Page 127 of Vicious Princess
When the third archer steps forwards, I’m ready to open my senses and sink my claws into his emotions. To my surprise, I find an ocean of calm and peace within the fae with broad shoulders covered in Caligos tattoos.
He’s absolutely collected as he raises his bow and pulls on the string.
He’s just as calm and collected when he lets go of the arrow and it lands right in the middle of the first target’s stomach.
I throw myself into his emotions.
It’s like floating in cool water in the middle of a hot summer day. Desperately, I claw my way through his network, trying to find something that’s not perfectly under control.
Everyone has triggers. Some just hide them better than others.
His second arrow lands in the middle of the second target’s stomach, too. My pulse spikes. Not only am I running out of time, but my turn is quickly approaching.
Shit.
Just as I think I have something to hold onto, the tether slips away. This motherfucker must be meditating for hours on end every day to be this fucking Zen.
Just as he lands the third arrow in the stomach of the third target, I finally get ahold of an aching, cold pain he hides in the deepest corners of his being. Without mercy, I tug on that tether, bringing it forwards.
Just as he lifts his bow for the fourth and final time, he pauses with a sharp inhale. I let go of his emotions and closemyself off. For a heartbeat, he stands frozen like a statue. His eyes shutter, and he swallows hard.
Nailed it.
Suddenly, his eyes snap open, and he lets go of the arrow. It lands right where he intends it, and the crowd cheers so loudly, all the hair at the back of my neck rises.
Gods damn him.
That’s the control over emotions I aspire to have—that Ishouldhave as a Decarios.
The fact that a random fae is a better master of his emotions than I, a trained soldier, am rubs me the wrong way.
Right before the fae faces the crowd to boast about the performance, his eyes meet mine for a brief moment. A corner of his mouth lifts, and he dips his chin as if he knows what I tried to do.
My face reveals nothing when I turn away from him and step forwards. My time has come. The seconds that pass feel like a lifetime as I flex my hands and lift my bow, as I pick the first arrow and set it in place, as I draw the string and get ready to strike.
The sight of Leti that night surges to the front of my mind.
The fae she competed against were good. The fae I compete against tonight are great. She won that night because she chose to land killing blows.
One by one.
I know that’s the only way I can win tonight.
The only way I can get the attention of the leaders who run this place.
The only way I can influence the end of this mission.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Let go.
The arrow hits true, right in the heart of the first target. My bow awakens, and a shiver runs down my back at the song it sings in my mind.
Inhale.
Exhale.
