Page 56 of Vicious Princess
“I know that,” I snap, frustrated. “The man who made this bow and sold it to me said that. I don’t know what thatmeans. In Wetra, bows are just bows. And this one… Sometimes it lets meuse it, and then sometimes it burns my palm where I hold it. It cuts into my fingers and makes me bleed.”
“That’s because it’s rebelling against you. It has every right to,” Daegel says, his voice a bit closer to me than last time. “Imagine if someone took you against your will and made you bend to their whims and desires. Without introduction, no time to warm up or connect. Without an opportunity to feel each other out. To see if you’re even compatible.”
My heart skips a beat, and a hot wave of anticipation washes over me, reaching all the way to the tips of my toes. I clear my throat.
Once more, he gets closer. The heat radiating from his chest presses into my back. “It’s no way to treat your bow. And you’re in Ekios now. Things work differently here. Our culture is nothing like what you’re used to. We pray to different gods. Forget everything you thought.Thisis your new normal.”
“Got it,” I say. “Tell me how I coax my bow into working with me and not against me.”
Truth be told, I miss that feeling of my bow being an extension of me. Something I can trust to have my back, no matter what.
Right now, it feels like a tool. Something I use. That’s not how it’s supposed to feel.
An archer without mastery of their bow is just a fool with a weapon.
“Aim at the targets, starting from that first one, all the way to the last one at the very top of the tree,” Daegel says. “Don’t rush. This is not the same drill you had in the last lecture. When you feel the bow is ready to misbehave, pause.”
I give him a curt nod and get into position in front of the first target.
“You might want to learn how to shoot from any angle, Wildarrow.” Daegel’s voice has an edge of mocking. “During amission, or in a battlefield, you may not always get a chance to align yourself perfectly in front of your target.”
I bite my tongue and lift my bow. As I draw the string and align the arrow, I face no resistance.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Let go.
The arrow whizzes through the air and hits the target at the very center. Daegel says nothing. As I draw the second arrow and prepare to hit the second target, I remain rooted in the same spot.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Let go.
No resistance. The arrow lands in the very center of the second target that’s a bit farther down than the first one. The desire to turn to look at Daegel with a smug smile is overwhelming.
But I resist.
The third target is a walk in a park, too. But as I draw the string of my bow the fourth time, it’s suddenly too damn sharp and cuts into my flesh. With a hiss, I let go of the string and put the bleeding finger into my mouth.
“She’s got an attitude,” Daegel says, then chuckles. “You should have picked one with less character.”
I glare at him over my shoulder. With a smirk, he shakes his head.
“I’m glad at least one of us is enjoying this.”
Daegel arches an eyebrow and looks me up and down. Heat surges to my cheeks, and I’m grateful for the night and the darkness. Even fae can’t see me blush at this time of the day.
“I can tell she’s a sassy bitch,” I say quickly, not wanting this tension between us to continue building as the silence stretches.“I actually like this bow more than the one I had before. It’s…unique, different. Absolutely stunning craftsmanship.” Daegel nods in agreement. I grip the bow harder. “How do I make her my friend?”
“There are two ways you can do that. First, through brute force. If you persevere through pain and bloodshed, eventually the bow will give in. You can tame it like a wild horse and show it who’s the master.Oryou can listen to what the bow is trying to tell you and earn its respect. In a similar way to how you would form a partnership with a dragon.”
My head whips all the way around. “What?I can have a dragon, too?”
“Not right now you can’t. Maybe never. I can’t tell you for sure. Not every Ezkai has the honor of bonding with a dragon.”
