Page 10 of Princess

Her next strike came harder, and I barely countered in time.My grip tightened on the hilt.

“You think I can’t handle you because of this?”she snapped, gesturing briefly to her stomach before stepping forward with a storm of rapid strikes.“You think I’m fragile now?”

I didn’t answer.I just kept moving, deflecting each of her attacks.I gave her the smallest of grins.

It was worse than an answer.

“Stop it!”she hissed, her swings growing wilder.“Fight me, King.Like you mean it.”

“I am,” I said evenly, stepping back to dodge a blow aimed at my head.“You’re faster than ever, Marinah.But I’m not going to hurt you or the baby.”

Her face flushed hot with anger.

“I don’t need your protection!”she roared, slamming her blade against mine so hard the impact echoed across the clearing.“I’m a Shadow Warrior, not some delicate flower!”

My frown deepened, and for just a fraction of a second, my sword lowered.

She didn’t hesitate.

With a swift, brutal attack, she swept my legs out from under me.

I hit the ground hard, my sword skidding out of reach.Before I could react, she loomed over me, the blade pressed to my throat.

My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, but the satisfaction I expected to see in her eyes wasn’t there.

“Feel better?”I asked carefully, not quite understanding what had gotten into her.

“No,” she snapped, throwing her sword to the ground and stepping away.“You’re treating me like I’m weak.I’ve survived hellhounds, human battles, and the Federation’s top forces.I don’t need you to go easy on me.”

I stood slowly, brushing dirt from my clothes.“And I’ve watched you risk everything, over and over.Forgive me if I want to keep you safe, even from me.”

She spun to face me full on.“You don’t get to decide what I can handle.That’s my choice, not yours.”

I was silent for a long moment.Then I picked up her sword and held it out to her.“Again,” I said.“No holding back.”

For a moment, she stared at me angrily.Finally, she grabbed the sword and stepped back into position.

This time, when our blades clashed, it was full force.

The speed of her strikes doubled.I’d never seen her move so fast.Maybe it was the hormones, but I wouldn’t tell her that.She trained like everyone else, even when I complained about it.Sweat ran down my back as she parried my strikes and tried to slip past my defenses.She wasn’t going to win, but this made her happy, so I would indulge.

Suddenly, she tripped over air, or so it seemed, and stumbled, rolling on her side.I dropped my sword and went to my knees.

“Sucker,” she whispered with her knife at my throat.

“That’s me,” I said with a smile.“King of the suckers.”

“I needed that,” she said, no longer fighting her grin.

“Your confrontation with the barnacle went that bad?”I asked as I helped her to her feet.

“Not really.She won’t be fed today, and we’ll see if it improves her disposition, and she decides to follow my orders tomorrow.The meeting with the household staff went well.I left them in a great mood by telling them not to send food to her room until I returned her privileges.”

“How long do you think she’ll hold out?”I asked.

“Probably by dinner time, but she’s out of luck until tomorrow.”

Marinah had fooled me with her slip, and it took ten years off my life.But it felt good to see her happy.

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