“You’ll be getting off your ’orse now,” the dirty one said.

Fear wrapped itself around me like a searing blanket.

I couldn’t breathe. I just stared at the man while my horse whinnied and took nervous steps sideways.

The scarred man spit on the ground. “Off the ’orse. Be a good girl and we won’t hurt you.” 266/431

I didn’t believe them. Once I was off my horse I’d be powerless. I clutched my riding stick harder and tried to think of options. Then I remembered: I was invincible.

I hadn’t ever wanted to test the enchantment. Still, what choice did I have? I looked the scarred man squarely in the face. “Out of my way.” He put the knife to his lips as though about to use it to pick at his teeth, then waved it in my direction again.

“You’ll be giving up your saddlebags too. And your jewelry.”

I nudged my horse forward. “Out of my way!” His expression twisted with anger. He leaned forward in his saddle, and pointed his knife at me as though about to thrust it into my chest. “Do as I say now!” At that moment the world slowed, grew sharp. I could feel the wind blowing strands of my hair around my shoulders and insects buzzing above my head. As the scarred man came toward me, I could sense every breath he took. It didn’t seem difficult at all to knock the knife out of his hands with my riding crop. It was as easy as smacking a fly with a flyswatter.

It didn’t matter that the toothless man was coming at me with another knife. He too moved in slow motion, like a man walking through water.

I hit him on the side of his shoulder and he flew off his horse, screaming. He landed in the bushes by the side of 267/431

the road, causing the branches to wave in leafy surrender.

I heard the man with the stick coming up behind me. I knew exactly where he was without even looking. I turned and saw the stick swinging toward me. I tapped it with the riding crop and it flew from his hands.

The man cursed, but he didn’t waste time trying to fight with me anymore. He turned his horse and galloped back into the forest. The scarred man only waited another moment before following after him. Even the toothless man, who’d just managed to extract himself from the bushes, ran after them. I heard him crunching and crashing through the foliage as the world slipped back into its normal realm.

The now riderless horse stood on the pathway in front of me and I reached over and grabbed the reins as I rode by. Because hey, who doesn’t want a free horse? I only regretted not knocking the other two into the bushes as well.

As I trotted off toward the inn, the forest once again seemed a warm and welcoming place. And better yet, I felt confident and powerful. I was invincible.

• • •

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I arrived at the inn dusty, tired, and hungry. It was frustrating not to have cell phones, not to be able to call Tristan and say, “Where are you?” and “By the way, a goat is out to get me and I was assaulted by thieves in the forest, and now I have an extra horse.” Then again, I couldn’t tell him about most of it. He might be just as eager as Simon to switch enchantments.

I shared some cooked eggs, cheese, and gritty wheat bread with the inn’s dog, then went to my room and looked out the window for Tristan’s horse.

He didn’t come.

Did he not care that I’d left? Did he want to stay at the castle fawning over Princess Margaret and telling stories at the king’s table?

I ordered a bath, gave the innkeeper’s wife my dress to clean, then sat in a big metal tub of steaming water. It felt luxurious against my skin but eventually it grew tep-id and I had to get out. I pulled on my Snow White dress, combed out my hair, then went downstairs to try and dry it out by sitting near the hearth.

A crowd of half a dozen men had gathered around one of the tables. A large man with a pointy red beard sat with a mug of ale in one hand, speaking to them. At first I thought he was a storyteller, but as I drew closer I heard his voice. “If none can defeat the Black Knight—and I’ll not claim as much until I’ve fought him 269/431

myself—then it stands to reason that your king will give Margaret’s hand to the man who has rid the land of his other foes. And that,” he said, raising his mug as though offering a toast, “is what I shall do.” A rumble of approval went through his audience. One of the crowd called out, “How will you kill the ogre?” The man with the pointy beard took a drink, then shook his head slightly. “ ’Tis bad luck to speak of a thing before it happens. But I will tell you this: on the morrow I’ll go to King Roderick and pay my respects to him and his daughter. Then I’ll go up to the caves and destroy the wretched monster. When I come back to this inn we shall all feast, and I will tell you the story of my victory.”

One from the crowd raised his mug and said, “Here’s to Sir William—may he cleanse the land of the murder-ous beast!”

Another man said, “To the safety of our cattle and our children!”

The rest of the crowd raised their glasses and cheered, one by one adding in their toasts. I sat by the hearth and shivered.

Where was Tristan? Unless he killed the cyclops tonight, it might be too late. It didn’t look like he’d even come today. The sun was nearly across the sky.

Perhaps Princess Margaret was detaining him.

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I watched the fire crackling and felt nothing but cold and miserable. I’d come to help Tristan, hadn’t I? And I was invincible now, so who had a better chance to kill the cyclops? Then I could just hide the thing until Tristan could come and take credit for slaying it.

But helping him meant helping him marry Margaret, and I didn’t like her. She was conceited and mean and she’d tried to shut me up in her room for who knows how long.

My mind wandered away from Princess Margaret and back to Tristan. Tristan, who looked so good rugged and mussed and wearing a tunic. He had a new confidence about him, a sense of purpose, as though here in the past he’d found himself.

Margaret didn’t appreciate how smart he was or the way his blue eyes seemed to look right into you. She would only ever see him as a page, a servant. So why should I do anything that made their wedding possible?

I sat there for a while longer, but I didn’t see another way. I’d come to help Tristan. I had to face the cyclops tonight.

• • •

I traded the thief ’s horse for a sword. I wasn’t sure if it was a good trade or not, but since I hadn’t paid for the 271/431

horse I figured it didn’t matter. Being invincible could prove to be profitable.

I got directions to the caves from the innkeeper’s wife, who didn’t seem to think it was odd that I was asking.

Perhaps she thought I was asking in order to avoid the place. Instead, I rode out of the village and directly up into the hills where the cyclops lived. The sun had begun to dip down in the sky, and I pushed my horse to a gallop in an attempt to outrace it.

We rode to where the forest grew dense. The caves were somewhere beyond these trees—cold, dark mouths in the landscape. My horse whinnied nervously and twitched her head from side to side as though trying to shake off the bridle. I wondered if she could smell the cyclops from here.

I left her tethered to a tree by the main path. I may be invincible, but she wasn’t. It was safer to leave her here until I’d finished my business. I didn’t worry about her being stolen. I doubted any thieves hung out in the cyclops-infested part of the forest.

I made my way on a path that had already been over-taken by clumps of grass. It had been a while since people willingly rode through this part of the forest.

The night air pressed against my face and neck, and when I approached the caves my back tingled as though someone was watching me. I wished my senses would 272/431