Page 2 of The Prince's Captive

An Inimicus slipped past the guards and was headed right toward her.

Marcella had been ordered not to fight.

But she was allowed to run. Encouraged actually.

So she let out a sharp, high-pitched scream and took off. She let her veil fall back down as she reached down and gathered up the fabric of her peplos and himation to keep from tripping on it as she started running through the fighting, in the opposite direction of Hypatia and her chariot. But she looked back over her shoulder right as another Inimicus rode out of the woods, cutting right into Hypatia’s path.

Hypatia was a good chariot driver, but gravity was not on her side as she attempted to tightly swerve around him. The motion sent her chariot toppling over, and Marcella swore under her breath as she was running. Hypatia went rolling across the ground and the trunk fell right off the wrecked chariot as the Inimicus lifted his hands into the air and the glow of his magic appeared.

Chief Eustathios immediately threw a rune at the Inimicus as he jerked his horse to a stop while Hypatia struggled to get her arms under her. The Inimicus easily deflected the whip of pure vitae—the energy that made casting possible—Chief Eustathios had sent at him.

Marcella was wholly focused on dodging the Inimicus near her and the reckless vitae flying through the air when she heard the scream.

She came to a stop, turned on her heel, and nearly collapsed herself. Chief Eustathios hit the ground, and the red spilling on the ground made it clear what had happened. Hypatia was the one screaming as she scrambled to her feet. But there were far too many Inimicus trying to cut them off.

Hypatia’s vision hadn’t included the blond Inimicus riding out with more soldiers and trying to pen them in. It hadn’t included her father’s death.

Even though she was on the other side of the fighting, Marcella recognized that look on Hypatia’s face. Her hands started to move, and if Hypatia finished her rune and revealed just how much power she had, the Inimicus weren’t going to let her get away even if she looked like a handmaid.

So Marcella had to cast faster. Her left hand finished the first rune, a simple one, but the blinding light sent the Inimicus after her stumbling back and clutching his eyes as he was temporarily blinded while she finished the other one with her right.

Her vitae rushed to her call. Little though it might be compared to some, it was hers and she was its mistress. She finished the rune and the pure vitae bolt shot true, hitting the blond Inimicus’ horse in the rear and causing it to bolt before he could dismount.

He immediately pitched forward, forced to regrip his thighs against his steed as he grabbed the reins. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes landed on her, and they lit up. He immediately turned his horse in her direction.

Hypatia had almost finished her rune when one of the other Desero soldiers rode by on his own steed and caught her by the wrist. He hissed something in her ear, and she looked back at Chief Eustathios, whose skin had lost all its color and whose chest had stopped rising and falling. The soldier let go of her arm and she practically jumped onto the back of his horse, fingers flying in a rune to create a little vitae platform to assist her getting up. Hypatia abandoned her father and the Heart as three Inimicus had already grabbed the trunk and Eustathios was already gone.

Hypatia and her guard were out of sight in an instant, but the Heart had been captured.

The head of their clan was dead.

Still, one of her fellow clansmen blew the horn to retreat, and the rest of the Desero soldiers immediately threw up runes summoning fog to help them vanish.

But before she could even watch the rest of her people retreat as she stood in the center of the fighting with nowhere left to run, a sharp pain ripped through her side, and she let out a choking gasp. She stumbled forward, and a hand grabbed her arm as she saw where the lightning bolt of the Inimicus had struck her in the side and burned through her himation and peplos and scorched her skin.

At least it hadn’t gotten the fresh scar she had on her side that curved up her back.

She hissed and twisted, managing to swing him far enough that he tripped over some of the wreckage of the battle and let go.

Marcella prayed to Asentai for a miracle.

She had barely started running in her hampering outfit with her hurt ankle again before she crashed right into something solid, and hands encircled both of her wrists.

She looked up to see the blond Inimicus that had almost gotten Hypatia standing in front of her.

He was a head taller than her and had hair more golden than the sun and eyes greener than any summer tree she’d ever seen.

She immediately reared her head back and then flung it forward to slam the top of her skull into the bridge of his nose, but before her hit could land, she was spun around. Her back was slammed against his front as he pinned her arms down, one at the elbow while his other hand clasped both of hers in it, preventing her from casting any runes.

Her ankle buckled and her burnt side hit his, causing her to let out a short hiss of pain.

From the corner of her eye, she saw his eyes widen at that and he peered down to see the burnt fabric. He then immediately narrowed his eyes at the Inimicus who had been chasing her. He opened his mouth and barked something at him.

Marcella’s mind was still reeling so badly from seeing the head of her clan cut down in front of her and from being caught that she couldn’t begin to see if she knew a single word he said.

The Inimicus huffed and glared at her before speaking, “—much of a choice—coming quietly!”

The blond Inimicus holding her against him just raised an eyebrow. “—standing still—saw—”

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