Athena pov
I wondered why the queen didn't stop me when I tried to run but I was even more puzzled by the prince's actions.
I mean, he let the barrier fall.
That wasn't a mistake.
Why?
What game was he playing?
My fingers dug into the earth. I needed to rest.
But most of all, I needed strength.
Because I knew the queen wouldn't stop until I was chained.
And next time... they might not make the mistake of underestimating me.
I didn't make it far.
My body had barely recovered from shifting when the queen's hunters found me again.
I smelled them before I saw them—iron, leather, and that cold, antiseptic scent of arcane suppression. Magic inhibitors. My limbs stiffened in instinctive dread.
I tried to run, but my legs betrayed me. It was half-numb from exhaustion, skin scraped raw from the forest's strange thorns. I managed three steps before a net of light slammed over my body, throwing me to the ground.
"No!" I thrashed, but the light constricted, heavy as chains.
