“There isn’t any.”
“Exactly,” he growls.
Dax and I cringe at the exact moment Quinn sweeps Rapunzel’s legs out from under her. She lands on her back with a solid thud. Although dazed, she maintains her grip on her weapon. Quinn mounts her and presses his knee on her wrist. The pressure renders her right arm—her sword arm—useless.
“Yield.”
“I don’t yield,” she grits out between clenched teeth. “Ever.”
“You are defeated, Princess.” Quinn’s blood drips onto her clothes—and fuck it all if she’s not a stunning temptation lying beneath him in those breeches. The garment molds to the gentle curve of her hips as she bucks them in a valiant but vain attempt to dislodge him. She kicks out, her legs unhindered by a cumbersome gown and chemise. “Yield to me.”
Dax elbows me in the ribs. “A week of emptying our chamber pots says she surrenders.”
“Our girl?” Never. “The sun will sooner drop from the sky before Rapunzel surrenders.”
“He’s persuasive,” Dax drawls.
“True, he’s a bully, but you are a fool if you underestimate her.”
Rapunzel proves she learned to fight unfairly when, with her free hand, she punches Quinn in the groin. His howl drowns out our laughter. He reels backward and lands on his ass, allowing Rapunzel to pop up and plant her dainty booted foot on his throat. A throat that three months ago was sliced wide by one of John’s soldiers with a blade tainted with Sybil’s poison. If Rapunzel hadn’t used a lock of her hair to save his life, Quinn would have died right where we’re standing.
She levels the blade at his face, the point inches from his eye. “Yield to me.”
Snorting out a laugh because Dax will be cleaning our piss and shit for a sennight, I clap him on the back. “I wouldn’t want to be you, my friend.”
“To hell with that.” Dax cups his hands around his mouth and yells, “Don’t tell me you’re going to yield to a woman more than half your size.” With a voice laced with humor, he adds, “By God’s teeth, Quinn, I do believe she’ll dig out your eye.”
“Fuck it.” Quinn’s restricted growl makes us laugh harder. “I’ll grow another.”
“So stubborn,” Rapunzeltsks. She brings the blade closer. “But I’m stubborn as well. Yield.”
“Take the fucking eye.”
We know why Quinn is pushing her. Because one day in the extremely near future, Rapunzel will be alone in John’s court. She may be his daughter and Rygard’s rightful heir, but to him, she’s nothing more than a vessel. A means to achieve more power. He wants her magic, and if she doesn’t give it to him willingly, John will try to take it by force. We must prepare her to do more than survive—but also to survive the king.
Survive him long enough for us to kill him…even if that preparation includes her destroying Quinn’s eye during this sparring session.
Rapunzel wavers. The movement is slight, but it’s the opening Quinn needs. In one fluid motion, he overtakes her. Her sword flies from her hand to land uselessly out of reach. He slams her on her back again and, this time forces her legs apart and fits himself in the space he created. Tosses his weapon aside—to prove to her none is needed. Effortlessly tames her flailing arms by trapping them in one hand and slapping them above her head. The press of his hips keeps her from wriggling out from under him. Propped up on one arm, he brings his face so close to hers that their lips brush.
“Like this, you’re mine.” His voice is angry, hissed out against her mouth. “If I wanted, I could cut every strand of hair from your head and watch you die on the ground. Or…” He leans away and burns her with his hungry gaze. “I could rape you until youwishyou were dead.” Then he brings his lips to her ear but says loud enough for us to hear, “Next time you fell your opponent, you fucking finish him. Do you understand me, Rapunzel?”
“I understand.” Her whisper barely reaches Dax and me, and although I want to pull Quinn off her, I also understand this lesson.
And approve.
Rapunzel needs to be more scared of suffering the consequences of defeat than following through with harming a person—even if it’s someone she cares about.
“Good.” Quinn releases her wrists and pushes himself to his feet. He extends a hand to her in peace. Rapunzel accepts, and only after she’s steady on her feet does he feather his lips over her knuckles. “You did well today. I’m proud of you.”
She averts her gaze. “In the end, I showed weakness.”
Quinn places a finger under her chin, forcing her to look back at him. “If taking a life was easy, the world would be a graveyard.” He claims her mouth in a rough kiss that leaves her more dazed than when he knocked her to the ground. “There’s no shame in defeat if you come away with a lesson learned. So, tell me, what lesson did you learn today?”
“Next time, take the eye.”
He retrieves her sword and presents it to her, hilt first. “Never trust your enemy, and never claim victory until your opponent is dead.”
Rapunzel accepts her weapon dismally. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
