Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 76: A Perilous Journey

Chapter 76: A Perilous Journey

"Is there something on my face?" Atticus asked, arching one eyebrow in questioning. "Or perhaps there is another reason why you’re seated so close?"

"Nothing!" Daphne squeaked, immediately scuttling back like a startled mouse. In her haste, she accidentally hit herself on the side of the carriage. It made a loud nasty bump, and Daphne winced.

"Careful!" Atticus barked out. "Just sit down, will you?"

Daphne flushed in embarrassment. They haven’t arrived in the first town and she was already showing Atticus that she couldn’t look out for herself. For crying out loud, who would be foolish enough to injure themselves in the carriage while doing nothing?

"Right. Of course." Daphne cleared her throat. This time, she gingerly got up and moved back to her seat, refusing to meet Atticus’s eyes. There was no way she was repeating that humiliating experience.

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t on her side!

The carriage gave a mighty lurch to the left, before hurtling to a stop. Daphne shrieked in surprise as she was flung through the air. She would have hit the floor painfully, but Atticus managed to grab her head before she hit the floor.

Daphne panted, her hands clutching at the soft fabric of Atticus’s shirt. The carriage lurched again without warning, and it sent her nestling deeper into his arms, their legs now tangled together.

"My apologies!"

"There’s no need to apologize," Atticus said, his voice coming out in a low rumble that reverberated through his chest.

Daphne flushed as she realized she was staring up at him. In this position, Atticus’s figure seemed to block out all other light, as though he was the only sun she could see.

And from Atticus’s line of sight, a fair maiden had quite literally just fallen into his arms! Her skin was pale, her eyes were wide and doe, and her lips were colored like a rose, plump and soft, shaped into a small unknowing pout. His eyes lingered there for a second too long, an impulse slowly creeping up from underneath his skin. If he had just leaned forward even a little bit, their lips would touch.

Another jolt quickly brought Atticus out of his little daydream.

"What’s happening?" Daphne asked shakily.

The carriage had never made such big movements before, and certainly not without warning, but after another mighty lurch, Atticus immediately switched their positions so that he was now on the carriage floor.

"Nothing good," Atticus grumbled, "but we’re not leaving the carriage. No matter what. Do you understand me?"

Daphne saw the seriousness in his eyes and nodded.

Atticus hadn’t traveled via this route in a year, but he didn’t remember it being this winding and bumpy. In fact, he specifically picked the smoothest roads and to stop at towns with many inns, to make things easier for Daphne, who would not have traveled far before.

Clearly, someone was trying to flush him out of the carriage by pissing him off. Unluckily for them, Jonah was discreetly following behind them with his group of soldiers. If there was any trouble, Jonah would have let them know.

And let them know he did. Barely a second later, Atticus saw a red signal flare from the carriage window and he let out a nasty curse.

It was a monster attack! The carriage must have lurched around in a bid to swerve and avoid them, and his poor coachman didn’t have the time to yell out a warning.

"Stay here!" Atticus ordered with no room for argument. "There are monsters outside!"

Daphne’s face paled. She had heard about the variety of ferocious beasts that roamed around Vramid’s forests, but she never expected that they would encounter an attack!

"What about you?" Daphne asked.

"I’ll be fine," Atticus said. The ring on his hand glowed a bright purple, but it still paled in comparison to the feverish light in his eyes. "But they won’t be."

Before Daphne could ask him to clarify, he leapt out through the window of the moving carriage to stand on top of it!

"Atticus!" Daphne yelled.

She peered out from the window, only to scream as she saw a pack of thornhounds surrounding the carriage. She had only known of them from books, but the illustrations didn’t do justice to their ferocious looks. With razor-sharp thorns covering their body and a jaw strong enough to shatter bone, they were fearsome creatures indeed.

They began howling when they spotted Atticus on top of the carriage. He was their target! Daphne shuddered in fear as they began to circle the carriage. Daphne’s heart seized further as she spotted Jonah brandishing his sword, trying to cut his way through the pack to reach the carriage.

Unfortunately for him, the thornhounds had the advantage of overwhelming numbers. Even with his men, Jonah found himself outnumbered. His sword was a poor matchup for their thorny bodies, and Daphne watched, with growing horror, as the creatures rushed in his direction, impaling him with their spikes. Jonah stumbled, and then disappeared from view.

"Atticus!" Daphne cried out, trying to spot him from the top of the carriage. She saw him standing proud and strong, his ring glowing brighter than the sun. "Save Jonah!"

The thornhounds howled louder, their cries causing goosebumps to form on her arms. Yet Atticus was unaffected. He let out a mad cackle and dove straight into the pack of thornhounds, all of them immediately jumped on him like feral dogs on a scrap of meat. His men were left alone as countless thornhounds buried him alive.

Daphne clutched at the window, terrified. Jonah made his way to her and hovered outside the carriage door, an arm stretched out protectively in front of her.

His other arm was hanging limply, broken. Daphne sucked in a breath. If they could do this to Jonah, what could all of them do to Atticus? Would she even have a husband after this?

She should have treated him better, she should have made more dishes for him to eat, she shouldn’t have argued with him so much―

The very air shifted. Daphne felt her knees getting shaky, and she collapsed on the floor of the carriage, trying to peer outside. Jonah was still standing upright, but his men were also stumbling, as though they couldn’t keep their footing.

"What’s happening?" she asked Jonah shakily.

"Daphne, it’s best to keep your eyes closed for this part," was Jonah’s helpful reply.

An even sharper light enveloped the pack of thornhounds, and Daphne flinched instinctively. But when she opened her eyes, she saw an extraordinary sight.

The thornhounds were flying.