Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 326: Freezing Heat II

Chapter 326: Freezing Heat II

Unlike before, there were no real physical wounds or bruises found on Daphne’s body despite the slightly singed hair and her damp clothing. Yet, Daphne was running a fever as though she had a grievous infection. This was much like the time when she manifested her fire powers and caused an explosion after being captured.

A scowl formed on Sirona’s face when she recalled that upsetting debacle.

But that should not be the case now. Daphne had exemplary control of her fire and her capacity for magic was a lot greater than before. It shouldn’t cause her such terrible side effects. She didn’t even breathe fire from her throat!

If only Sirona could get more information about what happened. Unfortunately, she could only infer what happened, since none of her patients were capable of coherent speech.

Daphne had recently discovered she had hydromancy capabilities― perhaps she had over-exerted herself once again and her body was dealing with the consequences. Sirona hoped it was something so simple, but somehow, she had a feeling she was missing something.

"Sirona, what’s the problem?" Atticus demanded, pacing a hole in the flooring.

After sending Jonah to discreetly investigate Alistair’s new estate, he had not left Daphne’s side. He held onto her hand― it felt clammy, but still burning hot. Atticus quickly took a wet towel to dab at her skin, frowning when the towel heated up so quickly that it was almost dry.

"Your wife might have over-exerted herself again," Sirona said grimly. "At least, that’s one of my guesses."

"How can she be so hot and cold at the same time?" Atticus asked.

"Perhaps her hydromancy abilities are at war with her pyromancy abilities," Sirona guessed. "If she used both abilities in quick succession, or even at the same time, it might wreak havoc on her internal systems. Humans were not meant to house multiple magical affinities in them, let alone such disparate ones."

There was a reason why there were so few magic users with dual affinities in the world, even among royalty where intermarrying with magic users was common. More than one royal family hoped for the perfect heir with multiple powers, but such a wish was rarely fulfilled― and if they were, the chances of the child making it past adulthood were slim.

There were limits to the human body, no matter how hard someone trained. The gods would never grant a mere mortal so many gifts without a hefty price.

"Daphne even had her magic suppressed before. Do you think that made things worse?" Atticus asked anxiously.

"That is possible, but the suppression might be the reason that she even lived to adulthood." Sirona sighed. "If she revealed both hydromancy and pyromancy, she would be worked to death to master both."

"And she only has one source of magic to draw from," Atticus continued her train of thought, horror briefly clouding over his features. After all, he was one of the few who could wield different forms of magic, and he knew better than anyone the toll it would take on someone.

He gripped his hair and tugged. The pain was grounding him. Atticus let out an aggrieved sigh.

"Sunshine, why didn’t you ask me for help first?" Atticus scolded, but there was no heat in it as he clutched at her hand. He stared at her, morose, like a pet dog discovering his owner forgot to bring him back from the market.

Sirona blinked; was it just her imagination, or did Daphne’s ring lose its shine? The moonstone in her wedding ring was still twinkling in the light, but the aquamarines flanking it looked dull and cloudy. Was that a line inside the stones? That couldn’t be.

"Atticus, look at Daphne’s ring. Is there something wrong with the aquamarine stones?"

"I doubt it. This isn’t some cheap stone," Atticus protested. "Are you sure you aren’t imagining things?"

The Symphony of the New Dawn was a priceless relic, and its gems were renowned for their quality. If they weren’t, the ring would never have remained in one piece while it was passed through multiple hands.

"Just humor me, would you?" Sirona grumbled. Atticus sighed and reluctantly tore his eyes away from Daphne’s face and held out Daphne’s limp hand under the light. He looked at the ring carefully, and then he cursed.

The aquamarines were cloudy. Gone was their clear luster. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Sirona gasped; what she saw wasn’t a trick of the light. Hairline cracks had formed in one of the aquamarines.

"Fuck," Atticus cursed again, and Sirona wholeheartedly agreed with his exclamation. "Sunshine, what did you do?"

But there was no reply from Daphne. Atticus squeezed her hand, hoping for the slightest hint of a response, but Daphne remained depressingly silent. Hopefully, Jonah would have better luck in his investigations.

***

Jonah was on the way to discover what happened to Daphne. As Alistair was the prime suspect, Jonah quickly took some of his men to the estate. He didn’t want to confront the man, and Atticus also gave him strict orders not to engage him if possible.

If Alistair could take down a kelpie and Daphne, Atticus knew Jonah had very little chance of escaping a full-on confrontation unscathed. He was always the brain to Atticus’s brawn.

However, Atticus’s worries were for naught― the estate was an utter wreck. Even from a distance, Jonah could sense that something was not right, and the closer they got to the estate, the more Jonah noticed irregularities in the castle walls. Clearly, the area had seen some fighting.

He and his team arrived just in time to see the entire estate crumble to the ground. A torrent of water spilled out on the grounds, drenching the surrounding land and probably drowning every other plant in the area.

"Well, that answers some questions. Men, keep your eyes peeled for any clues. If you find Alistair, call for backup," Jonah ordered grimly as he stepped into the pool of water to make his way to the worst of the damage. Perhaps the kelpie summoned the water.

Or perhaps it was Daphne.

If Daphne had done this, it was no wonder she was unconscious with a high fever. There was enough water to fill Atticus’s private pool bath three times over.

They spread out to cover more ground.

"Sir Jonah!" One of his men gasped, his eyes wide with shock. "Come and take a look at this!"