Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 318: Blood I

Chapter 318: Blood I

Nereus continued to let out groans of pain as Zephyr and Daphne tried to free him from his bonds. Alistair had spared no expense in restraining Nereus; no matter how much Zephyr struck at them with his claws, they still remained firm. Zephyr only managed to shatter the metal around Nereus’s waist― his blows did nothing to the chains tying his limbs down.

Then, Daphne had an idea. Perhaps the chains were made out of obsidian metal, the very same material that chained down valuable books from the Reaweth palace library. She needed two magical affinities to overwhelm the metal and shatter it.

Thankfully, she had two affinities, so she could theoretically break his chains by herself. However, there wasn’t enough water for her to use! The entire cell was practically stripped out of any water, for fear that Nereus would retaliate and escape. Daphne sucked in a deep breath, trying to think of a solution.

She looked down at her hands. They were stained red with blood that was quickly drying up.

Blood― that was also technically a type of liquid. Daphne held her breath. She summoned her powers, focusing on the blood on her hands. Unlike water, tea, or wine, it was a lot harder to control.

Daphne gritted her teeth in frustration. There was none of the instinctive ease that came with her past hydromancy efforts. Instead, she felt like she was pushing a boulder uphill, and the blood shifted sluggishly in her hands.

But it still moved, and for Daphne, that was enough.

She was going to use Nereus’s own blood to free him.

"Nereus, this is going to hurt― I’ll need to draw on your blood to free you," Daphne said worriedly.

Nereus closed his eyes, giving a minuscule nod. He was too weak to do anything else.

The garnets in her ears shone as she easily channeled her fire with one hand to heat up one part of the chain. That was the easy part.

The second part was a lot harder to do. She had never practiced using both her powers at the same time, let alone shift something as difficult as blood. It was as challenging as using both hands to write different things at the same time. She had to focus and do it slowly to prevent herself from making mistakes.

The aquamarines in her ring glinted weakly as she summoned every bit of her hydromancy powers with one hand, controlling the blood that had stained her hands — and even the sweat that formed on her body — to soak the chain.

Thankfully, the first chain broke! Daphne heaved a sigh of relief, nearly stumbling on her feet out of tiredness, but she couldn’t rest. There were still three more chains binding Nereus’s limbs.

Unfortunately, she had also run out of blood and water to use. Nereus’s face was as pale as paper, and Daphne was terrified that if she actually drew blood from the wounds of his body to free him, he might not even live long enough for them to bring him back to the palace.

Angry tears began to fill her eyes, and she rubbed them away viciously. Stupid! Unless she cried a river’s worth of tears, there was no saving Nereus.

"Da...Daphne..." Nereus croaked out weakly.

"What is it?" Daphne asked.

"It’s... okay... thank... you..." Nereus closed his eyes, the ends of his lips lifting up into a wan smile. He didn’t want to die, but at least he got one last chance to see Daphne before he died. Daphne had returned to look for him, even though this was her coronation and she must have had other things to do.

He was important to her. They were friends. Even a dark creature like him had someone who loved him enough to save him. Perhaps all the past suffering he endured in his life was worth it. Warmth filled his heart, even as the rest of him felt very cold despite the heat around them.

Nereus could not do much, but he could do one last thing for her; he had to get Daphne to leave this place at once. It wasn’t safe, and the longer she stayed, the more likely that Daphne’s identity would be stolen from her.

"Go... don’t stay... he’ll come back... you... need to... stop..."

"Don’t waste your energy on speaking. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll get you out of here!" Daphne promised, her voice cracking. "I just need more water... More blood..."

Before Daphne could consider doing something as drastic as cutting herself to use her own blood to free him, Zephyr interrupted her thoughts.

"Daphne, if you need blood, how about we just use the blood from all those bodies? They’re already dead!" Zephyr pointed at the pile of dead bodies lying in the corner.

Daphne was startled; she had been so focused on Nereus’s welfare that she didn’t even notice their presence.

God. Her brother was a serial killer who didn’t even bother disposing of his victims properly! The very thought made her want to retch, but now it offered her a priceless opportunity.

"Alright then―"

Zephyr didn’t wait for her to finish speaking; he immediately stormed over and decapitated the first body. The head flew in a gentle arc, landing on the floor with a loud thud. The eyes of the woman seemed to stare unblinkingly at Daphne.

How terrible. Daphne shuddered. It didn’t escape her notice that the dead woman had a face that looked eerily similar to hers. If not for the difference in eye color, they would be identical.

Was Alistair making a copy of her? Or was he simply killing women that looked like her? Or was he making copies of her to kill?

Either way, all options were grotesque. Daphne vowed to get to the bottom of this matter.

Blood slowly began to flow out from the gory wound.

"There shouldn’t be so little blood," Zephyr complained as he held the dead body with a scowl on his face, and Daphne was reminded of the time when the palace cooks decided to give him a slightly leaner chicken for dinner. He prodded and poked at the body.

"Ah got it, the blood is at the bottom!"

In one swift motion, he ripped off her leg the same way a hungry dog tore through a steak. This time, blood gushed out in a torrent without warning, nearly coating his face and causing him to splutter.

"Daphne, is this enough?"

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