Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 259: Dragon Slayer II

Chapter 259: Dragon Slayer II

After a couple of detours, Daphne and Sirona had successfully made it to the outskirts of town, where they joined the rest of the evacuated townspeople. Daphne wanted to hide out with Sirona and Jonah instead of reuniting with her other siblings, but that choice was out of her hands when Drusilla caught sight of her and eagerly waved her over, her voice echoing through the area.

"Sister Daphne! Here you are! You finally arrived! Come here and sit with us!"

Daphne sighed.

"Doubt you can refuse her without making a fuss," Jonah said quietly.

"How I wish the fire burnt off her face," was Sirona’s less diplomatic reply. As chief healer, she had to treat the townspeople and Daphne’s siblings. A single afternoon with all of them was a torture she would not inflict on her worst enemy; especially when Prince Alistair had the nerve to try to cop a feel when she was healing him!

Daphne was truly a saint. If Sirona was their sibling, she would be an only child by the time she hit her twenties.

Daphne sighed, sensing their distaste. "The both of you can rest elsewhere. I’ll handle them."

"But―"

"It’s fine," Daphne insisted, "They can’t do anything to me. It’s not like before."

Jonah and Sirona were both reluctant to let her go, but in the end, Daphne went alone to join the rest of her siblings who had commandeered an entire huge tent for themselves, complete with food and furniture. It didn’t escape Daphne’s notice that the townspeople were sharing blankets and sitting on the floor, their children crying with hunger.

Daphne scowled at the contrast.

"Oh, look who finally showed up. Were you busy tidying yourself?" Leonora asked haughtily from one of the chairs, shooting Daphne a disparaging look. "I should be thankful you didn’t die somewhere."

Daphne looked over her sister; Sirona had managed to heal most of Leonora’s wounds, but there was no saving the burnt tangled mess that was her hair. Daphne winced at the mess on her head. That must have hurt.

Leonora didn’t like the judgmental look on Daphne’s face. How could a useless fighter have the nerve to give her such a look!

Meanwhile, Drusilla’s eyebrow twitched as she realized that Daphne had escaped unscathed, with nary a scratch on her face or a hair out of place.

Next to her was Alistair, who also looked worse for wear. Half of his scalp was visible, and he had an arm in a sling. Sirona clearly didn’t want to expend more effort on healing him than necessary!

"I’m not that useless," Daphne said simply, noting with grim satisfaction that Luis dared not meet her eyes. He and Silas were covered in soot, but they seemed relatively unhurt, if exhausted. There were wet towels slung around their necks, and Silas was lying down with a towel over his face.

"I see you have met a mishap. What happened?" Daphne asked politely.

"Do you even need to ask? What are your eyes for?" Alistair burst out, incensed, "That dragon did this to us!"

"Brother Alistair, don’t blame Sister Daphne," Drusilla said weakly. "She wouldn’t know the first thing about a dragon’s rage and its capacity for destruction. She isn’t skilled enough to face off against the dragon, remember?"

"Because she’s useless!" Alistair exclaimed, glaring daggers at Daphne. "Look at her now, crawling back to us with her tail between her legs. She can’t do anything to help against the dragon!"

At his words, Daphne drew herself to her full height to stare him down. "Kindly refrain from taking out your incompetence on me."

"Excuse me?!" Alistair yelled.

Daphne scoffed, "Alistair, you are also resting in this tent. Wouldn’t that mean that you are equally useless against the dragon as I am? In fact, your ineptitude is more galling, since you are the Crown Prince of Reaweth."

Alistair’s lips had parted, ready to retort, but Daphne was quicker. All her life, he had been the one throwing verbal blows and this time, it was finally her turn.

She continued, "I may have only awakened my powers recently, but I have done more to fight the dragon than you."

"Cease your nonsense!" Leonora demanded hotly. "You, do something? Don’t be daft."

"I brought Atticus to help," Daphne said with the confidence of a gambler with a trump card. "If not for my presence here, he would have left you all to perish." Daphne paused, letting her words sink in.

Leonora’s face purpled, and Alistair sprung to his feet in outrage.

"You should be thankful that my husband is gracious enough to offer his help, since none of you are capable of defending the kingdom without him." Daphne continued viciously, not letting them argue. "All the townspeople can see for themselves, how their royals are sitting around in a tent while a foreign king, my husband nonetheless, has to do their dirty work for them."

Drusilla interrupted, her voice wet with tears. "How can you say that Sister Daphne? Sister Leonora and Brother Alistair did their best!"

"Not to mention there’s no guarantee your husband can win," Alistair sneered, his eyes bright with hatred, "Who knows? Maybe the dragon will burn him alive, and you and your arrogance along with it."

"I would not be so proud of sending my husband to his death," Leonora added, her eyes cold with disgust. "You can’t even offer a helping hand, but you’re insulting those that actually tried?"

"Trying and failing is tantamount to failing," Daphne retorted evenly, parroting the words that had been spoken to her by her multiple siblings. "Don’t tell me you have forgotten this fact?"

Leonora snarled. Her pride smarted; she hated to be reminded of her failures, especially from the biggest failure of the family.

"Atticus will not die," Daphne said firmly, willing herself to believe it. "He will win and return to me."

"Accidents could happen." Everyone turned to Luis, who stared back at Daphne. "What will you do if he dies?"

"Then I’ll slay the dragon myself, or die trying!" Daphne then stormed out of the tent, refusing to stop even as she heard her siblings yell after her. She wasn’t going to waste another second on these selfish fools, not when she had to check on Atticus.

Daphne looked up into the air, and her mouth fell open when she spotted not one, but two figures flying in the air, circling the dragon. They were too far for her to make out their exact identities. Daphne watched with bated breath as the dragon relentlessly chased after one party.

"The dragon is dancing!" The children watched in amazement, pointing to the skies.

"Fire! It’s blasting this way!" The screams of amazement transformed into screams of fear, as the air heated up.

Daphne watched in disbelief as fire engulfed one of them. Her heart fell to her feet and she felt herself unknowingly sink to her knees. People around her began to gasp and point at the sight of their princess on the ground, but Daphne had no care for them. Her eyes were focused on the skies.

Was it Zephyr? Or was it Atticus? Her vision grew blurry despite her best efforts. To her horror, tears were starting to form. She hurriedly wiped them away and got up, determined to go to them.

If the dragon killed Atticus or Zephyr, she would kill it with her bare hands!