Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 256: Winged Angel III

Chapter 256: Winged Angel III

Zephyr cursed and flattened his wings, diving immediately after that stupid man. If it were up to him, he’d escape with Daphne in his clutches, but Daphne might never forgive him if he prioritized her in such a moment.

Daphne’s stomach heaved and lurched at the sudden steep drop. The wind roared in her ears, the air buffeting her face. It felt as though her skin was sliced through by countless sharp knives. It was painful and terrifying, but it was nothing compared to the sight of Atticus’s still body falling to the ground.

Her husband had to live. He simply had to.

"Atticus! Atticus! Hold on!"

Atticus’s eyes fluttered open when he heard Daphne scream. To his utmost surprise, Daphne and that winged stranger were flying towards him. If this was a vivid hallucination brought about by pain, it was a welcome one. He instinctively reached out a hand.

Daphne wanted nothing more than to grab Atticus herself, but she knew that was foolish. She couldn’t support Atticus’s weight.

"Hold tightly onto me! I’ll grab him!" Zephyr yelled. She wrapped her arms firmly around Zephyr’s neck as Zephyr was forced to support her with one hand, his other hand barely managing to grab Atticus’s fingers before his body could hit the ground.

"Oh fuck, you are heavy!" Zephyr shrieked, frantically flapping his wings as he tried to support the added weight. He made a squawk that sounded more suitable for his animal form― Daphne would be amused, but she was too terrified by the paleness of Atticus’s skin and the dark red spreading across his torso to focus on anything else.

Thankfully, Zephyr still managed to duck for cover, depositing Atticus behind another fallen building as he tried to catch his breath. Daphne leaped down from Zephyr’s arms, frantically looking over Atticus.

"Atticus! Are you alright? Please, look at me!"

Atticus wheezed in pain, but he still managed to conjure up a rueful smile for Daphne.

"...I’ll live... It’s my fault... got careless... Give me... a minute. I’ll heal... myself. I’ll get up... and get rid of the dragon."

He focused his powers, trying to heal himself as much as he could. He was no Sirona, but beggars can’t be choosers. Beads of sweat began to form as he worked on repairing the biggest injuries.

"You will do no such thing!" Daphne declared, horrified. "I’ll call my siblings― they can help!"

They wouldn’t be able to do much, but surely it was better than sending out a heavily injured Atticus to battle a dragon. He couldn’t even speak properly!

"They can’t kill the dragon. Only I can," Atticus insisted.

"Aren’t you arrogant? And please, keep your voices down!" Zephyr hissed as he cast a worried look at the skies. "Do you want the dragon to come down on us?"

"Who are you?" Atticus asked, squinting as he tried to focus on Zephyr’s face. The wings were still there. "I don’t think Reaweth had flying humans. Daphne, wife, how could you not tell me?"

"Atticus, this is Zephyr," Daphne said.

"The chicken?"

"I’m a griffin!" Zephyr exclaimed, flapping his wings indignantly. "Do I look like a chicken to you?" Atticus’s mouth opened and Zephyr felt a sense of foreboding and held out a hand. "Never mind, don’t answer that."

"How did you achieve this form?" Atticus demanded with narrowed eyes. Daphne also listened carefully, curious. "Can you even change back?"

"I don’t know?" Zephyr shrugged. "The last thing I remember was being separated from Daphne, and then rocks fell on my head. The dragon breathed fire and here I am!"

Atticus and Daphne exchanged a look. That sounded ridiculous. Daphne suspected that Zephyr might have taken more than a few rocks to his head.

"So you’re a roasted chicken," Atticus complained, "Daphne, we’ll have to kick him out of our room. He’s not sleeping with you ever again."

"I―" Zephyr squawked again. "You ungrateful swine―"

"That’s not the main problem now," Daphne scolded. "You are injured, and we have a dragon to fight."

"I have a dragon to fight," Atticus corrected firmly. "Daphne, you have a sodalite, don’t you? Call Sirona to come over. She can patch me up."

"My sodalite isn’t connected to hers," she said, picking the crystal out from her pocket.

"Let me," Atticus said. He grabbed the crystal from her hands and encased it with his fingers. A soft glow began to emanate from his palm, disappearing within seconds. "Here. It’s now linked with hers. Get her over. Meanwhile, you are going back to the castle."

"I’m not the injured one, dear husband, and you can’t order me around," Daphne retorted. "I’m not leaving you to face such a threat on your own. I refuse to let you die for a kingdom that isn’t even yours."

"I’m not going to die," Atticus protested. "In fact, I feel as right as rain now. Look at me!" He raised an arm and flexed it.

"Say that again, but try sitting up this time," Daphne said challengingly with a raised eyebrow. It didn’t escape her notice that for all of Atticus’s bold words, he was still lying on the floor with an incredibly pale face. If he used up most of his magical ability to heal himself, Atticus would not have enough magical power to fight the dragon, let alone win.

Atticus grumbled, realizing that Daphne had called his bluff. His arm fell back down limply.

"I guess... we can send the chicken to get Sirona to heal me?"

Daphne nodded, quickly using one of her pocketed crystals to call for help. Zephyr wanted to protest his mode of address, but Atticus shot him a death glare behind Daphne’s back, causing him to keep his mouth shut.

"Sirona! Sirona, are you here?"

"Your Highness? Is that you? Oh, thank god you’re alive," Sirona said from the other end, her voice colored by relief. However, that bit of calm soon disappeared and her tone grew stern. "Since you’re talking to me, you have bad news, don’t you?" Sirona’s frazzled voice came from the other end. In the background, Daphne could vaguely hear the voices of crying children and mothers trying to soothe them. Sirona quickly moved away to a more secluded corner, gesturing for Jonah to follow her.

She hurriedly whispered in anger.

"What did the fool do now? Is he alive?!"

"He’s alive. But the dragon hit him in the chest. He needs to be healed quickly!"