Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 370: A Reasonable Choice

Chapter 370: A Reasonable Choice

"I am not!" Zephyr squawked, and the blankets shook indignantly as though he was flapping his wings with anger.

Nonetheless, Nereus wasn’t deaf to the way Zephyr’s voice sounded weaker than usual.

"In that case, pull down the blanket and let me take a look at you," Sirona ordered. She needed to examine him herself to ensure that he wasn’t simply keeping his new murderous urges at bay.

"Just leave me alone!" Zephyr yelled, but then his voice broke off in a loud cough. He cleared his throat, and it sounded particularly wet. "I’m fine!"

Sirona and Nereus glanced at each other. To their knowledge, Zephyr had never been ill. A benefit of being a magical beast meant increased immunity to most diseases that would have killed humans or other animals. Add the fact that Zephyr spent his days eating the best food the palace could offer and sleeping on soft comfy beds, it was utterly implausible for him to have fallen ill.

Unless Silas had done something to him.

Nereus strode forward and tugged the blankets away. Zephyr tried to hold onto them, but it was telling of his new weakened condition that he couldn’t even put up much of a fight as he glared up at Nereus with watery eyes.

Feathers fell out of the blankets. Sirona raised a curious eyebrow. Was Zephyr molting? Was that why he was so moody?

"You look terrible," Nereus said impassionately as he glanced down at him, cataloging his flushed cheeks and glassy eyes.

"Oh piss off," Zephyr said, his voice thick. "I feel like shit, so of course I look like shit too―"

And then his nose scrunched up, and that was all the warning Nereus got before Zephyr let out an outrageously strong sneeze, sending snot running down his face. Zephyr groaned.

Nereus’s eyes were filled with disgust, and he hurriedly flung the blanket back at Zephyr. Who knew if he wiped his mucus all over the fabric? Nereus vowed to take a quick dip in the lake to wash himself later, lest he caught whatever nasty bug Zephyr did.

"You have... a cold? I must say, I did not expect this turn of events, but I suppose if you had lost a lot of blood, your body might be weakened enough to fall to a common illness." Sirona’s hands glowed a bright purple as she began to look over him. Now that the secret was out, Zephyr had resorted to simply glaring at them from underneath his blanket pile.

"Fuck that shitty monster," Zephyr moaned grouchily, sniffling into the blankets. "I’ll kill him later, I swear."

"Try focusing your eyes first," Nereus interrupted dryly.

"Your lungs are congested, and you have a fever," Sirona said, rolling her eyes at Zephyr’s dramatics. "I’ll prescribe some medicine, and you should be fine in a week or two."

***

Meanwhile, while Daphne worked to nurse Zephyr — and herself — back to full health, everyone else had a bigger problem to handle than a sick griffin.

Namely, the menace that was Alistair who was still out on the loose, cheerfully culling the townspeople as he continued to feast. Funeral pyres were lit on a nearly daily basis as the troops continued to scour the town for Alistair’s presence. Panic was starting to spread, and townspeople were fleeing in droves.

To their dismay, they were also receiving reports of similar deaths in neighboring towns. Alistair was on the move, but they were no closer to catching him.

Leonora had gone on a rampage, determined to dig out her oldest, monstrous brother, only to return empty-handed. Atticus hadn’t had much luck either. Dinners were a grim affair as they pored over maps, trying to find a way to catch him.

"I’ll kill him," Leonora vowed with gritted teeth. She picked up her sword, yet she only had eyes for Silas’s decapitated head sitting on the table. The rest of his body was tucked safely away in her quarters. "He will pay for what he did to you, Silas."

Silas would shrug if he was still attached to his shoulders. Instead, the corners of his lips tugged downward. He had adapted to his new circumstances remarkably well, all things considered. Daphne doubted she would have taken it so well if she lost her entire body.

"He can’t run for long," Atticus growled.

"Nora, I would rather you didn’t face him," Silas said honestly. "If you end up like me, we’d be Reaweth’s biggest freak joke. Imagine our matching heads on the mantelpiece. We’d terrify every foreign dignitary." He paused, then smirked. "Then again, that might be hilarious too."

Leonora only stared back stonily, unamused.

Silas’s eyes focused on Atticus instead. "King Atticus, can you slay my brother by yourself?"

"Of course," Atticus said, without a single hint of bravado. He simply stated it as a fact. "The problem is actually catching that slimy son of a bitch!"

No one bothered to address the insult to Queen Anette.

"Atticus, you can always use me as bait," Daphne reminded him.

Her husband had shot down this suggestion with depressing regularity, but Daphne was just as stubborn as he was. There was no sense in keeping her hidden in the castle when Alistair wanted her dead more than anyone else.

Besides, Daphne trusted that Atticus would do everything in his power to keep her safe if it really came down to it.

"I have fully recovered now. I’ll be fine."

Her fire was not as strong as before, but she could hold her own. Physically, she was right as rain.

"Don’t be ridiculous!" Atticus burst out.

"It’s the fastest way," Daphne argued. "You can’t use Drusilla’s dead body, he’ll sniff it out so quickly you won’t be able to draw him close. It has to be me."

"Leonora can do it instead," Atticus said. "She can disguise herself as you."

"I think my brother can tell the difference between his sisters, despite the drop in his intelligence," Daphne said dryly. "Even a dog could tell."

"If we used Daphne, it could work," Silas said. Leonora gave him a warning look, but he didn’t shut up. As far as he was concerned, the worst had already happened to him. Atticus’s anger wasn’t his biggest worry. "We could put out the news that Daphne was going to visit the townspeople alone, but you’ll be with her in disguise. Alistair wouldn’t be able to resist such a lure."

"Exactly!" Daphne agreed. "And he won’t be expecting me to have a way to turn him mortal again. This is perfect."

"This is not perfect at all. You could die," Atticus said with gritted teeth.

"So could anyone. Silas technically already did," Daphne pointed out. "And many innocent people have lost their lives."

"I don’t care about Silas or them!"

"Wow, thanks," Silas grumbled sarcastically, shooting Atticus an affronted look. "It really warms my heart. I thought we were bonding."

"I’ll have the archers line the buildings, just in case," Leonora offered. "We can take many precautions to ensure the risk to Daphne is minimized. The kelpie can also come along."

Daphne’s heart warmed when she heard Leonora stand up for her ideas. It would have been unthinkable a mere week ago, but their frosty sisterhood had thawed significantly with Silas’s new circumstances. Daphne found it easier to relate to her sister once she saw her soft underbelly, and Leonora now trusted that Daphne would not stab her in the back.

Atticus huffed, not liking it one bit.

"If you cannot think of a better idea by the next morning, we’ll go with my idea," Daphne said resolutely.

"I’ll think of something by then," Atticus swore. "I would never put you in such danger!"

Unfortunately for Atticus, when the sun rose the next morning, Daphne’s plan was already set in motion.

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