Page 36 of To Catch a Prince

Vincent simply inclined his head; he looked quite tense, his eyes narrowed, taking in the smallestmovement.

Talia parted her lips to tell him how glad she was that he’d accompanied her, for no doubt, without him, now, she would have been much morestressed.

But before any word formed in her throat, Vincent was violently pulled ten feet up in the air, and thrown roughly onto the ground. He lay there,unmoving.

Fuck.

Talia moved to rush to his side, but a creature appeared between them. A woman. That term wasn’t quite accurate; it suggested something soft, beautiful, and far less threatening than the thing she nowfaced.

No, that wasn’t a woman at all. Golden light emanated from her every pore, making her a beacon in thedarkness.

She smiled cruelly and inclined her head. “You’re smarter than I thought, little hick,” said Trudy. Her Trudy. The friend whose coat she’dworn.

At the same time, it wasn’t Trudy atall.

“What areyou?”

She laughed. “Isn’t that just the question? Depends on who you ask, sweetest. I’ll tellyou, though. Keep it secret,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I’m everything crossing through yourmind.”

On that note, Trudy lifted her hand, opened her empty palm, and softly blew on it. Golden sparks flew towards Talia before she could even think on how to counterthem.

Within an instant, she was gone, falling into a deep, dreamlesssleep.

* * *

She woke up groggy,disorientated, and a little confused for a second. Once her mind cleared up, she tensed, looking around somewhatfrantically.

Vincent was there. Her relief didn’t last long: something was wrong with him. He wasn’t moving and his body was too still to be sleeping. No. Just no. Her foolishness hadnotcost the life of a prince. She rushed to him, biting herlip.

A relieved sigh escaped her when she found a pulse; it was weak, but she found it on hisneck.

“Vincent,” she called. The man didn’t so much astwitch.

“Vincent!” she triedagain.

Nothing.

“He isn’t going to wakeup.”

Talia froze and turned slowly. She wasn’t sure what alarmed her about that voice; it was beautiful, perhaps too beautiful, in fact. Melodious and suave. The woman it belonged to fit it to a T. Trudy had seemed, if not ugly, just rather plain, when they’d first met, but her features had changed a little now. She seemed taller, and certainly prettier. Her longer ears, and delicate features were elvish, but there was an edge Talia recognized. That woman felt exactly like her shadow. A creature who wasn’t evil, per se - but she could be, if she choseto.

“You’ve charmedhim.”

The creature wasunapologetic.

“I wanted us girls to have some time to ourselves, first.” She took a step forward, hand extended. “Nimue,” said she. Then, she clarified, “That’s my actualname.”

“Oh.” The conversation was too civil and banal, making her feel off balance. Because there was no doubt in her mind that she was now facingher.The Enchantress who’d taken the walls of Norda down. “Well, you know I’m called Talia.Natalia.”

The stranger smiled. “Indeed. You know, I sensed that you had a lot more Old Blood than any of the others back in the Var, but even with the right blood, it’s rare for any of the Descendants to rise. I was very pleased when you became anEnchantress.”

She made it sound like she’d joined her breakfast club. Desperately attempting to stay focused, Talia asked, “Is Vincent going to bealright?”

Nimue wasn’t one to reply with a straightforward yes or no. “I haven’t done any permanentdamage.”

She’d certainly heard more reassuring words. Talia had hesitated, but now, the beautiful stranger had landed on her very short list of enemies. “Right. Well, you wanted us to talk. Let’s start with the reason why you’ve attackedFarden.”

Nimue tilted her head. “Attacked?”

---