"Are you actually serious right now?" I asked.

Father looked down at the thing between us and raised an eyebrow.

"I always am," he affirmed.

"You want me to conquer Iriloh with a piece of broccoli?"

"Yes.”

I sighed out loud, remembering the most frustrating conversation I ever had with my father once more. It'd been days since we set off towards Iriloh and I still thought about that conversation, searched for a way to convince my father to give me something more useful than a piece of fucking broccoli. Even now, after days of thinking about it, I did not have the slightest idea how I'd use it to properly advance my plans.

“My lady,” Acharo interrupted my musing. “We found them.”

I perked up.

“You found what?”

“We found tracks,” he said. “Human tracks just ahead of us.”

“Human tracks?” I asked. “So we found our shadows.”

“We did. They finally decided to show themselves.”

“How long do we have?” I asked.

“Half an hour at best,” he mused. “They want us to know they're here.”

“Very well,” I said with a smile. “Prepare the men. We’re going after them.”

I took a deep breath of hot desert air, looking at the rocky terrain around us admiringly. They really did pick the best spot for an ambush on my party.

Or they would have if not for me.

And I saw not a hair of them even now, felt not a single ripple in the aether around us. Yet they were here, around us. Only a few people should know how to hide from the senses of a mage and all of them would know better than to risk going after me. My guards quickly formed up around me, their spears ready to skewer any attacker daring to close in first.

I took another deep breath and jumped off my camel.

Another breath and I opened my mind to the aether around us, using it to connect to the thin cover of sand within a mile around me.

My heels connected to the ground, grinding some sandstone into sand that too fell under my sway in moments.

“You're surrounded,” someone yelled from up ahead as the aether lit up with the presence of around three dozen humans.

Nearly three times our numbers.

“I am Lyra al Roh, heiress of Roh,” I answered without hesitation. “You have ten seconds to surrender.”

The bandit laughed.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You're very far from your home little sand princess,” he said. “Surrender and we’ll take good care of you until your father pays your ransom.”

I sighed and breathed out once, the sand under my control surging up into the air as a miniature sand storm erupted from my saddle, grinding against the sandstone under my feet, the new sandstone joining the whirlwind.

My guards shouted once and a transparent shield of light blue magic sprang up around our group, arrows impacting it seconds later as I felt foreign magic wrestle for control over a part of the storm, the enemy mage pitching his will directly against mine.

I snorted. You did not do that unless you knew your enemy was both dead tired and weaker.

Naturally, I recoiled from the attack, my will drawing back towards my body. The enemy mage pushed on without pause, the sandstorm between the two of us collapsing as his magic pushed past the shield protecting us from arrows.

Amateur.

My domain surged out as I let it loose, trapping the attacking magic and following the thread of magic back to the source without attacking once.

“Found you,” I mumbled, a spike of sand shooting out of the sandstorm still raging outside as I reestablished the proper spell boundary, my sand grinding down the stone beneath us.

I felt surprise run through his magic as my spell connected, knocking the opposing mage out of the fight as more and more sand arrived from the surroundings, the storm gaining both speed and size, already enveloping the first bandits I felt. By now, my spell had dug us deep enough that only a few stray arrows managed to score a hit on the shield.

I breathed out one more time, allowing the sandstorm to pick up even more speed, swallowing the last of the attackers.

“I'm going out,” I said after once I was sure none of them would be able to escape.

“Just wait until they suffocate, my lady,” Acharo sighed.

“Why would I waste this many disposable pawns like that?” I asked with a tilt of my head. “Their life is mine to take, but they might as well be useful before I do.”

He sighed again.

“Let me follow you at least, my lady. They seem oddly resourceful for a group of lowlifes, to evade your attention so easily.”

“Very well, you may accompany me,” I agreed, taking my spear from my camel as an armor of sand formed around me. Just the two of us should not be enough to scare them off.

“Keep watch over our camels, we will need them.” I commanded. “Acharo, let's go then,” I said, striding out of the protective circle towards the first bandit huddling down to our south, the storm easily giving way for me to pass.

A shift in the sand around me was the only warning I got as a small form leapt out of the ground, a knife going right for my heart, followed by a boulder from behind moments later.

I jumped to the side, my spear tracking the assailant as another jumped at Acharo from below, no magic assisting him.

“You shouldn't have left your shield princess,” the same voice I heard earlier mocked, a ring of sandstone floating around him.

I just sighed.

“I do not see how you think this will go,” I answered honestly, allowing the sand to envelop us completely once more. The leader vanished from the aetheric plane again, even his presence barely disturbing the sand as the ring of stones shot towards me.

“You're quite good,” I mused, stepping around all of them as my sand ground them to pieces only a few meters behind me. “But I am not just any princess. I am Lyra al Roh, heiress of Roh.”

With that, my form completely dissolved into sand, surging forwards towards the vague presence of my attacker.

Knives cut through me as ever bigger boulders shot up seeking to disperse my form. I ignored it all and drew on more sand, enveloping my attacker in the densest cloud of sand I could, banishing nearly all air from around us.

Five seconds later he faded into my aetheric sight. Another three and his rock armor was ground into a fine sand that joined the storm around us.

Five seconds later no boulders remained.

Twentyfour seconds after I started and his bloody form staggered into normal sight. I waited for another ten seconds, allowing quite a lot of my sand to enter his lungs before I stepped out of the storm myself, turning to see Acharo about to skewer his attacker.

“Hey!” I yelled. “Don't kill my future minion!”

Acharo sighed audibly even in the storm, but stopped his stab short just in time.

“Alright,” I commanded, "let's wrap these two up and get the rest of them.”