Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 479: Surprise After Surprise

Chapter 479: Surprise After Surprise

"Have you prepared it like I asked?" Atticus asked, looking over at Sirona as she dug through a pile of test tubes and vials of unknown substances.

"Of course," Sirona replied. She pulled out a small syringe filled with a red liquid, holding it up for Atticus to see. "You would murder me if I didn’t."

"No, of course not. How could you say that?" Atticus said in a sing-song voice, resisting the urge to smile when Sirona rolled her eyes. "I’ll trust you two with it, then."

"I’m not sure if it will work," Sirona said with a sigh. "We didn’t exactly get the chance to experiment with the serum’s properties. It might fail and create another... you know..."

"But we have the antidote to that, and we know for sure it will work," Atticus pointed out.

"You’re really going the extra mile for him, huh," Jonah commented.

"It’s not for him," Atticus said with a scoff. "It’s for her."

"It will not right the wrong," Sirona said with a frown. "You’ve still gone through with the ritual. And I would say this is even worse than―"

"I’ll talk to her," Atticus said, cutting Sirona off abruptly.

He picked up the second filled syringe on the table, handing it to Sirona. She took it, examining the contents to double-check that it was the right syringe before tucking both safely into her pocket.

"If she figured out that the ring can undo the spell on the door, she could be anywhere by now," Jonah said pointedly. "Who knows if she escaped the palace altogether?"

"Then you don’t know her enough," Atticus said. "She will come. She wants answers." Leaning against the edge of the table, Atticus made a shooing motion with his hand. "As for you two, hurry and go before she comes for me."

"You’d better start praying that this works," Jonah muttered under his breath as he and Sirona took off, leaving the infirmary, the door closing behind them with a bang.

With them gone, Atticus was now left alone in the room. Silence drenched the infirmary, a sound so ironically loud that he could hear it ringing in his ears.

He sighed, glancing at the small cauldron just a short distance away. Even though there was still some white mist coming out, the contents were empty. There was nothing in there that could hint at what had just happened― no bone, no ore, not even a drop of liquid, just some odd mist.

Nonetheless, Atticus wasn’t alone for much longer. True to his predictions, Daphne shortly came bursting forth into the infirmary, the door slamming open. Her eyes scanned the room before stopping when her gaze finally landed on Atticus. With every heavy breath, her shoulders rose and fell. Frozen in time, she was a visage of beauty.

If only there wasn’t this much hostility in her expression.

"What have you done?" she hissed, her voice low and viperous as she glanced at Atticus as though he was a stranger―

No. As though he was Jean Nott himself.

"Sunshine," he said, not at all surprised. He smiled at her just as he would on any other ordinary day. "You found me much quicker than I thought you would."

"Evidently not quick enough," she said. Daphne took one cautious step into the room, and when she noticed the cauldron, she stopped short.

Atticus followed her line of vision, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips as he nodded once. "I’ve already told you everything," he said. "You know fairly well what I just did. I don’t think there is a need for further explanations."

"Then explain this."

Something small and hard hit Atticus’s palm when he raised his hand instinctively to catch whatever was thrown at him. When he looked down at what it was he held, he realized that it was none other than the silver sheen obsidian ring he had just given Daphne.

"You said that you’ve removed magic from the world for all humans," Daphne said, seething. Though, now that Atticus listened closely, he finally understood what it was he heard in her voice― confusion. "Why is it that I still have magic? And more importantly, why obsidian? I’ve never had an affinity with that stone."

"You have an awful lot of trust in me for throwing me the only crystal you have," Atticus stated.

Daphne’s eyes widened with realization. She had been taken over by anger that she had forgotten that her usual stones were no longer with her.

However, Atticus gave her no time to correct that wrong. With a hook of his index finger, Daphne came flying towards him and into his ready arms. He gently held her by her waist, careful not to place them too high or low. Her hands instinctively braced herself against his chest, holding him to steady herself as she staggered forward.

The moment she regained her balance, she looked up and their gazes met. There seemed to be a thousand and one mysteries hidden in those gold irises of his. Daphne couldn’t even begin to understand what he was up to. His gaze was like the gold of honey, a swirling pool of sticky sweet that had her falling deeper and deeper.

She came here to question him, to stand against his ideals. Yet, Daphne couldn’t help but allow a flutter of her heart. It wasn’t possible — at least not for her — to completely put a stopper to the love that had grown in her for him.

"King Rowan Verimandi wasn’t the only one who had full control of magic before he shared it with the world," Atticus muttered, his voice soft and featherlight. "There was someone else who was his equal and stood by his side."

"Queen Bethany-Anne," Daphne answered, her eyes widening with realization.

Atticus nodded. "That’s right."

"So you’re saying..."

"Yes," Atticus said. "You’ve not gained an affinity for the obsidian stone. Rather, you’re now able to command magic without a need for a crystal."

Daphne sucked in a cold gasp of air. This was all too sudden. She had barely even made heads or tails for her new ability to control things with just a single thought and now, Atticus was saying that the law she had lived by and abided by all her life was now for naught. She had been at the rock bottom in her youth. Now, she was standing at the peak.

"I’ve said it already, Daphne," Atticus continued.

His fingers around her waist tightened, but it wasn’t uncomfortable by any means. He simply held her a little closer, a little tighter, and the sensation was just a tad bit more intimate. If it was under different circumstances, Daphne knew she would’ve fallen head over heels.

"I wish for you to understand my stand and still return to my side," he said. "However, if need be, you will be the only one with the power to end me. My life is entirely in your hands― it has been ever since we said our vows for the second time."

Daphne’s heart was in tangles. She couldn’t link a proper train of thought any longer. Everything was jumbled up and she no longer knew what even was her original standpoint when she came into this.

However, before she could clear her mind and form a proper sentence of rebuttal, the infirmary doors opened once more and in burst a face she was surprised to see― and even more surprised to see color on.

"Daphne!"

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