Page 57 of Vicious Princess
If I become an Ezkai with a dragon…I will burn King Francis’s castle to the ground. Give him a taste of his own medicine, see how he likes it when his wife and kids scream while they burn to ash.
This thought gives me a new sense of purpose and determination.
I turn back to the targets. “How do I listen to my bow? Don’t tell me that in Ekios, objects talk.”
“Not in the literal sense of the word. But our weapons speak to us in their own language. Try again and focus on how the bow feels in your hands, against your fingertips. Shut out any other noise around you.”
I exhale and then draw the bow again. I don’t let go of the arrow, trying very hard to ignore the stinging cut on my fingertips and listen to what my bow has to say.
I listen.
Listen.
And listen.
The string turns sharp again and makes a new cut. Blood trickles down my hand, and I bare my teeth.
Then, all of a sudden, a thought comes to me:Too hard.
Ever so slightly, I loosen the taut string. It’s such a small change, I can barely feel it. But it makes all the difference.
Suddenly, the bowstring is blunt, and I swear to the gods, the bone in my hand hums, the vibrations reverberating up my palm and wrist.
What on earth!?
Inhale.
Exhale.
Let go.
The arrow hits the mark.
Chest swelling with excitement, I whirl on my heel. Daegel’s lips curl upwards. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looks…a tad proud.
“I listened,” I say. “I felt it hum. Like actually vibrate under my palm. What sort of magic is that?”
“The kind only the weaponsmiths possess, one that allows them to craft the deadly weapons Ezkai use.”
Unfathomable. I can almost understand why fae in Ekios are so proud and arrogant. I would be too, if weapons sang to me and dragons soared the skies so freely.
“Do you think that’s all? That you nailed it once, and now you’ve mastered your bow?” Daegel crosses his arms over his broad chest. “One success doesn’t win you a war.”
I turn my back to him and aim once again. The second time around, I get the tautness right, and the bow is steady. Right until the last moment when I let go of the arrow.
I miss the target completely. With cheeks burning from shame, I try again. This time around, the bow behaves.
Once the arrow lands in the middle of the target, I lower the bow. “It’s mocking me.”
“Definitely looks like it,” Daegel says and comes to stand next to me. We’re shoulder to shoulder. “That’s what makes it so dangerous, not being bonded to your weapon. Your bow is unpredictable, and that makesyouunpredictable. You may have a thousand lucky shots, which may help you graduate and join the Order. But what happens when the thousand and first is the one when your bow chooses to misbehave, and it costs one of your fellow Ezkai their lives?”
I nod gravely. Until I master this connection, I’m an unreliable soldier, a weak link. Affinity, or no affinity.
“What’s a Phantom Ranger?” I ask. “I’ve been asked if I am one, but I have no clue what that is.”
“It’s what we call those who have the affinity for a bow in Ekios. Look it up, Wildarrow. We’ve got a library for a reason. Now, keep practicing. Those targets are not going to hit themselves.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
