Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 273: The Lake of the Past IV

Chapter 273: The Lake of the Past IV

The young girl turned around just in time, though she barely had time to dodge. She jumped out of the way, the trail of fire searing the ends of her pale blonde hair before she roughly landed on the ground.

Lady Luck must’ve been on their side, as the remainder of the fire blasted the locks on the jail cell, causing it to pop open before clattering loudly onto the stone floor.

However, neither of the children realized that the door had been unlocked. Young-Daphne was still reeling from the fact that her brother had just attempted to kill her and Young-Alistair was still lamenting the fact that he had failed.

"Damn, I missed. Father will be upset that my training has been for naught," Alistair muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Adult-Daphne scoffed. "Looks like his aim hasn’t been good since he was a kid."

"You... You..." Young-Daphne was struggling to breathe, much less properly formulate her sentences.

"I won’t miss a second time," Alistair promised. He readied his hand again, preparing to attack when Daphne reacted first.

"You’re crazy! Get away from me!"

The little girl’s screams had been so loud that even the staff members on the ground floor of the palace could hear it echo. What followed was the tremor of the grounds, causing dust to fall from the walls and ceilings.

All the staff members in the vicinity looked around, not understanding what was happening. Reaweth rarely experienced earthquakes, so this couldn’t have been it. Yet, even the water in the wash basins was rippling to no end.

Before they could send anyone to check, water started spouting through the stones and the cracks between them. It was a small stream at first but eventually, the pressure built up so greatly that the brick walls could no longer hold themselves in place. With a creak and a grown, everything toppled down.

The torrential flood engulfed the area, sweeping everything — walls, furniture, and even people — away with its stream. It transformed the section of the palace into a river, screams overwhelmed by the sound of rushing water.

Water swirled around them as Daphne and Nereus watched the bits of their shared memory unfold. The entire underground dungeon had been flooded, with Alistair swept right out of the basement with the first rush of water. If it weren’t for the fact that he was still tormenting her for the rest of her youth, Daphne would’ve even thought that he had died in this flood.

On the other hand, Young-Daphne clutched onto the metal bars for dear life. Her cheeks were puffed as she held her breath, her eyes squinting in the water.

There was a bright glow and from the cell, the little boy that had been on the verge of death slowly transformed into a horse that seemed entirely made of water. Its eyes glowed, a brilliant electric blue that Adult-Daphne recognized immediately.

It was a little smaller than Daphne remembered but it was no doubt the same creature she had seen in the lake of Raxuvia.

"That’s my true form," Nereus said as though he could read her thoughts. He explained, "I was too weak to transform but since I was submerged in water, my strength had returned."

"Is that why they barely gave you any food?" Daphne asked, grimacing.

She watched as the kelpie took one look at the young girl, who had been knocked out cold at this point. It hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between her and the exit, before eventually biting onto the girl’s collar to drag her around with it.

Nereus nodded. They watched the kelpie disappear with Young-Daphne. The image before them swirled, a sign that the scene was changing once more.

"Occasionally, your father would parade me in front of their guests as a trophy, a testament to his powers. Only then would I be given a bit of food with some form of moisture so that I wouldn’t look like a beggar they plucked from the streets," Nereus said. "If I resisted, they would burn me with heated steel rods."

Daphne’s mouth fell open at the painful images conjured by Nereus’s words. She grimaced while imagining the pain he must’ve endured.

Yet, there was another thing that Daphne couldn’t get out of her mind. She hadn’t missed the glow of the aquamarine set in her hair, nor the theatrical timing of the sudden onslaught of water that had sent the entire wing of the palace crumbling into ruin.

"The water," Daphne said. She smacked her lips together a few times; it felt dry. "The hair clip." Her eyes landed on the same crystal, now in the palm of her hand. It lay there, sparkling as a gemstone should but nothing more. "It glowed. That was me?"

The colors of the past melted away until eventually, all that was left was the lake they had fallen into. As soon as the memories disappeared, Daphne could feel her chest getting heavy, as though a weight had been placed on it. Water rushed into her lungs, a suffocating, icy grip that clawed at her throat. Panic seized her, limbs flailing in futile desperation.

Nereus said nothing, simply grabbing her securely by the waist before pulling them both out of the water and back on land. When they emerged, Zephyr had been flying back and forth, weary and anxious. Seeing them break through to the surface, he soared over immediately.

"Daphne!" He landed right beside her, pushing Nereus roughly out of the way. "Daphne, are you alright?"

Gasping for air, Daphne’s mouth opened wide to draw in a precious breath. Her lungs ached for the oxygen that she had been deprived of for so long. Everything had been so peaceful underwater that she had almost forgotten where they were.

She coughed, throwing up the water that had entered her throat due to her panic as her fingers dug into the grass beneath. With every breath in, Daphne could feel her heartbeat slowly calming down to its original pace.

"Wait..." she said in between pants. She looked up past Zephyr and directly at Nereus. "What happened after that?"

Nereus waved a hand, controlling the water that was on Daphne off her body before flinging it back into the lake. Just like that, her clothes were dry again, albeit a little crumpled and out of shape.

His lips parted, just about to speak, but one look in the distance and Daphne could feel her blood chill. The scene seemed all too familiar.

"We’ll meet again," was all he said before he plunged back into the water.

The lake’s surface barely even rippled before it came to a still. Everything seemed as though it was just a part of Daphne’s own imagination.

She quickly heard the voice belonging to the person who had scared Nereus off.

"I thought I might find you here."

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