Page 74 of Quest for her Knights
“Hmm?” I glance at him, almost forgetting he was sitting beside me, before my eyes return to the road, where Elora is riding with Draven. “Oh, yeah, just thinking about where we can stop for the night.”
“Sure.”
I frown at him. “Sure? What does that mean?”
He shrugs a shoulder but keeps his gaze forward as he answers. “It means I don’t believe you, but I’m not gonna push you for your real answer.”
“What do you think is on my mind, then?” I ask, unsure if I want to know. Am I being transparent in my thoughts of Elora?
“Her.”
Damn. I guess I’m not as discreet as I think.
“Your silence tells me I’m right.”
I grind my jaw, refusing to answer in case I say something that gives me away even more.
“You know that none of them deserve her.” It’s not a question, and as I look at Blaze out of the corner of my eye, I see his jaw is tight, like he’s holding back his anger.
I sigh, realizing that we’re on the same page.
“I know.” We’re both silent for a minute as my thoughts spin in circles. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Are you sure about that?” We look at each other for a moment and as I open my mouth to answer her, a high-pitched scream silences me and a bolt of fear goes through me.
Our heads snap toward the road, where several bandits have rushed in, surrounding both Arrow and Draven’s horses, swords drawn.
A loud wooden crack echoes and I jolt as something large slams into the side of the carriage, knocking it sideways.
Blaze and I jump down on opposite sides of the carriage, and the clanging of swords fills the air. There are at least three men nearby, and I don’t stop to ask questions; I just move, determined to protect the princess and not get hurt.
“Draven!” I shout, drawing my sword and blocking a blow from the nearest bandit. “Get her out of here!”
These men are decent fighters, but one-on-one, they’re no match for our knight training. Their only hope is fighting as a group. Fortunately, they’re not coordinated, only one attacks at a time, and the next steps in only after I’ve taken down the previous one. It gives me hope that, even though we’re vastly outnumbered, we can get through this without casualties.
I’ve already taken down five by the time I can finally turn to assess the rest of the group. Arrow and Blaze are both on the road, fighting the last two bandits. Elora and Draven are gone, which hopefully means that he followed orders and got her to safety.
Two grunts echo as the final bandits collapse. Arrow meets my gaze and I nod in approval. Then I glance at Blaze as I approach. “Are you two okay?”
He nods. “I’m good. Arrow?”
“I’m fine,” Arrow replies. “Draven took off down the road with Elora. I didn’t see any horses, so I don’t think they were followed.”
I place my fingers in my mouth and let out a sharp whistle, hoping Draven is close enough to hear. While I wait, I turn to assess the damage.
“Ah, fuck,” I mutter, taking in the wrecked carriage.
“Oh, shit,” Arrow says as he and Blaze come to stand beside me.
The bandits had rigged a swinging log from the trees to ram into the carriage. It tore through the entire side, shattering two wheels and the frame beneath. The thing’s completely unusable.
Blaze moves to start grabbing our bags from the top. “Let’s get everything into a pile, then see what we can take on the horses.”
“I’ll untie the horses,” Arrow says, heading to the front of the carriage.
I help Blaze sort the belongings, but my eyes keep flicking to the road, watching for threats, or a sign of Draven and Elora.
After a few minutes, I let out another whistle, then continued working. Arrow finishes tying off the horses and joins us.
