The Taming of a Beast

Chapter 15

As soon as Adrian and Evelina disappeared into the thick of the shadows, they felt themselves being lifted into the air by two wind mages, helping them stay ahead of Prince Neer and his knights. However, they couldn't move too fast and risk having the prince lose sight of them. The goal was to drag the prince and his soldiers out of Hedgewood and away from the warehouse where there would be a safer place to fight without hurting the innocent.

None of the prince's men noticed that they were not just chasing two people. Prince Neer was far too focused on not losing sight of his prey, while his second-in-command was busy making sure Neer wasn't fleeing into any dangerous situations.

"Your Highness, please slow down!" The second-in-command gasped out. "What if this is a trap?"

He had been tasked with keeping Prince Neer safe, regardless of whatever Prince Neer ordered. As a result, the second-in-command also did not notice the people camouflaged in the shadows following Neer's soldiers. 

Soon, they were out of the town and in a quiet portion of the outside woods. Adrian and Evelina disappeared from sight as Evelina hurriedly grew some vines and leafy bushes for cover. In the dark night, mist rose from the woods, helping their camouflage.

As Prince Neer entered the meadow where he last saw the two, he narrowed his eyes at the dense fog rolling towards him. He was naturally suspicious that this was caused by his prey.

"You can't hide!" He yelled out. "These are but simple tricks. Come out now and perhaps I'll leave your body in one piece, Adrian. The woman can stay alive as my concubine. You should be grateful that I am merciful enough."

Beside him, Adrian felt Evelina bristle in barely held-back fury. She glared at him, communicating the thoughts that she wanted to say but could not. Concubine? She mouthed. If I ever see him again, I will bite his di--- . Adrian quickly covered her mouth in case she accidentally made a sound and innocently blinked at her frustration. It was not his fault that he had this kind of brother, he communicated.

Settling down, Evelina only grumbled inwardly and stared at their target. But they needed to be a little bit more forward for the trap to be set.

Prince Neer shouted some more as his men caught up. Out from the mist, a cat approached Neer's men.

"Isn't that the damn magical beast from before?"

Neer started forward with his sword drawn as Eclipse calmly watched. The second-in-command tried to stop Neer to no avail. Gritting his teeth, he followed his superior.

This was just what they were waiting for as Neer and his men passed a tree root that was used as a marker. Evelina snapped her fingers.

Suddenly the ground underneath Neer's men collapsed. With the help of two earth mages from the Third Battalion, Evelina had quickly disguised the forest floor. In fact, the ground where Neer had been standing had been hastily hollowed out except for a thin layer of earth above the hole. Evelina had borrowed some of Adrian's mana to create a strong enough layer of grass roots to hold the thin layer of earth and to convince the casual eye that it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The screams of frightened men filled the air. There was one person who tried to use his wind magic to break out but Esen's soldiers helped to quickly fill back the top layer. They were not trying to kill Neer's men for that would be a direct assault of treason. 

As soon as the last of the earth covered the hole, Evelina caused some tree roots to spread at the top of the ground. It wouldn't stop the experienced mages by the prince's side for long but it would delay them for the precious minutes that the Third Battalion needed to escape with all the explosives.