Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 170: Familiar Stranger

Chapter 170: Familiar Stranger

"That can’t be possible," Princess Cordelia replied. She squinted at the sky as well, her eyes searching the endless sea of blue. There was not even a single cloud in the sky. "There are no clouds."

"A passing shower?" Daphne suggested.

Princess Cordelia shook her head. "Everywhere else is dry," she pointed out. "There’s only one puddle and a few other droplets nearby. There’s no way this could be caused by rain. Don’t tell me...did someone pee here? Oh gross!"

A look of utter disgust crossed Cordelia’s face, and she immediately pulled Daphne further away from the puddle.

"It doesn’t smell bad though," Daphne said, gingerly stepping forward as she took a cautious sniff. "And I doubt any person would be able to produce so much... fluid." She scrunched her brows as she thought about it. "It could be a creature like ―"

Daphne’s words got clogged right in her throat as her body started to shiver. Suddenly, she was back under the lake, sinking beneath the waters, her dress a dead weight dragging her down.

"Like?" Cordelia prompted, wondering why Daphne stopped speaking.

But Daphne couldn’t hear her. Her mind was focused on the pair of luminous eyes she saw in the waters, and the stream of bubbles that held her in place.

All of a sudden, she felt her airways close up.

She couldn’t breathe.

Grabbing at her throat, Daphne began to gasp for air. She was on dry land and yet her feet felt like it was slowly getting pulled in by the mud, sinking her alive.

Princess Cordelia, who quickly noticed Daphne’s sudden change in behavior, looked over worriedly. "What’s wrong?"

However, Daphne was unable to speak. She sank to her knees, choking on nothing but thin air. Despite the huge gulps of air she heaved into her lungs, nothing seemed to register. It felt like she was being suffocated, a fish out of water.

"Damn it," Cordelia cursed, a rare expletive flying from her lips as she quickly knelt down beside Daphne. She was at a loss; she had never seen something like this happen before. Her specialty was offense, there wasn’t much she could do when it came to defense and healing!

"What’s wrong? Are you sick? I’ll call your healer! Wait here!"

Daphne tried to speak, to hold onto her to reassure her, but somehow, it made Cordelia look more distraught. The princess’s voice was starting to grow softer and softer, and the world starting to turn blurry. Daphne thought she was a goner for sure when suddenly, a different figure came into view.

"Who are you!" Cordelia demanded fiercely, holding a protective hand out in front of Daphne. If Daphne wasn’t dying, she would have felt touched that Cordelia wanted to protect her from harm.

"Help," the stranger said.

Daphne could faintly see Princess Cordelia getting pushed out of the way when the stranger came over. He placed one hand on Daphne’s shoulder, his touch cooling and comforting against her quickly warming skin. His other hand quickly placed something into Daphne’s mouth before lifting her chin up, forcing it to close.

’Swallow,’ she could see his lips say through her hazy vision.

On the verge of death, Daphne couldn’t care less about who the stranger was or what he had just fed her. She did as she was told, swallowing the item that was placed inside her mouth. It worked just like magic, the effects running immediately. The world started to sharpen again and Daphne finally felt like she could breathe once more. She hungrily gasped for air, gulping it down like she was starved.

She coughed a little, the feeling reminiscent of when she was first pulled out of the water of the lake. Only this time, it wasn’t Atticus that had saved her.

"Thank you," she weakly said. Daphne lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of her savior, only to see a man that she had never met before.

From the way he dressed, he didn’t seem like someone from Raxuvia. Rather, his choice of clothing reminded her greatly of Reawethen nobility. The pin that was attached to his coat also bore the Reawethen royal crest― not something anyone could get their hands on unless they were a member of royalty or related to one.

His features were pale and frosty, like a prince that was carved out of ice. In the light of the sun — or perhaps it was just Daphne’s brain running short of oxygen — his silvery white hair seemed to sparkle, the light blue streaks standing out in a brilliant pop of color.

But it was his eyes. Those eyes seemed to hold a whole world of secrets within its seafoam green.

They were also oddly familiar.

"What did you feed her?!" Princess Cordelia pushed forward, protectively holding Daphne in her arms as she glared at the stranger.

"Something that will help," the man calmly replied. His voice was deep, soothing, and nearly void of any emotion. He barely cast a glance at Princess Cordelia before turning back to Daphne. "Are you alright now?"

"Uh... I... I’m fine, thank you," she said.

Hearing her reply, the stranger merely nodded once before he stood to his full height, turning to walk away. He only stopped when Daphne called out.

"Wait!" she said. "Who are you? How do you have that pin?"

The pin that he was wearing shouldn’t be something he could wear unless he represented a member of royalty. Daphne had seen all of her relatives — or at least, those that her father was willing to recognize — and unless she had gained a new brother in the weeks that she was gone, this man was unlikely to be one.

The man seemed slightly bemused by her question but that expression soon melted from his face, leaving Daphne to wonder if she had imagined it all. "It was a gift," he answered simply, "from an old friend."

"You’re not here for the conference, then," Princess Cordelia stated in her observation. "How did you get into the palace grounds? What are you here for?"

Her bangles started to glow a brilliant blue, ready to sprint into action if there was ever a need to. Yet, the man simply ignored her act of aggression, looking down at her quite literally and figuratively.

"That is none of your concern," he answered.

"Can we at least have a name, then?" Daphne pressed, trying her luck. He didn’t seem as curt with her as he was with Princess Cordelia. Perhaps he really was someone she should know. Or at least, he must know that she was a princess of Reaweth― at least in namesake.

The man hesitated, his lips pursed tightly together as if deep in thought, weighing his options. Ultimately, he spoke.

"Nereus," he said.

"Well, thank you for your help, Nereus," Daphne said, her hand placed over her heart. She made a mental note to check with Prince Nathaniel later on if there was such a man on the invitation list. If not, it seemed like Raxuvia’s palace security needed a serious overhaul.

Nereus nodded once more. Without another word, his long strides quickly brought him away, his figure disappearing past a corner and behind the foliage.

"We need to get Prince Nathaniel and Atticus," Daphne mumbled once she was sure that Nereus was gone from hearing range. "That man is wearing the Reawethen royal crest."

"Not one of your many brothers, I’m assuming?" Cordelia asked, helping Daphne back to her feet.

"Highly unlikely for Drusilla not to mention, if he was indeed a new brother," Daphne replied. She stumbled a little but eventually regained her footing. "Come on, let’s go."

"There’s another thing you should probably know."

Daphne stopped in her tracks. "What is it?"

"That man, Nereus." Princess Cordelia pursed her lips. "He’s not human."