Page 123 of The Prince's Mage

“Why? Why do you want to help me?” Marcella narrowed her eyes at him. “Given your situation, shouldn’t you be more concerned with not upsetting Hypatia?”

Konstantin’s lips quirked up into a painful, terrified smile. “For months, I have been. I’ve let her get away with a lot because of my fear. But now? I’ve accepted one day she will kill me and there will be nothing I can do about it. While I would like to stay alive for as long as possible, I won’t sacrifice this chance for peace to do it. Nor will I continue to let her control everyone else’s lives.”

Marcella’s eyes doubled in size. “You think she’ll kill you?”

Konstantin glanced down at Marcella’s side exactly where the rough, jagged scar Hypatia had given her was even though he’d never seen hers. “You think she won’t?”

At her silence, Konstantin nodded and sighed. “I could easily help you and your prince if you were Montis—” He cut himself off and his eyes widened. A grin broke out on his face and he snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”

“What?” Marcella blinked.

Konstantin just grinned and said, “Oh, if we do this, I may not live to see the end of the week. I have an idea. Come on, we need to go see the High Priest.”

Chapter45

MARCELLA

Marcella was not surprised to find that when Konstantin presented High Priest Panagiotis with a way they could pull one over on Hypatia, the High Priest was eager to agree.

It took just a day for the papers to be drawn up and for Konstantin to find a time Hypatia would be busy and far away from the Montis section of the camp so the ceremony could take place. Apparently Hypatia barely left the Desero section of camp.

Hearing that only made Marcella more nervous about the fact that Hypatia was trying to use her Sight, but they couldn’t stop her. When she’d brought it up to Konstantin, he’d just scowled and muttered something about broken promises, obsession with knowledge, and disregard for her own health.

But they couldn’t control Hypatia. They could only hope to best her and take back as much control as they could. And pray she wasn’t going to be completely irrational by the time Prince Nikias arrived.

She was a little disappointed and frustrated Konstantin wouldn’t let her see Gavril until it had been done, but she accepted it. There was little time left anyway.

So Marcella stood in front of the High Priest, beside Konstantin, and surrounded by a clan she barely knew. She’d had idle thoughts about it. It wasn’t a ceremony she’d seen performed before herself, but when Hypatia had mentioned it in her very first raven to Marcella, she remembered enough about what it was supposed to be like to imagine it.

It wasn’t a long one, and it all went by in a whirlwind.

Once High Priest Panagiotis had finished, he handed Konstantin a small dagger. Konstantin turned to Marcella and spoke as he pricked his finger on the blade. “With this blood, I offer to you a home amongst Clan Montis and the name of my forefathers should you choose to accept.”

He smeared the drop of blood on the papers a member of Montis held out for them before offering the dagger to her.

Marcella took it, pricked her finger and said, “With this blood, I accept your offer.”

She smeared her blood in the spot next to his on the papers. The Montis mage passed them back to High Priest Panagiotis, who then gestured to the two of them and said, “Clan Montis, welcome your newest member, adopted sister of Konstantin, Marcella of Montis!”

Marcella was immediately taken aback by the fierce cheers and applause she received. Konstantin took her hand and lifted it up, causing them to cheer louder. Under the roar of his people, he said, “Don’t think you have gone unnoticed or unappreciated by all of us. The last few days, every time I have seen my people, someone has come to tell me how much they admire you. The fact that you survived Areator and succeeded in bringing an Inimicus prince. Even more so the ones whom you’ve spoken to, how astounded they are how at different you are from Hypatia despite looking like her. How grateful they are for the opportunity to spare their children the blood we have been drowning in for generations. It is an honor to call you one of us, for me to call you sister. Even if only to foil Hypatia.”

Marcella didn’t know what to do with that. His people didn’t know her. Not truly. If they did, they wouldn’t think so. Especially if they knew how weak and fragile she was. They were just putting on a good face for Konstantin’s sake. If he liked her enough to make her his adopted sister, then they would at least pretend to be excited.

“She will be furious,” Marcella said instead, beneath her smile back at the clan that had just claimed her.

“Yes, yes she will,” Konstantin said with his own smile.

“Prince Nikias arrives tomorrow. Will she find out before then?” Marcella whispered.

“Oh, I doubt it. Not unless it comes to her from herSight.” Konstantin’s voice darkened. “Which she shouldn’t be—Point being, Hypatia does not deign to interact with anyone outside of Desero that she does not have to. And my people hold no great affection for her for taking me from them. They will be too busy celebrating amongst themselves.”

“What knowledge is she hoping to gain, trying to trigger something so close to Prince Nikias’ arrival? She already has all the leverage she needs.”

“Hypatia’s desire for everything will destroy her. I don’t need Sight to be able to know that. If we are lucky, she will wreck herself so much she will be bedridden on his arrival and have no choice but to have me step in as leader of the coalition to negotiate.” Konstantin started pulling her along to the people who were eagerly waiting to greet her. “Now, come, little sister, let’s do the formalities and then go see your prince.”

It was a whirlwind of names she knew she would not remember in the morning. She still didn’t fully understand why they would be so thrilled for their heir to adopt her. She might have brought them an Inimicus prince in the hopes of negotiating peace, but they didn’t have peace yet. Right now, she was just a Desero soldier who looked like Hypatia to them, who had asked a few of them for details about what she’d missed.

But it seemed because Konstantin had brought her to them, they would take her with open arms.

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