Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 127: The Maze II

Chapter 127: The Maze II

In the heart of the maze, an eerie darkness descended, shrouding everything in a sinister cloak. Thick fog slithered through the narrow passages, swallowing up all traces of light. Visibility was reduced to mere feet, the walls seemed to close in with each step, and the air grew heavy with anticipation.

"This place is incredible," Daphne remarked, her voice breathy. "How did they build this so quickly? It wasn’t here yesterday."

As if alive, the fog seemed to whisper, carrying distant and haunting echoes that played tricks on the mind. The silence was deafening, broken only by the faint rustling of unseen creatures and the soft padding of their own footsteps. Each turn hid a potential new terror, too difficult to catch with the dimness of the entire place.

An amused smile played on Atticus’s lips. "You’re not afraid?" he asked.

Lost in this disorienting void, a sense of foreboding wrapped around Daphne like icy tendrils. The unknown lurked just beyond sight, leaving imaginations to conjure nightmarish shapes and sounds.

"I can’t lie and say I’m not," she said, "but I do feel much safer with you around."

Atticus’s chest puffed with pride at Daphne’s words. His smile grew cocky as he tightened his grip around her hand, squeezing it gently for comfort.

"Nothing will happen to you when I’m around," he said. "I’ll promise you that."

His finger grazed the ring that sat on Daphne’s finger, the silver band cool beneath his touch despite the warmth of her body heat. He raised it into the air, admiring it under whatever light was allowed to seep into the maze. Even though the afternoon sun was high in the sky outside the maze, not a lot of that golden warmth was allowed to streak in.

Despite that, the stones on Daphne’s ring glittered and glowed, the moonstone displaying a beautiful blue sheen whenever he moved the ring.

Daphne, who had noticed Atticus’s attention on her ring, suddenly felt her heart grow heavy. She hadn’t thought of it and was more than happy to wear her ring into the maze after Drusilla and Alistair had pointed out that it would be of no use to her. However, it might not be the case for Atticus.

"I should’ve removed it, shouldn’t I?" she asked, thinking that Atticus was worried about the ring. "They might think that you’re using the ring to cheat. It could be a reason to disqualify you."

"Nonsense," he said, kissing the back of Daphne’s hand before rubbing circles into her skin as a way of comforting her. "Each and everyone will have stones that they can use and stones that they cannot. I can’t use the stones on your ring."

"Will they care?" Daphne frowned. She wouldn’t be surprised if her brother decided to play dirty.

Atticus shrugged. "It’s just a game, after all. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether we win or not. Rather, I just wish to spend more time with you."

The maze was an oddly cold place. Despite that, Daphne felt warmth bloom in her chest just from Atticus’s words. She contentedly smiled, turning her attention back to the road ahead as they began to plan their next move.

"I’ll make the kills," Atticus said. "I need you to watch my back for me, especially to look out for the maze shifts."

"Sounds easy enough." Daphne nodded.

A strange squawk sounded from a distance. The two turned their attention to the front, their eyes widening in surprise at the odd sound. Just a short distance away, there was a fowl of some sort. However, the only difference was that it had four legs instead of the usual two.

"Well, that was quick."

"What is that?" Daphne asked, her eyes wide. She had never seen anything so bizarre before.

"A four-footed fowl," Atticus answered. His voice was significantly softer than before, most likely not wanting to alarm the animal. He readied his bow and arrow, aiming. "Don’t get too close," he warned. "It can spit venom."

At first, Daphne had been curious and wanted to take a closer look. Upon hearing Atticus’s words, she dutifully stepped back, afraid that if she did lean too close, she would be met with a face full of venom.

With the familiar thwack of the bowstring, the arrow was fired. It took just one hit through the head and the fowl was down, the arrow piercing it straight through the animal’s skull.

Atticus casually made his way over, signaling Daphne to follow suit. She watched in amazement as he took out his pouch, placing it over the animal just as instructed. The dead body practically turned into a puff of dust immediately upon contact, disappearing from sight.

A sharp gasp left Daphne’s lips as she picked the pouch up in amazement.

"It’s still so light!" she exclaimed.

"That’s the beauty of magic," Atticus said with a smile. "It’s more than just a blast of fire or moving things around with your mind."

Watching Daphne was like watching a kid in a toy shop for the first time. The thought caused his smile to slip a little― how out of touch had she been with magic to have never seen such simple acts of magic?

"It’s incredible," Daphne said, returning the pouch to Atticus, who tucked it safely into his pocket.

"It is." He nodded. "Magic was originally discovered for the betterment of our everyday lives. That’s the true beauty of it."

"You sure know a lot."

"I do. And I’ll be more than willing to spend the rest of my life teaching you everything I know," he said.

The intense, heated gaze that Atticus directed at her caused Daphne’s cheeks to blush with warmth. Her heart fluttered, imagining all sorts of additional meanings that were carefully tucked beneath the surface level of his words. She elbowed him playfully, laughing.

For the next couple of minutes, the couple ventured further and further deeper into the maze. They came across a few different beasts, some more dangerous than others, and Daphne was quickly turning more and more grateful for the advantage they had.

"There are a few higher-grade beasts here," Atticus said, reading off a little slip that Jonah had passed him at the very last second. "Thornhounds, shadow wyrms... Hmm... They even managed to catch a griffin. How interesting."

"Will it be any problem?" Daphne asked unsurely.

She believed in Atticus’s hunting ability but she couldn’t forget that he no longer had his obsidian ring. While she was sure he was more than skilled at using ordinary weapons that weren’t imbued with magic, it would still be a handicap compared to when he had easily taken down a whole pack of thornhounds in the forest.

"A hassle? Yes. A problem..." Atticus cast Daphne a cocky, crooked smirk. "Who do you think I am?"

That confident reply sent Daphne chuckling. She shook her head― it seemed like Daphne could always find herself amused by her husband’s boundless ego.

A sudden low, grumbling vibration tore her attention away from the conversation. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble and Daphne worriedly looked at Atticus. The expression on his face was equally as grave, his lips pursed as he looked about attentively.

"Is that...?" she asked.

Atticus nodded.

"It seems like our half an hour advantage is up."