Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 513: A Gift or A Curse? I

Chapter 513: A Gift or A Curse? I

For the first time in a long while, Atticus found himself utterly helpless. His reaction was just a second too slow and he could only watch as Daphne was ripped out of his arms and slammed against the wall. Nereus’s fingers were wrapped around her throat, unbudging even as she clawed at his hand.

"Daphne!"

Both Zephyr and Atticus charged forward at the same time, but Nereus turned around, his glowing eyes staring straight at them. With just one wave, a powerful tidal wave crashed into both men, sending them tumbling backward.

Atticus had barely managed to put up a shield to help him stand his ground after sliding a short distance, but Zephyr hadn’t been so lucky. He was shot right out of the palace, slamming through the wall as the stone crumbled from the impact.

"Oh shit!" Jonah cursed, coughing as he tried to swat the dust out of his face. If Zephyr had been hit just slightly more to the left, Jonah would’ve been sent flying out of the palace with the griffin. He was just a hair’s breadth away from a major concussion.

Yet, while Jonah had evaded an injury, Daphne wasn’t as lucky. She clawed at the kelpie’s hand, her nails digging into his skin as she tried to gasp for air. She tapped into her magic, willing for it to come to her aid, and she soon felt the familiar rush of warmth before her hands heated up quickly.

Nereus withdrew his hand, scalded by Daphne’s fire. Steam began to rise from his skin, bubbling as blisters formed and faded in just a blink of an eye. However, that quick moment of reprieve was all that Daphne needed.

She grabbed her own neck, choking and coughing as she struggled to even her breathing again. Atticus took the opportunity as well to run over, holding Daphne protectively in his arms as he held out a hand.

Fire was a good element against kelpies, and unlike Daphne, Atticus had no qualms about hurting Nereus if he was too far beyond salvation. He also had better control of his magic and could cast spells without hurting the kelpie; Daphne, on the other hand, might let adrenaline control her and go overboard.

If that happened, Atticus knew that she would be riddled with guilt.

"Stay behind me," Atticus said, not daring to take his eyes off of the kelpie for even a second. "He’s dangerous."

"But―"

"I know he’s your friend," he continued, "but it’s obvious that Nereus isn’t himself right now."

Daphne pursed her lips, looking anxiously back and forth between Atticus and Nereus.

The kelpie’s gaze was fixated on them, unblinking. The glow of his eyes was bright and they pulsed with his every breath. Atticus, on the other hand, had a small flame prepared in his palm, ready to throw it out if Nereus did anything funny. It wouldn’t be enough to cause any catastrophic damage, but it would at least keep him at bay.

"Nereus," Daphne called out, "it’s me, Daphne."

She didn’t even know if calling out to him would work. Nereus seemed out of his mind, possibly controlled by the pearl that was just embedded into his eye socket. When Daphne called out his name, the light of the pink-colored eye wavered for a second, but it quickly returned to its full force.

"Nereus?" she tried again. "Can you hear me?"

If he could, he most certainly didn’t show. Nereus stepped forward carefully, wary of the glowing flame in the palm of Atticus’s hand. The closer he stepped, the bigger the fire grew; it was Atticus’s way of warning him not to get too close.

Behind Nereus, Daphne spotted Sirona and Jonah creeping over. They held two buckets in their hands; where they even found these buckets, Daphne could not even begin to fathom. All she knew was that if they dared to get so close to an out-of-control, full-strength kelpie, they must have a plan in mind.

Hence, she tried her best to look away from the two, careful not to alert Nereus of their approach.

In front of her, Atticus’s other hand had also started to grow. A white shimmer wrapped itself around Jonah and Sirona’s bodies. At first, Daphne had no clue what Atticus was up to and thought that he could simply be casting a simple projection spell over them. Then, she quickly realized what Atticus had in mind.

Despite having stepped on a broken blank, further snapping the wood into two, Jonah didn’t make a single sound. The wood simply broke off, but when it dropped to two different ends, Daphne could hear nothing. Likewise, Nereus didn’t even flinch― Atticus’s magic was probably helping to mask Jonah and Sirona’s presence.

Daphne watched with bated breath as the two lifted their pails, and without warning, dropped its contents over Nereus. Clean water rained down from above, quickly further drenching the kelpie. His clothes grew a shade darker as they clung onto his skin, sinking into every nook and cranny of his body and outlining his defined muscles.

With a splash, the water was emptied out on Nereus’s head, a small puddle pooling beneath his feet.

At first, Daphne stepped back in surprise, but when she noticed that Atticus had lifted the spell from Jonah and Sirona’s bodies, she peeked out from over Atticus’s shoulder.

Nereus coughed and spluttered, clearing his throat of the water that had entered from his nose. Even though kelpies could survive underwater, breathing in both air and water at the same time was still a foul experience that burned his nostrils.

When he opened his eyes again, Daphne couldn’t help herself but smile radiantly in surprise. They weren’t glowing any longer. The eye which was once a pearl still had a pink tint to it, but slowly, it faded into the natural seafoam green of Nereus’s irises. It was still a little swollen, but otherwise, the eye looked as good as new.

"Nereus!"

"Daphne?" he called out unsurely, wincing as he wiped the beads of water from his forehead. "What... happened?"