Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 144: Zephyr

Chapter 144: Zephyr

"Hold still."

Daphne hissed in pain when the alcohol-soaked cotton ran across the small wound on her forehead. The sensation wasn’t unbearable but the sudden sting still caused her body to react accordingly in surprise. She squirmed a little but otherwise stayed as still as she could, allowing Sirona to work her magic piecing her back together― literally and figuratively.

"It hurts," she grumbled under her breath.

"It wouldn’t have hurt if you had just followed King Calarian and Princess Cordelia instead of staying in the pavilion despite knowing that something might be wrong with the place," Sirona snarkily retorted. Her next dab had a little more force, causing Daphne to wince.

"It was just a gut feeling." Daphne only relaxed when Sirona finally pulled away, returning to the bottles of salves and solutions she had laid out. "I didn’t think it would be possible."

"Neither would it have been so for Maisie to be in Frostholm right when you were there," Sirona pointed out. "And guess what? You still found her there anyway." She returned carrying an unknown mint-colored cream, gently applying it to Daphne’s wounds.

"Atticus is going to be in trouble again, isn’t he?"

"Why would he be?" Sirona asked, barely looking away from her task at hand. "It’s just a game. The event is meant to lighten the mood before the main conference, which is the real reason why all these members of royalty have gathered in one place."

"Because of Eugene Attonson," Daphne answered. She bit her lip, hesitating. A part of her wondered if this was something she should share with Sirona, or if Sirona already knew. "And also..."

Her hesitance caused the healer to pause in her motions, pulling back so that she could eye Daphne with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes...?" She prompted. "Well, spit it out."

"Sirona, you grew up with Atticus and Jonah, right?" Daphne asked. She wiggled a little closer to the edge of the bed where she sat. "Have you ever noticed anything... odd about them?"

At her words, the woman snorted rather ungracefully. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as a string of laughter uncontrollably spilled from her lips.

"’Odd’ is an awfully nice way to put it, Your Highness," Sirona truthfully replied. "There is nothing normal about those two. In fact, I once even thought that they might’ve had a thing for each other, you know? After all, their relationship with one another is definitely much closer to that of them with another woman. I think Jonah might even still be a vir―"

"No!" Daphne all but yelled, cutting Sirona off halfway through her speech. "Not that way. I would rather not hear about my husband’s interests in men, especially his best friend and my possible love rival."

Nor did Daphne need to know whether or not Jonah was a virgin. She felt like she needed to blanch her ears into boiling hot water now to rid them of the grime that had inevitably clung on from learning that knowledge.

The baby griffin chirped, prancing around on Daphne’s bed at the raised noises. It seemed delighted enough, causing Sirona to laugh heartily between Daphne’s beetroot face and the griffin’s silly antics.

"Atticus would riot if he knew that you put that bird on his bed," Sirona said, amused.

"It’s clean," Daphne said with a pout. She reached her hand out, gently caressing the baby griffin’s forehead. "And it tried to save my life. I think it has earned the right."

"Are you keeping it?" Sirona asked. "Atticus must’ve told you that baby griffins — or just griffins in general — are rare finds. Hard to kill, even harder to tame. It would do you good to keep one with you."

"If Prince Nathaniel doesn’t demand it to be returned, I would be more than happy to keep it," Daphne answered. When she watched the beast walk closer, crawling into her lap, Daphne’s heart melted. "Scratch that," she said. "Even if he wanted it back, I am not going to give it back to him."

"It will need a name," Sirona pointed out. "You can’t keep calling it ’it’ or ’griffin’."

The healer reached forward, plucking the griffin out of Daphne’s embrace. The animal let out an alarmed squawk but otherwise made no move to fight back, allowing Sirona to move it as she wished.

"It’s a boy," she said in observation.

Then, Sirona plopped the baby griffin back into Daphne’s arms, who caught it easily. It barely stayed in the air for a few seconds, its wings unable to keep it in flight for longer than that.

"Oh, right," Daphne said. She turned to Sirona, cupping her ears over where she imagined the baby griffin’s ears might be. "The adult griffins couldn’t fly far or high in the arena. Aren’t griffins strong flyers?"

"They are," Sirona answered. "But if they had been placed in the arena, they must have already been weakened somehow. Perhaps ill, injured, or both. Paired with charms and spells placed over the arena, the organizers would be able to ensure that the griffins couldn’t escape and go rampant around the palace― or worse, the city."

Daphne nodded in understanding.

"That means that he will grow up to be a strong flier," she said, referring to the baby griffin. Daphne held it high up, smiling at it while the animal simply stared back, tilting its head inquisitively to one side. "In that case, I might have a name for him."

"Do enlighten me," Sirona said dryly as she began to pack the bottles and tubs of salves and creams back into her case now that Daphne was all patched up.

"Zephyr," Daphne answered. "May it soar with the winds one day, higher than his parents did."

Daphne’s heart turned heavy as a cloud of gloom washed over her face. Guilt encased her, remembering that Zephyr had only been orphaned because she had told Atticus to save Drusilla. Silently, Daphne swore to treat the baby griffin well. It was now her responsibility.

As if he understood that he had just been given a new name, Zephyr chirped in happiness. It quickly drew Daphne’s mind away from her self-loathing and back to the present. She hugged Zephyr close, watching as Sirona reached for the door.

"Get some rest, Your Highness," Sirona said. "I’ll return after I’m done with Atticus’s wounds."

"He’s with King Calarian now." Daphne sighed. "I hope everything is alright."

"King Calarian is a reasonable one," Sirona supplied. "If anything, he will definitely see reason in Atticus’s words. That is, as long as our king keeps a level head."