Free Pirate Princess by Catherine Banks

instantly felt a zap of pain through my hand. “Ow,” I yelled and then tucked my hand under my arm.
    “Faxon,” Jared said, “Are you sure?”
    “She’s fine,” he assured him, “They just sting a bit when you touch them. Place your hands just in front of it without touching it.” The group formed a line on the road behind me as they waited to see if I could do it.
    “I’m fine,” I called back to Jared. I put both of my hands out, just in front of the veil so it wouldn’t zap me again, and concentrated. I imagined the wall falling down like a curtain dropped off of its hook to the ground. Sweat dripped down my back as the sun rose higher and my head began to pound. I focused harder and then heard a loud pop. I looked up and found a wagon with three bandits sitting on the ground around a campfire with drinks in their hands. They were dirty and looked worn and tired. I assumed it meant they had been traveling for a while with little food, but I could have been wrong. They looked up at me with shock and then anger on their faces. They drew their weapons and advanced towards me.
    I was exhausted from breaking the spell and my movements were slower than usual. I drew my sword just in the nick of time to block one of their strikes. I backed up a step and then threw my dagger into the bandit on the right who was running towards me, trying to attack me while I was busy with his friend in front of me. It hit him in the chest and he fell like a cut tree. I was preparing to finish the guy in front of me and attack the one on the left when strong hands hauled me up onto a horse. Jared and Griffin killed the last two bandits on foot with remarkable efficiency and looked as if it were no harder than eating salad with a fork.
    “Are you alright?” Faxon asked me as he held me with one arm around my waist and had me set on his leg over the side of his horse.
    I turned my head to look at him and fainted. I heard them saying my name, but I was too tired to respond.
     
    “I told you she wasn’t ready!” Esmeralda yelled.
    “What are you talking about? She did it! And she would have defeated all three bandits if we hadn’t intervened,” Faxon said from right next to my ear.
    “You don’t know that for sure,” Jared said.
    “She was already preparing to attack the one to her left when I grabbed her. Besides, this was the best place to test her abilities. Or are you doubting your ability to protect her?” he asked angrily.
    “Faxon,” Jared warned.
    “You all know I’m right. She was perfectly safe. I could have frozen them in place if they had been about to hurt her.”
    “Why isn’t she awake?” Griffin asked.
    “Because I’m tired,” I whispered, but my voice was barely audible even though it was as loud as I could muster it with how exhausted I felt.
    Faxon’s arm tightened around my waist and I realized that I was sitting in front of him on his horse now. “How are you feeling?” he asked me quietly.
    “Tired,” I whispered.
    “Are you injured?” Esmeralda asked.
    “I already told you that I checked her for injuries,” Faxon snapped.
    “I’m fine. It just took most of my energy to break the spell,” I explained. I realized my back was pressed to his chest and I didn’t have my bag. “Where’s my bag?” I asked nervously.
    “It’s hooked to the saddle horn on Duke,” Griffin told me, “It’s safe.”
    Faxon moved me slightly and tilted my head back. “Open your eyes.” I did and found him staring straight into mine. I felt a blush creep over my cheeks, but was too tired to pull away from him to hide it. “I’m going to put you to sleep now,” he whispered, “So you can regain your energy faster.”
    “Okay,” I whispered around the lump in my throat and took a few more shallow breaths.
    He put his fingertips on my eyelids and closed them, moved me back so that I was in front of him with my head leaned back against his chest and then the world disappeared into blissful