Page 128 of The Prince's Mage

That wasn’t a good sign.

“Let’s have a compromise. She can keep the lilies and her engagement,” Hypatia said with a sickly-sweet smile. “But I will not permit one of ours to wear an Inimicus cloak while we negotiate.”

“No!” Marcella tried to pull back, but Hypatia’s grip instantly tightened, reining her back in place.

“Hypatia, I will not let you—”

“Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

Faster than Marcella could stop her, Hypatia was reaching for the clasp. Marcella tried to twist and get out of the way, but with Konstantin behind her she had nowhere to go. She tried to shove Hypatia’s arms away while Konstantin tried to pull her back, but the flurry of motion sent the cloak falling away from one shoulder.

Marcella tried to stifle her gasp as Konstantin finally got her out of Hypatia’s reach, but Hypatia’s eyes were too sharp.

Marcella immediately started to right the cloak, but it made no difference. Hypatia just lunged forward, grabbing her by the neck and tilting her jaw up. Marcella choked at the pressure, but then she felt Hypatia’s fingers running over the scars on the underside of her jaw and her neck.

She hadn’t checked the illusion on those. It must have started fading overnight.No.

“Hypatia—” Konstantin started to snap but Hypatia let go, shoving Marcella back a step as she did so.

Marcella clutched her neck with her hand as Hypatia’s fingers flew. She knew the rune the seer was casting before she finished, but she couldn’t stop it. Then her arm burned, and she yelped as the illusions covering the scars on her arms started to shatter one by one as Hypatia kept casting.

Konstantin quickly pulled Marcella away as she clutched her arms to herself, but by the time he had, Hypatia was finished. Every illusion that had covered her scars was gone.

“I see.” Hypatia straightened up, but her cool, collected tone was betrayed by the frenzied look in her eyes. “The Inimicus prince is a skilled illusionist, or so I hear. Of course he’d had you covered in several. It seems he has taught you how to lie just as well as he does with magic. You don’t need to bother. Those scars speak for themselves; they could come from nothing else but a heretic. But you do yourself no favors. You survived their heretics. That is not something to hide.”

Marcella fussed with the cloak and tried to fix her sleeves as she said, “It’s nothing. Gavril protected me as best he could. They aren’t his fault. Hypatia, please—”

“Chiefess, the Inimicus are here!”

Before Marcella could continue, Konstantin darted around her and took Hypatia by the arm. He said, “Hypatia, this changes nothing. We need peace. Not more of this.”

Hypatia grinned. “Don’t worry, we will get peace.”

She ripped her arm out of Konstantin’s grip and slipped into the command tent.

But she hadn’t said knowing Marcella had been tortured wouldn’t change anything.

“Come along, little one. Your prince’s brother is here to beg for his life, and I’m just dying to see Nikias again!”

Konstantin hurried in after her, his face ashen.

Marcella was right on his heels. She didn’t know how she was going to fix this—what she was even going to fix since Hypatia was as wild and unpredictable as the ocean—but she had to.

Hypatia was already taking her place at the head of the table. High Priest Panagiotis stood to the side where Gavril was with two guards, the limiters on his wrists and his face pale but otherwise perfectly fine as she’d last seen him. Konstantin was at Hypatia’s right, leaning over and whispering something to her. She just looked straight ahead, completely ignoring him.

Hypatia gestured at Marcella. “Come here, you’ll stand to my left. I want Nikias to see you standing near me.”

Marcella swallowed and moved to where Hypatia had indicated. She caught Gavril’s gaze and he tried to give her a smile, but it vanished at the horror in her eyes. With so many other ears in the room, she simply reached up and tapped her finger against the top of the scar that began on the underside of her jaw. Gavril’s eyes widened and he started toward her, but the guards around him grabbed his arms and barked, “Stay still.”

There was nothing left to do as the tent flaps were opened, and the soldier who opened his mouth to announce who it was, was unceremoniously shoved to the side as someone stormed into the large command tent.

Nikias.

Chapter47

MARCELLA

Marcella’s breath caught in her throat at the barely bridled fury in his eyes. She could see his jaw was clenched and his hands were shaking ever so slightly by his sides. He immediately spotted Gavril, surrounded by guards, with a few lingering bruises, but otherwise unharmed and Nikias’ hands unclenched. At least until he glanced back over at Hypatia and Marcella.

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