Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 402: The Sands of Xahan I

Chapter 402: The Sands of Xahan I

Daphne could only laugh incredulously at the turn her life took. Once again, she was on a carriage bound for a foreign country for the good of her family. This time, her husband was beside her, thumbing at a novel. She was knitting. Beside her was Nereus, who looked incredibly vexed at the weather, glaring sullenly at her husband as though he was responsible for his current predicament.

Then again, Atticus definitely was the cause of Nereus’s problems. His sole remaining eye was a testament to that.

"Nereus, are you alright?" Daphne asked worriedly, not liking the waxy sheen on his face. Nereus nodded glumly.

"It’s just hot," he grumbled. "I’ll be fine."

"It’ll only get worse from here," Atticus said, sounding remarkably cheerful. "I told you, you should have turned back when you had the chance. You’re not like that stupid bird, Xahan’s climate is ill-suited for you."

He was of course referring to Zephyr, who spent the mornings and evenings flying outside the carriage for fun when the weather was cooler. In the afternoons, Zephyr spent his time curled up on the seats like a spoiled cat, napping away while Nereus suffered the indignity of being boiled alive in the carriage.

Prince Nathaniel’s potion had worked fine and well. After all this time, Zephyr had finally regained his human form once more.

Xahan was said to be a hot, dry place, surrounded by dunes of sand as far as the eye could see. It was an arid land that was scorching hot under the sun’s rays and blistering cold under the moon’s unfeeling light. Cordelia had spoken — grumbled — about her uncle’s kingdom in her letters, complaining about how scarce water was that she had to ration her showers.

Nereus would be utterly miserable there, Daphne was sure of it, but he simply would not be dissuaded from making the journey. He had found out that Prince Nathaniel had been made to stay behind, and alarm bells began to ring in his head.

So here he was, stuck in the carriage for shelter with the man responsible for ruining his life.

"I said, I’ll be fine," Nereus repeated, bristling with restrained anger. If his eye wasn’t removed, the hot and dry weather would be nothing more than a tiny inconvenience. But his right eye socket was glaringly empty.

Thankfully they have avoided most mishaps since Atticus had the foresight to fit their carriage wheels with long boards to keep them from sinking into the sand. The carriage interior was large enough to fit six fully grown humans if one ignored the massive elephant in the room sitting inside with them.

There was no way Daphne could have asked to sit in a different carriage from Atticus without raising suspicions. So, she plastered on her best smile and pretended that nothing was wrong as she sat with Zephyr, Nereus, and her husband who wanted to harvest their organs― the very same man that cuddled her in the morning and kissed her goodnight.

Daphne felt like she was slowly losing her mind as the carriage made quick work to Xahan. They spent a month on the road, passing by rolling hills of green and rocky trails that smoothed into gravelly paths, but she barely had any time to spend by herself unless Atticus left her alone, and when he did, Daphne couldn’t stop her mind from wandering.

What was her husband planning behind her back?

She didn’t even dare to make any mention of it in her letters to Cordelia, for fear that Atticus might intercept them. Her only ally with any political weight was forced to remain in Reaweth, with her husband claiming that he was needed there as a healer since Sirona was coming along with them.

Daphne would bet her left arm that her husband had orchestrated it on purpose. He must have realized that Nathaniel was helping her in private!

Back then, Nathaniel barely had time to warn her about his new discoveries before Daphne had received the startling news. She and Atticus, along with Jonah, Sirona, and Vramid’s elite guards, were going to Xahan to hopefully convince King Calarian to give them access to his country’s natural resources to save her younger brother― the rare iron meteorite.

To say Daphne was pissed was a massive understatement. Her investigations were unceremoniously derailed as her days devolved into frantic packing and the handing over of her administrative duties to Leonora. Her younger sister wanted nothing more than to join them on the journey to save Silas’s future, but Atticus made her stay.

Daphne would have gladly traded places with her, but it was safer for her to go with Atticus. Now, she couldn’t trust Atticus to not dispose of Leonora if she outlived her usefulness, or got in the way of his objectives.

Then again, she might be on the chopping block too if she wasn’t careful. Now, she only had Nereus and Zephyr on her side; everyone else’s loyalty was to Atticus, first and foremost.

Zephyr swooped down, popping his head into the carriage. "I see it! The capital city is just up ahead! Woah, Nereus, you don’t look so good."

"Kindly cease your yammering, you’re giving me a headache," Nereus gritted out. "How far is ’up ahead’?"

"We’ll be there in an hour or two," Zephyr said with a shrug. Daphne opened the doors to let him in, and Nereus frowned at the sand that littered all over the carriage floor.

"Another sandstorm?" Daphne asked curiously.

The land route to Xahan was relatively safe, if lacking in water, but the skies were treacherous, with sandstorms popping up without warning. No wonder Xahan didn’t have to contend with invasions from neighboring kingdoms― its environment was a natural defense against invaders, the same way Vramid’s wintry weather and tall mountain ranges deterred travelers.

"Yep, but I got out in time!" Zephyr puffed out his chest proudly. "No sandstorm can stop me!"

"What a pity," Atticus said blandly, and Zephyr purposely shook his wings vigorously, dousing Atticus in the sand. Atticus waved a lazy hand, compacting the scattered grains into a ball before flinging it out the window.

"Try harder, you stupid bird," Atticus said, bored.

"You―"

"Quiet, both of you," Daphne ordered sternly. "Let Nereus rest."

The next few hours passed in silence as their carriage rolled into the town. Daphne peered outside; she was relieved to see the sun setting against the horizon. The temperature was falling, and Nereus’s complexion was getting better. When they arrived at the palace, there was a familiar face waiting for them.

"Cordelia! You’re here!"

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