Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 395: Quickening Heartbeat I

Chapter 395: Quickening Heartbeat I

Daphne, Nereus, and Nathaniel quickly made their way back out of the tunnels after Nereus had stowed the bodies away into some dark hidden cranny of the tunnels. He didn’t have enough strength to flush them back the same way they came from, and even if he did, he wasn’t willing to waste the effort on such low lives.

Besides, the sewers would hide the stench better than any place above ground.

"Here’s hoping no one stumbles upon them," Nathaniel said grimly. He didn’t like how hastily the bodies were disposed of, but there was no better option. They’d be caught more quickly if they tried to bury them in the dead of the night.

"If King Atticus finds their bodies, he’ll know we’re onto him."

With the realization that King Atticus was sparing no expense in ensuring he achieved his goals, Nathaniel did not want to attract any unnecessary attention. His status as a prince would mean nothing to a man dedicated to hunting down rare powerful creatures to harvest their organs, and he could not count on affection to stop King Atticus’s hand.

Daphne nodded solemnly in response. "Knowing my husband, he might simply get rid of you to keep the secret, or start escalating his plans."

After all, if he found out that Daphne knew something he tried so desperately to keep hidden, there would be no point in him sneaking around. Nothing could stop him from plucking Zephyr out of her arms and ripping off his wing the same way he tore off a drumstick of a Yuletide turkey. Zephyr huddled closer in her arms, flattening his wings against his tiny body as though he could sense her thoughts.

Even Daphne with her two elemental powers would not be able to fight him off. A better plan would be to act as though she was completely oblivious while conducting her investigations privately, while making sure the people she cared for were strong enough to handle themselves.

Nathaniel was a powerful, trustworthy healer, but his lack of combat skills was a lost cause. If things were dire, Daphne would eagerly get a contingent from Raxuvia to escort him back. She could not have his death on her conscience.

As for Nereus...

"Nereus, if we get your eye back, is there some way to reattach it to your body?" Daphne asked suddenly. "If that happens, will you regain your lost strength?"

Nereus startled. "I... I’m not sure. I suppose it should be possible since it is a part of me, and my very being should recognize the familiar essence and resonate accordingly." He gave Nathaniel a hopeful look, wordlessly asking him for his opinion.

"Eye transplants that lead to regained sight are very rarely successful among humans, but perhaps you’ll have better luck," Nathaniel said frankly, not wanting to destroy the tiny light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel, but he also didn’t want to give Daphne and Nereus false hope.

"In my opinion, the strongest factor influencing the success of such a procedure would be the state of the extracted eye. It’s been weeks since you lost your eye. Normally, your missing eye would have rotted already, if they didn’t take special care to preserve it."

"They would. Atticus had waited so long for the opportunity to harvest something so important. I dare say he’s not letting something as minor as decay ruin his plans," Daphne said, her eyes narrowed as she solved one tiny piece of the puzzle.

"Nereus, your eye should be inside one of the enchanted bags we received for the Crown Conquest. They would not put it anywhere else, nor would they live it unguarded."

Knowing Sirona’s fastidiousness, she would have kept it on her person at all hours, likewise for Jonah and Atticus. Daphne vowed to search through Atticus’s belongings when she returned to their shared room.

Nereus clenched his teeth and nodded. He wanted nothing more than to flood the entire palace and demand King Atticus cough out his eye, but that would be suicidal at best.

No, the flooding would happen once he recovered his missing eye. He’d show King Atticus why kelpies were so feared since olden times.

They parted at the end of the tunnels, making sure to stagger their exits so that no one would catch them together. Daphne quickly slunk back to her room and prepared to fetch herself a bath. Before she took off her smelly dress, she carefully removed the stolen knife from her pocket and tucked it into the drawer of her undergarments.

Then she stepped into the bathtub and proceeded to scrub herself clean to wash away the dirt and grime and the infernal smell of the sewers from her body.

At such a late hour, Daphne couldn’t risk Atticus being suspicious if he found out she had a bath drawn so late. The servants would talk. He knew her well enough to know she was supposed to be asleep when she preferred to bathe, and even what scents she preferred.

He also knew what sort of activities she liked when they shared a bath together. Daphne’s face flushed, even as her heart ached with loneliness and betrayal. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she grappled with the realization that for all of her claims to love Atticus, she never really knew her husband at all.

Atticus had always looked at her with love and adoration in his eyes, but was it all a lie?

In what seemed like mere minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Daphne froze, wondering how she should respond. Before she bathed, she made sure to dim the candlelight in her bedroom to make it seem like she was asleep.

There was another knock, followed by an all too familiar voice plaintively whining at the other side of the door.

"Daphne? Daphne, are you awake? Please open the door... just for a little while. Please...?"

It was Atticus. Daphne’s heart raced as she rose from the tub, wondering if she should even answer the door. Could she pretend to be asleep? Yes, that would be best. Atticus would leave her alone then.

Unfortunately, her husband was a stubborn man. Loud rapid knocks echoed through the room, eerily similar to Daphne’s quickening heartbeat.

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