Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 394: Would He?

Chapter 394: Would He?

The realization weighed upon Daphne’s shoulders as though it was the entirety of the world. She stumbled a little, her knees feeling weak for a fraction of a second. Both Prince Nathaniel and Nereus reached over, wanting to help support her, but she caught herself in time.

Daphne’s lower lip trembled in fear. A choked sob escaped her lips, quiet and muted. However, in such a place like the sewers which was only decorated by the sound of dripping water from leaky pipes, every minute sound was amplified.

"Are you alright, Daphne?" Nereus asked. Concern colored his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed and the little bit of skin in between them wrinkled.

Daphne nodded, but she knew her lips were no doubt still pale.

"Why would members of the Order be here?" Prince Nathaniel asked, perfectly voicing out Daphne’s thoughts.

"They were also the ones that attacked the infirmary," Daphne softly said. She looked at the dagger again, the coiling serpent seemingly moving under her watchful gaze.

She had to shake her head to remove the hallucination from her mind.

"The skin was stitched onto the man, who was a member of the Order of the Serpents," Nathaniel said, thinking out loud. "If it’s as we suspect, and King Atticus is the one behind all of this, how did he manage to find these people? The assassins from the order are not easy to kill."

"It’s Atticus," Daphne said, nearly scoffing. "He killed a handful of them like they were nothing more dangerous than a couple of pesky flies on our wedding night."

Even after all this time, the memory of her eventful wedding night was still vivid in her mind. She wondered if these men were those that had attacked her back then, but thinking hard, the faces did not match. Furthermore, the bodies would’ve rotted by now. A couple of bodies weren’t worth Sirona’s magic in preserving them in perfect condition.

Atticus could always find a way to find more.

"Is he still searching for Jean Nott?" Prince Nathaniel asked.

"Beats me," Daphne said. She then sourly added. "He rarely shares his grand schemes with me. Only Jonah and Sirona would know. Why do you ask?"

"If he is still searching for Jean Nott, then it could explain how the bodies came about," Nathaniel said. "King Atticus could’ve been interrogating the unfortunate captured members. If they had no useful answer to provide, or if they had already answered all they could have possibly known, then he would have no use for the bodies."

"They were silenced and then used as scapegoats, you mean?"

Nathaniel grimly nodded, his lips pressed thinly together.

"It’s just a possible theory," he said. "But it would be one of the most plausible ones."

"I just don’t understand," Daphne said, her head whirling. It seemed like that happened a lot these days.

She barely even enjoyed much peace and quiet ever since she had gotten married to Atticus. At first, she thought that those days of worry and dread were over― at least they were together no matter what life threw their way. However, now, it was apparent that the husband she had come to love couldn’t be trusted as well.

Daphne finally realized how alone she was in all of this.

"Why did he need to do this? Why would he go to such far extents just for Zephyr?"

"If I may, I do have some observations I’ve made while working with Sirona," Prince Nathaniel said. He cast a quick, careful glance at Nereus, only to realize that the kelpie still had his eyes trained on him.

Nereus nodded, offering his silent approval, and Nathaniel took that as permission to continue.

"Healer Sirona was conducting a lot of research on old notes and magic, including magical creatures," Prince Nathaniel said. "There’s a ritual mentioned in the History of Magic, which I often found her referring to. Unfortunately, the pages weren’t completed and she was always careful whenever I got too close, so there’s not much I could catch."

That book again. Daphne needed to find a way to get it back from Atticus once she got out of there and washed the stink of the sewage from her body. Atticus was already suspicious of her, just as she was with him. She couldn’t afford to raise more eyebrows.

Nathaniel continued, "This... is something I was discussing with Nereus previously. We believe that Sirona might’ve needed Zephyr for the same reason as to why Nereus’s eye was unrightfully taken."

Daphne turned back to look at Zephyr, her face ashen. She could practically hear her own blood roaring in her ears, the thumping of her heart nearly louder than Prince Nathaniel’s spoken words.

"We’re not too sure what the ritual might be for, what King Atticus wants to achieve by conducting it, and what is the entire list of items needed for it. However, if it includes ingredients like a kelpie’s eye and griffins, then it might be something that could affect the entire world, not just one person or one kingdom," Prince Nathaniel finished.

"So our best bet is to get the History of Magic?" Daphne asked. "That’s the book Sirona was referring to, right?"

Nathaniel nodded. "But she guards the book tightly. And rightfully so, since King Atticus would no doubt punish her for losing it."

"I’ll get the book from Atticus," Daphne said. "We need to know what he’s up to. If he isn’t willing to share this bit of information with me, then I doubt it’s a ritual to be proud of."

"It’s dangerous," Nereus said, then corrected himself. "He’s dangerous. He could kill you if you ask too much."

"He could’ve killed me whenever he wanted," said Daphne. "If he’s kept me alive for this long, even if his love for me isn’t true, I must be more useful to him alive than dead."

Even though her words were firm and steady, there was a maelstrom of emotions raging inside Daphne’s chest.

Her husband... her lover... He wouldn’t kill her, would he?