Page 61 of Heir of the Beast

I am trembling, ready to yell my lifeline, as it crouches even lower, the beast snarling louder. This is it.

Time stands still as I see it lunge at me. My heartbeat is echoing through my head, and my erratic breathing is all I can manage.

I jolt backward and yell, “Lifeline act—”

An arrow pierces the head of the beast right through the skull.

I fall to the ground in shock, utterly numb to the core. Eyes wide, I glance to my left, seeing Apollo on a magnificent black mount with riders behind him.

He is standing in his stirrups with his bow aimed at three more to my right, firing at them with a skill that exceeds mine.

His long black coat flaps in the wind, and his face is like stone, jaw flexed, and eyes intense.

I watch him kill more as he yells something over his shoulder to his men, touching his chest plate as blue light flickers under his soaked coat. He is magnificent.

I watch in awe on the ground like an ogling schoolgirl.

That’s when I notice the bandage on his muscular thigh as he stands. He jerks his stallion to the left, trying to calm the massive horse, the black hair reflecting the moonlight in the pouring rain.

Suddenly our gazes lock, and I suck in a harsh breath.

He looks livid.

I scramble to my feet and back up, almost falling again. Apollo sits in his saddle and holds up his fist to stop his men from coming at me.

He stares at me, then glances at Mort as if he is reading my mind. Lightning flashes behind him as he shakes his head ~no~.

I ignore him and mount Mort, feeling every muscle in my body protest. Apollo gallops up to me, controlling his wild stallion with ease.

“You cannot outrun me, Angel!” he yells over the wind and rain.

I have zero plans now, and I also doubt I can outrun him either. ~This man has mad skills~. I need to think of something fast that will save my cold freezing ass.

“I will not go to the dungeon!”

Great.

I’m in no position to give orders.

His hair is tied back, and being wet, it appears much darker, giving him a very dangerous appeal. Apollo in the rain and being nothing short of a superhero is a little much for the female brain to take in.

I am breathing hard as my eyes go to his lips and I remember how well he can use them.

Be still, my heart.

Apollo tilts his head, and a grin spreads over his lips. “Do I have a choice? You did, after all, assault the Crown Prince of Garthorn,” he says, and kicks his mount even closer to mine.

~Oh, right, his thigh.~ His eyes travel over my soaked body then back up to my face.

“You need to come with me or you will catch your death out here. And I’m not just talking about the cold. Evil is out tonight, and you will get killed without me!”

“Isn’t that what you want anyway? I’m confused!” I yell back at him, griping Mort’s mane even tighter.

He is perplexing. First he wants to lock me up, then protect me, and the next ravish me?

“Who are you?!” he yells, jerking to control his mount.

“I am the lost princess of Galleon! Look at my eye color for Pete’s sake!”

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