Page 53 of Once Upon an Enchanted Kiss

The troll pushed up to his hands and knees. Phillip’s dagger still stuck out of his thigh which oozed black blood.

“Rose!”

Phillip shouted her name as she came face to face with the troll. He growled, showing off nasty teeth, then reached for her with a large, meaty hand. Long fingers wrapped around her torso and hoisted her up into the air.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she used every ounce of energy and strength she had to shove the sword right into the troll’s left eye. Furious, he reared back crying out in pain as he released her. She, at least, had enough thought to let go of the hilt as she fell, landing on the ground hard enough to jam her elbow.

The troll crashed against the ground. He flinched one last time, gave out a pitiful moan, and then was dead.

Phillip was at her side in an instant, scooping her into his arms and cradling her against his chest. She heard the wild beat of his heart hammering against her ear. He clutched her tight, as though he might never let her go.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said. For a moment, their eyes met and her heart did a funny thud followed by a fluttering in her gut.

“What you did was…” he began.

“Incredibly stupid,” she finished.

He grinned as a low chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Perhaps.”

“Brave, indeed, princess,” Jeffrey said, sounding impressed as he approached. “Even though you could have been injured or, worse, killed.”

She pushed out of Phillip’s arms and scrambled away from him. Her elbow throbbed with an almost unbearable pain that went all the way to her shoulder. She tried to ignore it as she got to her feet.

“But I wasn’t,” she said, brushing the leaves and grass from her pants.

A faint groan sounded. She gasped as she glanced in the direction of Charles. She tried to hurry over to him, but her ankle was still giving her trouble. Instead, it was more of a hobble. As she neared him, he sat up, clutching his head and looking pale. He moaned again.

“Let me help you,” she said as she reached down to grasp his arm.

Jeffrey was there on the other side of him. Together, they hoisted Charles to his feet. The gash on his head continued to bleed.

“That’s a nasty gash on your head. We better see to it,” Jeffrey said.

“Where are the horses?” Phillip asked, glancing around.

They all stood within the destroyed forest, but the horses were nowhere to be found.

“The troll scared them off,” Jeffrey said. “Here’s hoping we can find them and not have to continue on foot.”

Charles emitted a faint grumble of despair. Rosamund felt the same way. She would be unable to continue on foot with her sore ankle. Phillip retrieved his sword from the dead troll. Black blood coated the once-shiny steel. Frowning, he managed to scrape off most of the blood on one of the felled trees.

“I’ll find them,” Phillip said.

Before anyone could object, he was off through the forest, whistling and calling for them. Jeffrey walked Charles over to a fallen tree and lowered him down. Charles expelled a long breath as though he were exhausted as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

“My head hurts,” he muttered.

Jeffrey ripped a piece of his tunic at the bottom edge. When he had a decent sized cloth he reached for his brother, placing the cloth on the bleeding gash. Rosamund limped toward them.

“Here, let me.” She held out her hand for the cloth.

“No need, princess. I can—”

“Jeffrey, give it to her and go find the other horses. She’s a prettier nursemaid than you are,” Charles said without opening his eyes.

Shock registered on his face as he glanced from his brother and then to Rosamund. He removed the bloodied cloth and handed it to her.

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