Water droplets clung to leaves and grass, sparkling in the early light as Leonard guided our carriage along the muddy road. Inside, Joy sat opposite me, her gaze fixed on the passing landscape with the same intensity she'd shown since departing the tavern.

  Our short time together had established a pattern. During daylight, we maintained a careful distance, our conversations limited to practical matters. The night at the tavern had forced proximity, where we'd fallen into an uneasy rhythm of civil interaction punctuated by long silences.

  Our conversations the previous night had revealed more than I expected about Joy - her preference for short blades and unarmed combat, her experience in the fighting pits of Naerith, her physical discomfort from the sea journey. Yet there remained much to learn. The way she scanned each new location as if memorizing escape routes. The subtle tensing of her muscles whenever strangers approached too quickly. Despite our frank exchanges, I sensed she shared only what served her purposes.

  I broke the comfortable silence that had settled between us since departing our overnight stop. "We should reach Thornhill by midday. We'll stop there for a meal and to rest the horses. After that, another four hours to the coastal road."

  Joy nodded, her attention returning to the window. The road curved ahead, entering a densely wooded section where the canopy overhead created a green tunnel. Sunlight filtered through in dappled patterns, casting shifting shadows across her pale features.

  The horses slowed as we entered the woods, their hooves squelching in the mud. Leonard called down to them soothingly, encouraging them forward through the difficult terrain. I leaned forward, pulling aside the small curtain again to check our progress.

  "How much longer through this section?"

  Leonard glanced back, his weathered face creased with concentration. "Another mile, sir. The road improves once we reach the old bridge."

  Joy's hand shot out, gripping my wrist with surprising strength. Her body had gone rigid, head tilted slightly as if listening to something beyond my perception.

  "Stop the carriage." Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

  I frowned, but something in her expression made me hesitate to dismiss her concern. "Leonard, halt."

  The carriage slowed to a stop in the middle of the forested road. Silence fell around us, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the trees and the huffing breath of the horses.

  "What is it?" I kept my voice quiet, matching her tone.

  She released my wrist, her eyes narrowed. "Six men. Ahead of us, in the trees. Armed." Her gaze flicked to mine. "They're waiting for someone."

  I stiffened, reaching instinctively for the daggers concealed in my sleeves. "You're certain?"

  "I can hear them." Joy tilted slightly as if catching sounds beyond human perception. "Six distinct voices. Someone is giving instructions to the others." She paused. "They're excited. Anticipating."

  I considered our options quickly. Turning back would be difficult on the narrow road. Proceeding forward meant facing whatever ambush awaited us. The trees pressed close on either side, offering little room to maneuver the carriage around a potential blockade.

  "Leonard. We have company ahead. Be ready." I kept my voice low.

  "How many, sir?" Leonard's response was immediate and calm.

  "Six. Unknown intentions, but assume hostile."

  The subtle sound of metal against leather filtered down as Leonard adjusted his position. I'd never seen the butler fight, but his unfazed reaction suggested this wasn't the first such situation he'd encountered in my family's service.

  Joy's posture shifted subtly like she was preparing to strike. "What's the plan?"

  "We proceed. Slowly. They'll expect us to either flee or charge blindly forward. We'll do neither."

  A cold smile transformed Joy's face into something distinctly predatory. "Good. Let them come to us."

  I rapped on the roof of the carriage. "Forward, Leonard. Slowly."

  The carriage lurched back into motion, the horses' hooves squelching in the mud as we continued through the green tunnel of trees. Each step forward tightened the knot of anticipation within me in preparation for what lay ahead.

  "There." Joy's head tilted slightly as she listened. "Just beyond that fallen oak. They've placed a tree across the road."

  I squinted, seeing nothing in the dappled shadows. "You can hear that?"

  "The scraping of wood across the ground. Men whispering about getting back to position." Her eyes flicked to mine. "Demon hearing has its advantages."

  "Leonard. Tree blockade ahead. Prepare to stop."

  The carriage slowed further as we approached the fallen trunk that had been dragged across the muddy road. It was substantial enough to prevent the carriage from passing, but not so large that it couldn't have been moved by several determined men.

  As Leonard brought the horses to a halt a safe distance from the blockade, movement flickered among the trees. Figures emerged from the undergrowth, spreading out to surround the carriage. Six men, just as Joy had said. Their leader, a burly man with a thick beard, stood directly ahead, a long knife held casually in one hand.

  The leader called out, a smugness in his voice that set my teeth on edge. "Well, well. Fancy meeting you here, lordling."

  I exchanged a glance with Joy, whose expression had shifted to one of cool assessment. Her eyes tracked each man's position with predatory focus.

  "Stay in the carriage until I signal," I murmured to her. "Let's see what they want first."

  Without waiting for her response, I opened the carriage door and stepped down onto the muddy road. I kept my movements deliberate, unhurried, as if the encounter was a minor inconvenience rather than a potential threat.

  I adjusted my cuffs as I surveyed them. "Gentlemen. I see you've gone to some trouble to arrange this meeting."

  The leader spat on the ground near my boots. "Not so high and mighty now, are you? Out here, there's no one to help you. No crowds to impress."

  I smiled thinly. "I confess I'm at a disadvantage. You seem to know me, but I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

  His face darkened with anger. "We saw you yesterday. At the auction. With your fine clothes and your full purse."

  Understanding dawned. Highway robbers who'd marked me as wealthy prey after seeing me at the demon auction. Not an uncommon occurrence on these less-traveled roads. I kept my expression neutral, assessing their positions, the way they held their weapons, the nervousness behind their bravado.

  "What exactly do you hope to accomplish here? Beyond irritating me and delaying my journey."

  "What do you think?" The leader's gaze shifted to the carriage where Joy remained. "Your coin, your valuables, and that pretty demon you bought. Hear they fetch a good price on the black market, specially trained ones."

  My fingers itched to reach for my daggers at the threat to Joy, but I kept my hands loose at my sides. "You're making a grave error. Turn around now, and I'll forget this happened."

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  Their positioning showed they had some experience at this, but their nervousness betrayed them as opportunists rather than hardened criminals. The leader carried himself with more confidence, but even he displayed poor technique in how he held his knives.

  I pulled back my sleeves slightly, revealing the hilts of my daggers. "I'm going to offer you one opportunity. Remove your barricade, return to wherever you came from, and we'll consider this matter settled. No further consequences."

  Laughter rippled through the group, though I noted it didn't reach their eyes. Despite their superior numbers, they weren't entirely confident.

  "Or what? You'll cut us all with those little knives? There are six of us and one of you."

  "Three."

  The carriage door opened behind me as Joy stepped down to stand beside me, her bare feet seemingly unbothered by the mud. Above us, Leonard shifted on the driver's seat, making his presence known.

  The men's attention fixed on Joy, a mixture of lust and greed in their expressions. She met their gazes unflinchingly, something dangerous flickering behind her eyes.

  "The demon speaks." The leader's lip curled. "Eager for new owners already?"

  Joy's smile was cold enough to freeze the summer air. "I was just thinking how much I'd enjoy watching my current owner separate you from your remaining functioning parts."

  The crude threat, delivered in her calm, almost musical voice, created a momentary silence. I used the distraction to assess our situation once more. The odds weren't as favorable as I'd like, but these men were farmers and laborers turned part-time bandits, not trained fighters. And they didn't know what Joy was capable of. Something I was admittedly curious to learn myself.

  My hands moved to my sleeves where my daggers waited. "Last chance. Remove the barricade and leave."

  "Take him." The leader's face twisted with hatred as he snarled to his companions. "And don't damage the merchandise too badly. She'll fetch a better price intact."

  They charged forward as one, their boots squelching in the mud, weapons raised. I drew my daggers in a single fluid motion, the familiar weight settling in my palms. Beside me, Joy moved into a fighting stance, her body lowering slightly, hands raised before her.

  The first man reached me, swinging a club wildly at my head. I ducked beneath it, driving the pommel of one dagger into his ribs with enough force to crack bone. He doubled over with a pained wheeze, and I brought my knee up into his face, sending him sprawling backward into the mud.

  To my right, Joy sidestepped a sword thrust, grabbed the man's extended arm, and twisted. The crack of breaking bone was followed by a howl of pain as his sword dropped from nerveless fingers. She caught it before it hit the ground, spinning it once to test its weight before advancing on her next opponent.

  Leonard had climbed down from the driver's seat, a short cudgel in his hand. He positioned himself near the horses, protecting them from any attackers who might try to hamstring the animals or damage the carriage.

  I focused on the leader, who approached more cautiously than his companions, both knives extended before him. His technique was poor. Wrists too rigid. Stance too wide. But desperation made him dangerous nonetheless.

  "You should have taken my offer." I circled to draw him away from the others.

  He lunged forward, slashing wildly. I parried the first knife with my right dagger, the second with my left, metal scraping against metal with a high-pitched whine. Using his momentum against him, I stepped inside his guard, bringing the pommel of my right dagger down hard on his wrist. The knife dropped from his hand, but he retained his grip on the second, slashing it across my chest.

  I felt the sting as the blade sliced through my shirt and into the skin beneath. A shallow cut, but enough to draw blood. The leader's eyes widened at the sight, triumph replacing pain for an instant.

  "First blood to me, lordling."

  I didn't waste breath on a response. Instead, I kicked his legs out from under him, sending him sprawling onto his back in the mud. Before he could recover, I planted my boot on his knife hand, grinding down until his fingers opened reflexively. His second blade sank into the mud.

  A cry from behind me turned my attention momentarily. Joy had dispatched her second opponent and was advancing on a third, who backed away from her with genuine terror in his eyes. He'd clearly not expected the "merchandise" to fight back. She moved like water, flowing around his desperate swings, each of her own movements precise and devastatingly effective.

  The man beneath my boot took advantage of my distraction, grabbing my ankle and twisting hard. I lost my balance on the slick mud, falling to one knee. Before I could regain my footing, he was up, diving for one of his fallen knives.

  Joy appeared suddenly beside me, her stolen sword flashing in the dappled sunlight. The blade sank into the mud between the leader's outstretched fingers and his weapon, missing his hand by less than an inch. He froze, eyes wide with shock.

  "The next one takes your fingers. All of them." Her voice was quiet but carried an unmistakable promise.

  Together, we turned to face the remaining attackers. Three were already down. One clutching a broken arm. One unconscious from my knee to his face. A third lying motionless where Leonard had dealt with him. The remaining two looked at each other uncertainly, their earlier confidence evaporating in the face of our coordinated defense.

  "Still think the odds favor you?" I rose to my feet, daggers ready.

  The leader scrambled backward in the mud, fear now evident in his eyes. "This isn't over."

  "Actually, it is. Leonard?"

  The butler had returned to the carriage and now stood on the driver's seat, a small crossbow in his hands that I kept stored beneath the bench. He aimed it casually at the leader's chest.

  "I'm told this won't kill you, but the next few weeks will be extremely unpleasant. Leonard, care to elaborate on where you're aiming?"

  Leonard smiled thinly. "Lower abdomen, sir. Not immediately fatal, but leads to a slow, painful, festering death without proper medical attention. Which I doubt is available in these parts."

  The remaining attackers exchanged glances, then one by one began backing away toward the trees. Only the leader remained defiant, though fear had replaced his earlier confidence.

  "Move the barricade. Now." My voice left no room for discussion.

  For a moment, I thought he might refuse out of sheer stubborn pride. Then his shoulders slumped, and he nodded to his companions. Two of them limped forward, dragging their wounded comrade with them, and began rolling the log away from the road.

  Joy watched them work, her expression impassive but her body still coiled with readiness. Blood smeared her right arm where one of the men had managed to land a glancing blow. Beyond that, she appeared unharmed.

  "You fight well." Her eyes remained on our enemies. "Better than most humans I've encountered."

  I wiped my daggers clean on my handkerchief before resheathing them. "As do you. Though I suspect you were holding back."

  A small smile touched her lips. "Perhaps a little. Wynford was clear that killing wasn't permitted under my contract."

  "A wise restriction." I touched the cut on my chest, evaluating its severity. The bleeding had already slowed. "Though I'm curious what you might be capable of without such constraints."

  Joy's eyes met mine, something dangerous flickering within their depths. "Better you don't find out."

  The barricade cleared, our attackers retreated to the side of the road, watching warily as Leonard guided the carriage forward. I kept my hand on my daggers until we were safely past them, half-expecting a final desperate attack. But they remained where they were, defeated and humiliated.

  As our carriage continued down the forest road, Joy cleaned the borrowed sword methodically with a piece of cloth Leonard had provided, her movements precise and practiced.

  She nodded toward my chest wound. "You should bind that. Even shallow cuts can fester in this heat."

  I nodded, accepting the strip of clean linen Leonard handed back from the driver's seat. My fingers fumbled with the buttons of my shirt, stiff from the exertion and aftermath of combat.

  Without asking permission, Joy took the cloth from my hands. "Allow me. I've tended many such wounds."

  Her fingers were surprisingly gentle as she cleaned the cut, dabbing away dirt and dried blood with efficient movements. I studied her face as she worked, noting the intense concentration in her eyes, the slight furrow between her brows.

  "That disarm you used on the swordsman. I've never seen a technique like that before."

  Joy's eyes flickered up to mine briefly, then back to the wound. "Effective, isn't it?"

  "Efficient. And unexpected."

  Her lips curved slightly. "The element of surprise is often the difference between victory and defeat."

  She finished binding the cut, then sat back, her task complete. Something had shifted between us during the brief skirmish. Not friendship, exactly, but a mutual recognition. Two fighters who had stood back to back against a common enemy.

  "Thank you. For the warning about the ambush. And the assistance."

  Joy inclined her head slightly. "I am your property, acquired at considerable expense. Protecting that investment is only logical."

  She echoed my own words from our earlier conversations, but there was something new in her tone. A hint of irony, perhaps. Or the beginnings of understanding.

  "Indeed. Purely practical."

  Our eyes met, and for the first time since purchasing her, I saw a genuine smile touch her lips. Brief, but real. Then it was gone, replaced by her usual careful neutrality.

  The carriage continued north, leaving the forest behind as we emerged onto open farmland. Ahead, the distant rooftops of Thornhill shimmered in the midday heat. But my thoughts remained on the encounter in the woods, and the glimpse I'd caught of the real Joy beneath her carefully controlled exterior.

  I had purchased a demon fighter, expecting an asset, a valuable piece of property to enhance my standing and provide entertainment. What I hadn't expected was a partner, someone whose skills complemented my own so effectively that we fought as if we'd trained together for years.

  This was going to be more complicated than I'd anticipated. And, strangely, I found myself looking forward to the challenge.