensive stance. What do I do?”
He laughed. He actually laughed. “We have to start with how to stand and distribute your weight. Put your hands down, Princess. We start with your feet.”
I looked down. “What’s wrong with my feet?”
