Page 70 of The Prince's Captive

The only thing she could do since she wasn’t dead instead.

When she didn’t respond, he sighed and moved out from under her, his hands on her, gently setting her on the ground. His hands fussed with the cloak, and she could feel the fabric shifting down until he was seemingly satisfied with how it covered her.

When she heard the sound of footsteps, she slowly opened one eye and peered through her curls.

Gavril’s back was to her as he stood in the middle of the cell, arms crossed and glaring at his brother who stood also toward the middle of the cell, but there were runes on the ground. She’d seen similar ones before. Although most of the time she’d been reeling from slamming into them to precisely catalogue them, she knew what they did. Invisible walls.

“—serious—That was—know it—order a commander—false—a Sordes—magic—illusion of yours.”

“—couldn’t cut—off, right?—only one—remove—nomenafter all—healers—me—her vitae—can’t fake that—” Gavril held his left wrist up, showing the band to Nikias through the invisible wall. “—makes hermea uxorem—ripped her—information—punishment—such actions against a Runai’suxorem—including Solitus or Sordes—”

Nikias cut Gavril off with a sharp laugh. “—commander—court—willing—law to a Sordeslupa—”

Gavril snapped something, and then quickly looked over his shoulder. “—her that!”

Marcella closed her eyes and stayed still. He let out a long sigh and lowered his voice again. “—the law—will not—made her—my own brother—takemea uxorem—whatever way—Sordes?”

“Yes.” Nikias crossed his arms right as Marcella opened her eyes again.

Gavril took a deep breath and nodded before stepping back. His fingers then flew through the air and he threw a rune down on the ground in between him and his brother. Nikias stumbled back, and Marcella’s breath caught in her throat, but when all she saw were the lines of the rune and not what it was supposed to do, she breathed again. What was it?

Gavril said, “—lawful—done tomea uxorem—bounds of the law—ego te provoco—honor—vir.”

Nikias laughed again but there was something strange and breathy in it. “—mind—accepted—kill me, your brother—Sordeslupa—replica of the Desero demon—heir?—provoco—Father—his orders—kill—for her?”

Gavril’s words were so low and sharp she couldn’t catch a single one to translate. Were they talking about executing her? It had been the last thing she’d said to Gavril. Maybe he did know mercy.

A least a merciful end.

Nikias shook his head, his eyes darting past Gavril and landing on Marcella.

She was too far away and her face too obscured by her hair for him to see she was watching. She prayed.

“Why?” Nikias asked. “—every scrap—useful information—nothing worthwhile—knows nothing—worth nothing—her own people.”

Gavril stiffened. He also looked over his shoulder at her. This time she wasn’t fast enough to close her eyes, but he didn’t seem to see as he just stared at her, lying on the ground in her tattered peplos with his cloak the only thing preserving her modesty since her strophion had been cut off.

“—believe—key—us and the Sordes.”

Nikias scoffed. “—can be no—Desero demon breathes.”

Gavril tilted his head, and she could see something dawning on him in his eyes. She hated herself for being able to tell. “—succeeded—back Hypatia—wouldn’t have—safe return, would you?—killed her—committed us—blood.”

“Desero demon—front of me—do what I must—beg for her life—made—beg—respond the way—her people—Abyss monstrosity far worse than anysanguisugae.”

The way Nikias spoke, she’d never heard someone so full of hatred before.

“—never—interest—did you?—lied to me—to go on—not care about—our people who die—war? If we could just—”

Nikias cut Gavril off again with a sharp, cold laugh, “—to savages that—demons like Hypatia—blessing—theirsanguisugae—corruption that puts us all at risk?—reasoned with.”

“What if—not—different?—have it all wrong—fact—her vitae—proof—we aren’t like the Elemens—vitae—Asentai and—” Gavril started to gesture back toward her, and her breath caught in her throat.

She wished they would take this somewhere else. Her head was spinning trying to translate and she still couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“—one of them—goddess—washed her hands—left it to us—Abyss will swallow—so if—spill blood today—break—savages—demons andsanguisugae—force them to cleanse their corrupted bloodlines. Yes, I will have blood.”

A dark chill settled over Marcella. It was one thing to know the Inimicus sought the extermination of her people for their made-up corruption, it was another to hear the crown prince admit it with no hint of remorse. The desire in his voice for blood was the worst sound she’d ever heard.

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