The Hidden King's Stolen Wife
Chapter 148: Salty Sea Breeze

Chapter 148: Salty Sea Breeze

Soleia paced around in her room and yelled at the guards to let her out, but it was futile. The two men guarding her only gave her an apologetic glance, but they remained firmly devoted to their posts.

Exhaustion crept into her bones. Soleia wearily changed out of her wedding dress and into a simple nightgown before flinging herself onto her bed. Her body longed for rest, but her mind continued to whirl a mile a minute, and her stomach churned with worry for Orion’s entire household.

Would all of them be dead by morning? How many of them were already dead by now?

Sleep was uneasy, but it was broken when she heard a scuffle happening right outside her room. Her heart raced; had Sir Ralph escaped the dungeons to look for her?

But the door opened to reveal Florian’s maniacal grin. Soleia hurriedly staggered back, holding out her hands.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Florian cackled, and his eyes roved all over Soleia, as though he could peer through the flimsy fabric of her nightgown and feast himself on the delicate curves of her body. He licked his lips greedily. "Is that a way to greet your future husband, my dear?"

"My future husband― no, that’s impossible!" Soleia’s face paled as Florian’s words sunk into her ears. "I would never marry you!"

"It’s not up to you," Florian laughed nastily. "The king was so impressed with my problem-solving skills that he kindly made you my concubine. There’s no harm in getting an early taste of the goods."

"Get away from me! Guards!" Soleia cried out, but Florian laughed again.

"I knocked them out. No one will disturb us tonight, sweet cousin."

In one quick motion, he strode forward and gripped Soleia’s wrist, pulling her close. His other hand came to caress the soft skin of her cheek. Soleia shuddered and flinched away from his touch.

"Give me a kiss, darling, and I’ll make it more pleasurable for you―"

Soleia paused, her lower lip trembling as she blinked watery eyes in his direction. "You will? You’ll treat me better than Orion?"

"Of course," Florian said smugly. It seemed that his dear cousin had finally understood which way the wind was blowing. Without her husband’s protection, she was just a fragile woman who could be squashed like an ant with an errant finger. "Come here―"

Soleia stepped closer, and smacked her head straight under his chin, causing him to bite his own tongue hard enough to bleed. He hissed in pain, but Soleia wasn’t done, she stomped on his foot and raised her knee, kicking him in between his legs.

Florian screamed and hunched over in pain, and Soleia hurriedly took the opportunity to hide at the far corner of the room, grabbing a candlestick for protection. Her topaz crystal contraption was somewhere hidden inside her messy drawers, and she didn’t have enough time to rummage through it to look for it. She didn’t dare to turn her back against Florian.

Mentally, Soleia cursed herself. Next time, she would sleep with it under her pillow.

"I’m warning you― stay away!" Soleia cried out, brandishing the candlestick threateningly. "Leave right now!"

Florian spat out a mouthful of blood. "You bitch, just you wait― you’ll be begging for my forgiveness!"

He raised his hand, and a blast of ice flew in her direction. Soleia ducked, and that was the only reason why she hadn’t been frozen to the wall. She scuttered to the side, but Florian let out an ugly guffaw and continued to shoot at her. Soleia raised her hand, hoping to at least absorb part of his ice, but he was simply firing too fast for her to keep up.

She had to run, or she would die!

"You can’t escape from me!" Florian’s eyes glinted maliciously. He knew he had her cornered. It was only a matter of time before this infuriating woman succumbed to his prowess, and she would be forced to endure everything he threw at her. "You will be my woman eventual―"

Then, Florian’s voice broke off without warning. Soleia blinked as she saw Florian’s body sway, before finally pitching forward with a dull thud. The air was filled with the brief salty scent of the sea.

That was when Soleia caught sight of her unlikely savior.

"Princess Nessa?" Soleia asked, confused. She blinked, wondering if her mind had conjured up such an unlikely sight. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard the commotion, so I came," Princess Nessa said.

There was a bubble of water floating above her hand. She had flung it at Florian with so much force that it knocked him out. Against her will, Soleia was impressed.

"Looks like I arrived just in time," she stared derisively at Florian, kicking his unconscious form with her boots. "Filthy pervert."

Soleia breathed out in relief. Guess her screaming paid off. "Thank you for your help. If you hadn’t arrived..."

"No," Princess Nessa said as she shook her head. "I should have come to see you earlier. This entire mess is my fault."

Now Soleia wondered if she had entered a whole new world. "Excuse me? You’re not responsible for Florian’s debauchery. He has always been like that."

"Not him, but about your husband, Duke Elsher." A pained expression crossed Princess Nessa’s face, and her eyes were filled with guilt. "He and his entire household are scheduled to be executed tomorrow at sunrise. I could have prevented this outcome if I had told you what I saw in the infirmary."

"Tomorrow?" Soleia whispered, her heart racing in fear. Sir Ralph and Orion would die at daybreak― they had less than a day to live! Then, she registered the rest of Nessa’s words. "The infirmary? What did you see?"

"That woman Elowyn did something to him." Princess Nessa bit her lip. "I was hiding behind the pillar so she didn’t see me, but I heard their entire argument. Duke Elsher was looking for you, not her. He didn’t seem like he even liked being around Elowyn! But there was a huge purple glow, and then he stuck to her like glue," Princess Nessa confessed, narrating everything she saw. She had been filled with guilt ever since the wedding happened.

Soleia paused. The infirmary... This must mean that it happened after she left the forest. She was supposed to go to the infirmary, but the confrontation with Nessa tired her out.

"I observed the Duke afterward, but there wasn’t any change in his behavior," Nessa said. "So I thought I was overthinking things..."

"It’s a little too late to tell me this now, isn’t it?" Soleia asked, her tone acerbic. "They are scheduled to die in less than half a day! Why didn’t you let someone know?"

Nessa looked at the floor with a frown. "But I did tell someone... I told Sir Ralph about my suspicions. Did he not let you know?"