Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 138: Unwanted Reunion I

Chapter 138: Unwanted Reunion I

Daphne ignored that outstretched hand, choosing to step out on her own. Eugene merely let out a chuckle and withdrew his hand, seemingly unoffended by her rudeness.

"How far is he from here?" Daphne asked warily.

She purposely slowed down her footsteps so that she could still keep the pavilion a short distance behind her. She didn’t trust Eugene and she wanted a safe place to run back to quickly. Since the pavilion would never change, it would be easier for Atticus to find her if she simply waited there for him.

He would find his way to her, eventually. Atticus had never failed to before.

"Your husband has been flipped to the other part of the maze."

"How do you know that?" Daphne paused, eyeing Eugene’s back suspiciously. She didn’t trust his words.

"Queen Daphne, do you think this guard uniform is just for show?" Eugene tilted his head so she could see his raised eyebrow. "Of course I’ll keep track of my liege. It’ll be troublesome for Vramid if something had happened to him inside this maze."

"You’re not supposed to even be here!" Daphne protested weakly.

"But here I am, so we must both live with that," Eugene said blasely. "Now, are you going to walk or do I need to carry you? I doubt the twilight foxes did enough damage to your legs, seeing that you were cheerfully strolling with King Calarian and Princess Cordelia. Wasn’t it kind of them to let you tag along?"

"So you were watching me. The whole time," Daphne said, her blood chilling in her veins. She scoffed as she felt a shiver race down her spine and she immediately whirled around and tried to run back into the pavilion.

"Now now, Queen Daphne? Where are you going? We had an agreement," Eugene said benignly but there was no mistaking the threatening undertone of his words, nor the way his hand grabbed her wrist and shook it painfully.

"Let go of me!" Daphne cried out.

Daphne tried to twist her hand away but Eugene’s fingers easily circled the whole of her wrist, making it impossible to escape. In the ensuing struggle, the baby griffin was dropped onto the floor, and it let out a series of angry squawks at the treatment. It tried to peck Eugene’s face in retaliation, but it was unceremoniously batted away by Eugene.

Daphne watched as the poor baby griffin was swatted out of the air, rolling away in a ball. It quickly recovered and proceeded to fly away in fear.

"How could you! It’s just a baby!" Daphne protested.

"If you didn’t try to escape, this wouldn’t have happened," Eugene said simply. "So how can you say this is my fault?"

"You’re a liar!" Daphne spat out, digging her heels into the ground as she tried to stop herself from being pulled away by Eugene. If Eugene had been watching over her the whole time, there was no way he could be sure of Atticus’s current location. Daphne was sure that her husband would have never stopped searching for her, and with his speed and agility, he would have traversed incredible distances in the maze.

So he must be leading her far away so he could do something to her! She needed to call for help! She reached into her pocket, grabbing that clear quartz crystal. Atticus would understand!

Meanwhile, Eugene only watched her with a vaguely amused look, as though she was a mildly disobedient puppy trying to play around.

"If you break that crystal, that’s just going to summon the nearest guard to your location." He smiled. "And guess who’s the nearest guard that’s literally standing right in front of you?"

Daphne froze in shock. Her mind whirled at the implications of his words and the crystal fell from her limp hand. Eugene caught it easily, waving it at her as an unspoken taunt.

"You’re not a real guard! This shouldn’t― How― You―" Daphne spluttered with a strangled cry.

"This place believes I’m a guard, and hence I am one," Eugene said easily. "Magic can be so easily fooled, don’t you think so? Now let’s not waste precious time. The faster I’m done with you, the faster you can reunite with your husband."

Daphne screeched and launched herself at Eugene, trying to claw his eyes out with her free hand. Her ears were growing hot again. The rage she felt earlier returned, this time paired with a terrifying fear for her own life. "Let go of me! You scoundrel! Criminal! Murderer!"

Eugene wasn’t fazed by her insults, but when her fingernails managed to make contact with his face, leaving scratches in his wake, he lost the last of his good humor, immediately grabbing her other hand and pinning her to the wall. With her arms stuck over her head and Eugene looming over her, Daphne could feel her breath escaping in panicked gasps as her worldview narrowed down to Eugene’s poisonous gaze.

"Queen Daphne, I’ve been very understanding of your circumstances," Eugene said, his eyes growing darker in irritation. "If you cannot follow simple instructions, do not blame me for being unkind. You have brought this on yourself."

"Get away from me!" Daphne screamed, and once again, she felt her hands growing hot. Eugene hissed in pain and quickly let go, to which Daphne quickly took this chance to injure him further, grabbing at his face.

"So the rumors were true, you do have magic!" Eugene roared, a maniacal glint in his eyes as he watched Daphne with almost fervent adoration. Even the burn that was starting to form on his face did not distract him. "This is incredible!"

Eugene then smirked and kicked Daphne down to the ground, fully intent on subduing her when she lost her balance. Daphne gasped in pain as she fell on her back, but she used this chance to quickly kick him in between his legs, causing him to wheeze in pain. She then wriggled away from him and darted away, her boiling hands outstretched in front of her in warning.

Eugene got up and rubbed his face, letting out an ominous laugh.

"Oh, Queen Daphne, I’m going to enjoy this."