Page 100 of The Prince's Mage

He kept his eyes closed.

Finally, “Do we have time for that explanation?”

He hated how her voice had a slight waver to it. Like she was trying so hard to keep it steady and failing because of how hurt she was. How had she managed to perfect the technique so flawlessly? Why was it still working on him when he knew better?

He opened one eye and his breath hitched when he saw her above him, sitting beside him. The first hint of dawn’s light framing her and the curls that had started to fall from the elaborate style Aimilia had given her.

It reminded him of that first morning after he’d slept outside her tent to ensure the soldiers didn’t go near her. How beautiful she was.

So he quickly got his elbows up under him and pushed himself up, shifting so he wasn’t directly beside her. He said, “We do.”

He tried to focus on the ground, but he could still see the flash of hurt pass over her expression as he moved away. She didn’t say anything, just settled her hands in her lap and watched him.

He didn’t know why she’d always called herself a mediocre soldier. The one thing a soldier was supposed to do well was follow orders. She had proven over and over again that was the thing she excelled at.

Somehow the fact that she was acting the perfect soldier for him only made this worse. It’d be easier to keep his heart steeled off if she was raging at him and cursing him for his own deceit the way he had expected and experienced before. At least then he could tell himself she was a hypocrite.

But instead she just sat there, waiting for him. He didn’t like it. He’d never liked barking orders at her and treating her like a soldier, especially after she was his wife.

So he said, “You have questions.”

She nodded. “The limiters, why did you keep them? Why are we heading toward Hypatia?”

Gavril dug his fingers into his thighs to keep them still at the shake in her voice. Whether she was afraid of the limiters or Hypatia, he wasn’t sure. But the pain didn’t keep away the ghost of the feeling of running his fingers over the scar the demon had given her.

“The limiters are not for you. They are for me, soldier.”

She was terrible at hiding her wince at the term. But it was what she was.

He continued, “You were ordered to bring a prince as a hostage to Hypatia. And you will. Me.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted in a small gasp. She was already moving forward, putting one hand on the ground when he realized why she froze. He’d pushed himself back.

She stilled, digging her fingers into the ground and saying, “No. I told you it won’t work if it’s you.No. Please, don’t ask me to watch Hypatia kill you when she discovers how horrid your parents are to you.”

Gavril bit back everything that threatened to come out. He was a commander and she was just a soldier. “You are right. My parents would not trade dirt for me. However… Nikias will trade the world.”

Her brown eyes burned as she pointedly spoke, “But Nikias is not king.”

“He will be. Temporarily.” When Marcella shifted back, he breathed a little easier and continued, “You heard the people spreading the news. My father is currently… unwell. Something our healers have never seen before and are helpless to fix… so long as Aimilia can keep dosing my father with the herb.”

“Aimilia poisoned your father?” Marcella gaped.

“Only because I asked. And it’s not really poison. It’s the tea she makes. It is very easy for her to make it in a way that will incapacitate him. He’s not going to die.” Even if they would all be better off if he did. “I just need him out long enough that Nikias will be the one in charge when he receives word from Hypatia that she has me and wants to make a deal.”

“Isn’t Nikias going to realize you planned all of this when he hears we escaped and gets word we’re with Hypatia? Are you certain he’ll sit down at the table with Hypatia? She killed his wife.”

Gavril looked up at her, the weight of his decision crushing him. This had not been done lightly. “I am certain. I’m not certain he’ll ever forgive me, but I don’t need his forgiveness. I need peace. And he might hate me for forcing him to deal with the woman who killed Faustina, but he will do it. That’s what matters.”

Marcella swallowed thickly. “You… You are doing this—for me?”

“I am doing it for everyone.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Right. But you… believe me? When I explained everything. You—You believe me?”

“I—” Gavril shifted his left wrist so it was out of his sight. “What I believe is irrelevant, soldier.”

He couldn’t let himself believe.

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