Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 112: Who To Trust

Chapter 112: Who To Trust

"What happened back there?" Jonah finally asked once they were away. "Why didn’t they let you leave?"

"That prince is a scheming snake," Sirona growled out, a hand glowing purple as she began to heal herself while walking, with Atticus and Jonah flanking her sides to prevent her from bumping into people."That spill was no accident."

"You mean...?"

"Damn right." Sirona turned to Atticus, her eyes flashing in anger. "That man is out to steal Daphne from you, and he’s not above using this sort of petty tactics. He purposely got his servant to injure me after I interrupted his attempts at destroying your reputation."

Atticus cursed, his hands clenched into fists. "When I get my hands on that bastard, he’s going to pay!"

"Let me at him first," Sirona said, "I have a pressing need to end his bloodline."

"I would never want to get in the way of your rampage of revenge, but we need to find Daphne first," Jonah said, frowning heavily. "The rumors about her have already gotten so ugly, and I bet that man isn’t going to lift a single finger to help. He’s probably hoping Atticus would discard her so he can come in and save the day."

"God knows what kind of nonsense he has been filling Daphne’s head with when I was gone," Sirona added.

The three of them fell into sullen silence as they ran back outside, trying to look for Daphne. Just as they were at their wit’s end, they heard faint yelling from a distance. It sounded like a lot of women raising their voices.

"That’s not... normal."

The three of them exchanged glances, and as one, they raced in that direction.

***

"...Yes. But nothing happened! I swear! I would never betray Atticus!"

Queen Yvaine looked less than convinced at her words. Daphne didn’t know what else she could do, short of perhaps shaving her head bald to prove her innocence.

"You already have." She whirled around, only to see her brother’s sneering face as he gave her a disparaging look. "I wonder, what on earth did Prince Nathaniel see in you? I must wonder if he has some sight impediment."

There were outraged noises from the Raxuvian ladies, who felt insulted on their prince’s behalf.

"Don’t be ridiculous!" One of them cried out. "Our Prince would never eat King Atticus’s leftovers!" A chorus of agreement followed her statement.

Alistair flat-out laughed.

"All of you are too naive! Even if he didn’t reach for her, no man would deny it when a willing woman fell into his lap! And my sister is very, very willing."

"I am not!" Daphne burst out. "Brother, why do you insist on making such false accusations?"

"Don’t call me your brother! I don’t have such a morally degenerate sister!"

Alistair strode away from her, as though her very presence was an affront to his existence. He shuddered dramatically.

"Just because King Atticus doesn’t give you enough affection, it doesn’t mean you can move on to another man that shows you the slightest bit of interest! Isn’t that right, Queen Yvaine? My sister has mocked the sanctity of marriage! She’s such a slut!"

Queen Yvaine frowned. While Daphne’s behavior was improper, Prince Alistair was also behaving abominably.

"Prince Alistair, watch your words. This is your sister!"

"Precisely because she’s my sister that I’m willing to say such things about her. Let no one say that I, Prince Alistair, am blinded to the faults of my own family! She is no better than a common whore!"

Emboldened by Prince Alistair’s words, ugly yells began to fill the air as people started to hurl curse words at Daphne. Daphne tried to make herself heard, but all she saw were hostile eyes glaring daggers in her direction. Daphne felt tears forming in her eyes as she covered her ears in an attempt to drown out their words.

’Please... please... someone help me!’

Suddenly, a terrifying aura flared, nearly flattening everyone in the vicinity. Daphne heard the screams of fear and turned around to see what happened.

It was Atticus! Daphne’s eyes widened as she spotted him, Sirona and Jonah hot on his heels. The three of them surrounded her, forming a protective barrier.

"Atticus! You’re here!" Daphne could have cried in relief, but then she froze and gazed at him worriedly. What if Atticus believed the rumors flying around too?

"I didn’t seduce Prince Nathaniel. Please, believe me. I swear, I would never do anything to betray you. We simply talked and had lunch."

Everyone’s eyes turned to Atticus, waiting for his reaction with bated breath. Poor King Atticus had finally caught up to his unfaithful wife. They wondered what sort of punishment King Atticus would come up with.

Maybe he would slap her! Or divorce her in front of everyone!

Instead, King Atticus simply blinked and said, "Of course I believe you."

He even stroked the top of her head tenderly, his eyes full of warmth as he gazed at her. Daphne stared into his eyes, wondering if his words were true, or if he was simply acting the part of a loving forgiving husband to salvage his own reputation.

"I know you well enough to know that you’re definitely not that type of woman," he declared, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

The women gasped. Love truly was blind! Next to them, Prince Alistair looked positively livid at the display of affection.

"King Atticus, as a man, I have to wonder. Are you truly that blind to my sister’s behavior? Or are you just pretending you don’t care? Didn’t you hear what she did today?"

"I did, loud and clear," Atticus said simply. "In fact, so many of you have told me variations of the same story."

"And you believe her, just like that? Are you a fool, King Atticus?"

"Who am I supposed to believe, if not the woman I actually married?" Atticus pointed out calmly, but the obsidian jewel on his ring began glowing again, a sign of his temper. "Am I supposed to take your words over hers? You have some nerve!"