Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 255: Winged Angel II

Chapter 255: Winged Angel II

The sound of someone hacking away caught both their attention and Daphne’s head spun to see the woman she had pushed out of the way standing up from the ground, the baby still sobbing in her arms. She was drenched from head to toe, a puddle of water pooling at her feet. Her clothes clung onto her body as she staggered to the tunnel where Daphne had gestured to.

They watched in silence as the woman entered it and closed the latch door behind her, safe and out of sight.

Once the mother and child were safely gone, the man said, "We need to get you out of here." He stood to his full height, pulling Daphne completely out of the rubble easily. "Come, Daphne."

"Wait," Daphne said, confused. "How do you know my―"

Her words were effectively cut off when she noticed the pair of wings behind the man.

Daphne’s eyes widened with shock and she took a shaky step back, causing her to nearly trip over the rocks and debris.

"Woah, careful!" the man — if he could even be called that anymore — said. He held onto her hand, pulling her close with one hand wrapped around her shoulders and another holding her by the waist.

"Wait―" She struggled, trying to get out of his arms. She didn’t need to be seen by her no-good brothers and sisters, the townsfolk, or worse, Atticus, in some other man’s embrace! "Let go of me! I can walk perfectly fine on my own!"

"You need help," the man said. "Just let me help you."

"No, thank you," Daphne countered instantly, still squirming in his hold. She had never thought herself completely weak — especially after she had gotten her powers — but Daphne hadn’t realized just how powerless she was when it came to physical, muscular strength! "I don’t even know who you are!"

"How could you say that?" the man asked. "You are the one who named me!"

Daphne paused in her movements, confusion coloring her face even paler than it already was with all the hubbub. "What?"

She examined the man, scanning him up and down several times, making her more and more confused each time. He had on some common cotton clothing, nothing too special― unlike Nereus’s fashion choice. His lips were tilted into a small pout with each passing second as though he was only getting more and more disappointed by the fact that she could not recognize him.

"I have only named one thing," she said.

Then, a thought crossed her mind. Red wings, orange hair, golden eyes...

"Zephyr?" she mumbled under her breath, wondering more to herself and more as a question than a statement.

Yet, the man seemed to have heard her loud and clear. A bright smile quickly wormed its way onto his face, lighting his expression up like sunshine spilling across the meadows at sunrise.

"See! You do know me." He beamed proudly. "Now hang on tight."

Without giving Daphne the chance to slip in another word, his grip on her tightened and he kicked off from the ground.

"Wait―"

Daphne’s sentence was swallowed by the wind, and she could only cling to his shoulders in fear as she watched the ground vanish beneath her feet, the townspeople suddenly looking as tiny as ants. Wind rushed against her ears as the man — Zephyr — seemed to have no problem carrying her through the skies.

"Put me down now!" Daphne nearly shrieked; cold sweat was forming on her palms as she couldn’t help but stare at the ground.

It was a long way down. If she fell... Daphne shuddered and shut her eyes, but then she realized that almost made it worse as her mind helpfully conjured scenes of her body free-falling through the air and splitting into bloody smithereens.

"Huh? You want to turn around?" Zephyr asked, mishearing her words. Ironically, his hearing was sharper when he was in his animal form. In the form of a human — albeit one with wings — his senses were dulled due to the difference in sensory organs.

However, Zephyr would not trade this new form of his for anything! He wouldn’t be able to carry Daphne in his arms as a tiny griffin. Why, he recalled how Daphne had to save him multiple times because he was too weak to hold his own in a fight.

But that was no longer the case now. Now, he could be the man Daphne deserved by her side, not that ill-tempered, animal hater, scheming menace of a devil masquerading as a man that was her husband.

As such, he would never refuse any of Daphne’s requests. Before Daphne could shake her head, Zephyr turned with a dramatic flourish, ever obliging and eager.

Daphne’s stomach lurched at the sensation. She glanced back down.

Oh. She was definitely going to be sick for more than one reason.

"Don’t... " Daphne shook her head, her face turning green. She raised her voice, "Put me down!"

"Don’t put you down? Of course! I would never," Zephyr promised fervently. "I’ll bring you to safety even if I die!"

Daphne hoped he wouldn’t say such ominous words. She had just accidentally caught the bright green eyes of the dragon. Goosebumps formed on her arms and she held her breath. The dragon had paused, eyes narrowed in hatred at the sight of yet another flying human. Even from a distance, Daphne could spot wounds all over its body, most likely due to Atticus’s efforts.

Atticus wasn’t the only one distracted.

"Daphne!" Atticus watched, horrified as he caught sight of his wife in the arms of a stranger. She looked like she was in pain― was she taken hostage?

However, that tiny moment of distraction proved disastrous for Atticus. He had accidentally drawn the dragon’s attention back to himself when he called out Daphne’s name. While the dragon was interested in the presence of a new flying creature, its interest was nothing compared to its fury towards Atticus, who had injured him repeatedly.

The dragon eagerly returned the favor; its long tail swept across the air, slamming against Atticus’s chest hard enough to shatter his ribs. The pain caused Atticus to lose control of his powers, knocking him out cold instantly, and he plummeted to the ground.

"Atticus!" Daphne screamed, "Zephyr, save him!"