Free The Wide-Awake Princess by E. D. Baker Page B

before. And I left my knife! I could really have used that knife.”
    “It was part of the kelpie’s magic to make you want to get on its back. The kelpie tried it on me first, but it didn’t work.”
    “Huh,” Liam grunted. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better? You stood up to it and I hopped right on.”
    “All I was saying was that its magic couldn’t affect me. I probably would have gotten on, too, if I’d been a normal person.”
    “Say, that’s right,” Liam said, his expression brightening. He bent down to gather his weapons; when he stood up he was scowling again. “You shouldn’t have done it, you know. Chasing after a kelpie could have gotten you killed. You don’t have magic to keep you safe.”
    “Neither do you,” said Annie. “And if I hadn’t gone after that kelpie,
you
would have been killed. You know, instead of being rude, you could just thank me for rescuing you.”
    “Thanks,” Liam said in a begrudging kind of way. “But you still shouldn’t have done it.”
    Annie frowned and turned her back to him as she shouldered her sack.
    Closing the distance between them in three longstrides, Liam reached out and gripped her shoulder, turning her to face him. “No, I really do mean it. Thanks. Most people wouldn’t have tried to help me like that.” He flashed Annie a quick smile, which made him look younger and tugged at her heart in an unexpected way. She found herself wanting to see his smile again.
    Annie looked into his eyes and nodded slowly. “You’re welcome.”
    “The road is in that direction,” Liam said, pointing behind her.
    He led the way into the woods, stopping to hold branches so they wouldn’t hit Annie and offering her his hand when they climbed steep hills or crossed streams with slippery rocks.
    Annie found his thoughtfulness touching; when she was younger she’d often played in the woods with pages and stable boys who treated her like just another boy. It also made her wonder about something he’d said earlier. “Did you really mean it when you said that most people wouldn’t have tried to help you? What about your family?”
    “My family knows I can take care of myself, because... well, usually I can. My father always expected me to, because he made sure I knew how. Most people don’t know a fraction of what he does about weapons. He taught me everything I know about them, and... See this? He gave me this sword when I was eight years old. It was too big for me then, but he was so proud when I finally learned how to use it.
    “My father is old now and hasn’t been able to do much ever since his horse threw him. It was a few years ago, but his leg never healed right and he has days now where he’s in so much pain that he can’t do much of anything.”
    “What about the rest of your family?”
    “I’ve never gotten along with my mother or my brother. It wouldn’t occur to either of them to help me, even if I was on fire and they were standing next to me with a bucket of water. My brother was always my mother’s favorite, and I... Wow! I can’t believe I just told you all that. I’ve never told anyone about my family before.”
    “It’s okay,” said Annie. “You know about my family already. Your family can’t be any worse than mine.”
    They’d been walking for little more than an hour when they stepped onto a hard-beaten path. “Here we are,” said Liam. “This is the road I was telling you about.”
    “It isn’t much of a road. Are you sure it’s not a deer trail?”
    “It gets better farther on. I told you, I’m really good at tracking. Directions, too. I’ve been this way before with my father. It was years ago, but I doubt things have changed much.”
    “How far are we from Shimshee?” Annie asked.
    “I’m not sure exactly where we are on the road, but there should be a sign up ahead with the distance posted on it.”
    It wasn’t long before the road grew wider and had fewer rocks to trip them, and they soon