Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 359: The Awakened Beast II

Chapter 359: The Awakened Beast II

The feeling of unrest stayed with Daphne for a few minutes more. Even when Nereus had completely changed into a set of dry clothes and had reluctantly taken a bite out of the drumstick with Zephyr, she still felt queasy inside.

"What’s wrong, Daphne?" Zephyr asked, leaning forward a little to check on her.

"My brother. Something is wrong," she murmured. Daphne stood to her feet. "I should go back to the infirmary. He might be awake by now."

"We’ll come with you," he said. Immediately, Zephyr stood up as well, the half-eaten drumstick forgotten. Nereus followed suit, his lips pursed tightly together as he stared at her silently.

"No," Daphne said. "You two are still recuperating. You’re not going anywhere."

"Our bodies have healed enough," Nereus argued.

In the end, Daphne relented. They had a point― their supernatural bodies healed injuries faster than a human would.

Besides, Daphne’s magic was severely weakened after what happened at Alistair’s hut. She still wasn’t at her full strength. Not to mention, the aquamarines on her rings had cracks in them. Daphne wasn’t sure how much stress they would be able to endure before they gave up on her entirely.

"Let’s hurry then." Without another word, she left the room, scurrying out as though her life depended on it. Nereus and Zephyr trailed after her wordlessly.

They hadn’t made it far when the sound of crashing and banging could be heard reverberating across the palace halls. Daphne stilled when she heard screams of terror. Servants were scurrying in all directions, running away frantically. One even crashed against Daphne, almost falling to her feet if Daphne hadn’t caught her by the shoulders in time.

"What’s going on?" Daphne asked, pulling the shaken maid up.

The latter’s face was as pale as a ghost, her body visibly quaking as she looked over her shoulder continuously.

"Your Highness," she said, her voice trembling. "I was just about to go find you. It’s Prince Silas. He’s... he’s..."

No more needed to be said. Daphne shared a look with Nereus and Zephyr before the two men sprinted down the hall, headed straight for the infirmary. Daphne turned back to the maid, gesturing in the opposite direction.

"Go," she said. "Find a knight. Get Leonora here."

The maid frantically nodded before she hurried off, more careful with her steps this time but still retaining her haste.

Daphne wasn’t too sure if the maid would carry out as per instructed but she didn’t care. If push came to shove, she would use a sodalite to contact Leonora instead. The palace had plenty lying around. It didn’t matter if one or two were shattered.

Picking up her skirts, Daphne made a mad dash for the infirmary. By the time she had arrived, she was met with a completely trashed medical room. Nereus was taking care of Prince Nathaniel, who was coughing on the floor with his hand on his throat. Sirona was with them, her fingers glowing as she checked Prince Nathaniel’s neck.

Zephyr, on the other hand, was with Silas. The two had tumbled onto the ground in a mess of feathers and blood, Zephyr’s hands pinning down Silas’s claws as the latter tried to scratch the griffin.

Daphne couldn’t tell who had the upper hand― that was something that seemed to change every few seconds. Thus, she instead chose to go over to where Prince Nathaniel was, her eyebrows scrunched in concern.

"What happened here?"

"Oh thank god you’re alright, Daphne," Sirona said, breathing out heavily in relief. Her fingers left Prince Nathaniel and the glow subsided.

Other than Sirona, the two men looked over as well.

"Where have you been?" Prince Nathaniel asked, wincing in pain.

"I thought Silas was sedated," she said. "I was checking up on Zephyr and Nereus."

"Not sedated enough," Sirona said with a scoff. She pulled Prince Nathaniel’s arm over Nereus’s shoulder. Working together with Nereus, they pulled the prince up to his feet. "Get him somewhere safe," she instructed.

Nereus nodded and he left quickly with Prince Nathaniel in tow.

"Nereus could’ve helped," Daphne said. "He’s a strong hydromancer."

"Not with only one eye he isn’t," Sirona quickly retorted. She then stiffened, suddenly remembering who she was speaking to. With a softer, calmer tone, she explained, "Kelpies draw their power from their eyes. With one eye gone, Nereus’s abilities are halved. He would be no better than a very talented human hydromancer at this point, akin to your siblings’ level of strength."

She continued, "Prince Nathaniel is just about as useful as a piece of string in a battlefield. He will need someone to protect him if we don’t want war with Raxuvia on our hands due to the death of their crown prince."

The two women looked over at Zephyr and Silas. Since Zephyr was already back at his full strength, he could hold his own quite well.

However, this version of Silas wasn’t the same weakened, pansy little brother who was never too talented with brawls. Silas mauled and punched with the ferocity of an angered predator. He bared his fangs, swiping forward and easily drawing blood without hesitation.

When his long claws hit Zephyr’s wing, causing the griffin to howl in pain, Daphne panicked and stepped forward.

"Zephyr!"

The moment Zephyr’s name left her lips, Daphne regretted it.

Silas looked over sharply, his eyes red and his smile demonic as they pulled and stretched his lips. With a strong push, Zephyr toppled over, protectively clutching his injured wing as he crashed into the rows of beds. Glass from the windows right next to the infirmary beds shattered, raining down on Zephyr in a shower, but Silas paid no mind.

His eyes were trained on Daphne now, diabolically grinning as he took a step towards Daphne and Sirona, then another. Likewise, the two women took a step back every time Silas advanced, ready to bolt when needed.

"Sister," Silas greeted, still maintaining his creepy expression. "Why did you leave me here alone with them? Have you seen the way they’ve treated me?" he questioned.

Daphne gulped, suppressing her fear. Her hands tightened into fists by her side, ready to call to her flames if push came to shove.

"They were just trying to help," she calmly replied.

"Help?" Silas echoed. His smile was wiped off his face immediately, anger turning his face red like a beetroot. Black veins crept up the sides of his face like crawling vines, curling around his pale skin as he screamed his throat hoarse. "Look at me! I am a monster!"

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