I got this. No problem.

  With my sed hand free, getting my feet out took no time at all. I tugged on the loose chords as the staccato ctter of bde on bde reminded me of the deadly dance behind me.

  I turned my head and saw them exge some parries aes, testing each other’s styles and reabsp; The Princess seemed unhurried to end the fight all at once, despite the rushing water, and Bernie respected the rapier’s great length.

  Finally free, I stood and sloshed across the hold to give them spabsp; The duel between Princess Mia and Bere seemed far from over.

  Ah, shit. This part is about duels and ons. It all gets rather teical if I want to do it justibsp; And I ’t really know who is reading this.

  Bear with me as I give some text, yeah?

  Let’s talk about swords.

  Short ons of all types are ideal for skirmishers, or urban bat — pces where rge ons could get caught on nature, or small enclosed spaces. They’re also great fhting in formatioo someone else that o swing a piece of steel right o your head without whag you. For a duel? For a duel, you want the most deadly thing, with the lo reach.

  In this case a rapier — the on Princess Mia held, glowing ominously in her hand — was the superior on; maybe the ideal on for a one-on-one fight.

  At this point, Bernie has tested its reach, and found the smallsword was just long enough for her to get in, and out if she was quibsp; And her form erfebsp; And she didn’t mess up. She had to be darn near perfect.

  People have this notion, based on its appearahat a rapier is a light, delicate on, but that is a dangerous mistake. A rapier has all the steel of a longsword stretched out as long as possible, and ending in a devious point. It’s only a couple pounds, but try holding that out as far as you for a couple minutes, and those couple pounds get real heavy.

  It’s a signifit, and deadly, on.

  versely, Bernie’s short sword, Thirsting Thorn, and smallsword, Fasator, were great ons, fantasties even. And they were much lighter. If she could draw the fight out, maybe Princess Mia would tire.

  But Princess Mia just had to get one good hit in, and she’d puncture right through Bernie’s chest. Even with her fanew armor, it would all be over.

  Bernie lunged with Fasator. Mia caught the bde in the long quillons of her sword, and very nearly disarmed her with a flick of her wrist. Bernie wrenched her sword free with a ringing of steel.

  This was a keen reminder of the fact that Princess Mia had held a sword in her hand since she was old enough to ask for it. Undoubtedly, she had killed fewer men, but she was much more practiced in a duel, and it showed.

  This is all to say that it was not an equal match — not even close. Bere would o be very clever, or very lucky to e out of this alive.

  Two swords absolutely are better than one — if you get their points es close enough without exposing your body. Bere was not used to that. Her fighting style relied on ambushes from behind, or when her oppo was distracted.

  The princess had her whole attention on Bernie.

  Bere lunged in, swiping with one sword, theher. The Priwisted her wrist catg the smallsword with her long quillons and engaging the bde well away from her, then ‘voiding,’ or turning to the side as the shortsword passed by her uselessly. She then twisted her wrist again and flicked the rapier, smag Bernie on the side of the head, easily.

  Bernie shuffled back through the water.

  “You’re fug with me,” Bernie snarled.

  “o make my own fun sometimes.”

  Then, Berhought to end it all at once.

  She lunged, beat the rapier bde off-lih her shortsword just long enough to go for a stab with the smallsword. Mia elegantly flicked her wrist, getting the bde ba line, and stabbing right through Bernie’s shoulder.

  My blood ran cold. It was a bad hit.

  Water sloshed and sprayed in the air, as Berumbled, retreated out of her range. Princess Mia stalked forward fidently.

  Shit. Bernie was going to need my help. I didn’t have a on. I could use the Edge of Nothing. But I also wasn’t sure I wao murder Caleb’s daughter.

  She didn’t seem to have the same qualms about us.

  Man, this sucked.

  I exited invisible to pce a hand on Bernie’s shoulder, and give her some healing.

  “Thanks,” she whispered to me, keeping her eyes on the Princess.

  “You didn’t run,” Princess Mia remarked, looking right at me. “You must like her a great deal.”

  She slowly walked toward us, her off hand held delicately out to her side, and her sword held point up in front of her fabsp; She’d shown this stao be deceptively strong. To the untrained eye, it seemed that her entire lower body en to attack, but the ranges you would o effectively strike them made it entirely untenable.

  She had everything under trol.

  “What if I just leave with him now?” Bere asked, panting from exertion. “Maybe we don’t fight?”

  “Aw. But now you have caught my i. I am curious to know what happens if I kill a Promised Hero. Maybe the bloody blue door opens right over your corpse. Shall we see?”

  The Princess swiped with the rapier. We both scrambled babsp;

  Berucked her shortsword under an arm, and threw a dagger. Again, Princess Mia batted it out of the air harmlessly.

  “You’re nasty,” Bere replied.

  “Oh e on, hoeople have you stabbed in the babsp; What would daddy say? ‘Game reizes game?’”

  “We’re pying two different games, I think.”

  Mia lunged again. Bernie was forced to parry the blow to the left, away from me, shed back, then parried the ter riposte wildly.

  I needed a sword.

  The ceiling, uess the deck above, shattered and a body fell through. Bernie used that moment to strike Mia in the upper arm, then wheeled away from her.

  The Princess scowled, shook her head slightly and calmed herself. Her fiip brushed the ft of her bde, and she pulled a mote of light from it. A flick of her finger and the mote of light hit her shoulder, and the blood stopped flowing.

  “She’s got healing too,” I said.

  “Yeah, I got that. you go find a sword?”

  “On it.”

  I searched through the bodies of the dead. One had a sword through his belt. Redeemer! Thank god, a lucky break!

  I pulled out Redeemer and flourished it just in time for two other pirates to rush in. One wielded an axe and a pistol. The other a cutss. I went for the man with a pistol first.

  The pistol gave a heavy report. The bullet struck my hip. Blood poured from the wound. This was the first time I’d been shot. Paihrough my entire body, and I immediately felt the urge to just y down.

  I was cooked. This is how I was going to die.

  An arrow pierced the throat of the man with the cutss. He fell from the stairs, into the water.

  “Not today,” I said through gritted teeth, fighting unsciousness. The pain in my hip lessened. I gnced over my shoulder and saw Cal give me a little wave from the hole in the ceiling. He moved and disappeared from view.

  I sshed with my sword to keep the remaining pirate on his toes. A sean with a sword rushed to repce the one who had fallen.

  I sshed again with Redeemer and cut the hand of the man who held the axe, fingers flying, then I swung at the mao him, sending him back a step, sparks flying across his face, whipped the sword back around, and pierced the heart of the first one.

  “I got your back!” I said.

  “Good!” Bernie yelled as a reply. “I just o this up!”

  “Bold words,” Mia tered. She sshed at Bernie’s face, f her to throw her upper body back, or void the attabsp;

  The water tio pour in, surging past our calves.

  The pirate with the sword had the high ground oairs. He swiped at my fabsp; I parried the blow, sparks flying. He flinched. I sliced his stomach deep. He grabbed himself, and fell past me.

  Bere retreated until we were practically back to back.

  “Y to kill her?” I asked.

  “Yes!”

  “Good! Caleb doesn’t like you muyway.”

  “What?!” she gasped, then was forced to meet Mia’s advance.

  A long exge of attacks, parries, and ripostes sent the ring of steel into the air.

  Another pirate ran doweps. My head still ached. And I was beginning to tire. Surely I wasn’t still suffering from the drugs?

  My first parry of his sword sent sparks into his eyes, aumbled back up the stairs and away from me. I had precious seds. I wheeled around.

  “Beta formation!” I yelled.

  Bernie didn’t hesitate. I shoved my sword into the floorboards and cupped my hands. She put her foot in it, and I unched her into the post behind her. Her feet pnted, and she ran up it.

  I grabbed my sword and wheeled back to the men advang dowairs. I threw my hand out and cast a shatter spell that echoed through the hold, splintering wood, and sending spurts of blood from their ears. One fell, and the other halted as he tried to get his bearings.

  I gnced back.

  Princess Mia roared in frustration, and swiped at Bernie wildly. The bck cd girl kept just out of read threw a dagger. Mia batted it aside. Anger. This one buried itself into her neck.

  Being at a 90 degree angle from her, on the post, Mia was forced to parry wildly, and couldn’t briraditional sword forms to bear. Rapier feng was a teral form of lunges areats. It simply didn’t work when you were forced to fight someone above your head.

  “What’s wrong? Getting tired?”

  Princess Mia just gave a sneer, wisely saving her breath.

  The fighting above us stopped. That was weird.

  Mia and Berraded a couple half-hearted exges. Princess Mia gave ground and walked back toward the cargo hold. She tore the dagger from her neck, pulled a vial of something from her belt and dow. The blood from her neck stopped.

  Falling through the opening in the ceiling, surrounded by and held aloft by a flurry of goldehers, came King Caleb.

  “Daddy?” Princess Mia’s voice was small.

  “Oh, don’t ‘daddy’ me,” he said, his voice rumbling with rage and authority. “These men y dead for what? You endanger your own child, my grandchild, for what? Have I not given you enough?”

  His armlinted silver, white, and blue in the light that poured from the opening above. It was like there was nobody else in the world but him. Nobody fought. Nobody breathed.

  The water did not get the gravity of this moment and tie into the hold.

  “She’s safe,” Mia muttered. “She’s with her father. She’s fine.”

  “And if you died here in some fool duel,” Here Caleb’s eyes darted to Berh s, then back at his daughter, “who would raise her?”

  “I had everything —”

  “No, I have everything under trol,” he growled, advang. “spiring with my enemies? Poisoning your brother’s wife? You have much to answer for. e, before we all drown.”

  Princess Mia’s eyes hardened, and she tilted her head up to look back at her father, her eyes hooded with pt.

  “No.”

  I watched Caleb’s heart break iime. His jaw went sck with surprise, and the lines on his face deepened. All the fight left his shoulders. They sagged as if being pulled down by invisible ropes.

  This man felled giants. He fought the minotaur in single bat. He’d stood up to nations, ahem back down. He was not able to weather his daughter’s operayal.

  “What do I tell your mother?” Caleb asked.

  “Tell her whatever you like.”

  Princess Mia dropped her sword into the knee high water, pulled an amulet from her pouch, then s in half. She swirled into silver mist and disappeared.

  Bernie leapt to where Mia had been, and fished the sword from the water, flourishing it dramatically.

  “What?” she asked, rhetorically. “It’s a good sword.”