Stolen by the Rebel King-Chapter 487: Cooled Thoughts

No greater love than sacrifice.

Queen Anette’s words rang in her head endlessly even after night fell and Daphne had returned to her room. She lay quietly in bed, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she continued to ponder over her mother’s words of wisdom.

While she understood very well what her mother meant, she also couldn’t help but sigh at how difficult everything was. It was fairly easy to speak; it was not as easy to carry it out.

Nevertheless, Daphne sucked it up. She wanted to leave it until tomorrow, or maybe even the day after, or preferably never. It was a coward’s way out but she was far beyond caring. She had done too much of that in the last few months.

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom creaked open and Daphne’s body stilled. She was sure she had locked the door before she went to bed, afraid that someone would come in while she was vulnerable. It was a thought birthed from paranoia, considering how every palace she had stayed in had been broken into at one point or another just as she was there. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Better safe than sorry.

Yet, this time, it didn’t seem like the locks had stopped the intruder.

"Daphne? Are you asleep?"

When Daphne realized it was her own husband’s familiar voice, she relaxed a little in bed. At least it wasn’t a stranger who was dead set on killing her. While she might be trying to avoid Atticus as much as possible as she thought things through, it was better to have him here than any other random man.

"Of course," Atticus muttered under his breath. "Why wouldn’t you be?"

He sank into the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. Daphne’s eyes had squeezed themselves shut the moment she heard his voice, pretending to be fast asleep. Thus, she could only watch out for the various signs caused by his proximity.

There was a faint floral fragrance from him, wafting off his skin. Daphne attributed that to the fact that he might’ve just emerged from a long bath. He did feel a little steamy, with her side that was closest to him feeling the heat that radiated off his body.

Yet, Atticus made sure to keep a good amount of distance between them still. He wasn’t that far away but he made sure to keep a safe distance, enough to be respectable despite them being husband and wife.

Daphne appreciated that. Slowly, her heart softened. Again, Queen Anette’s words blared through her mind. It was repeated in an endless loop, going on and on till Daphne was driven to the edge of insanity.

But her mother was indeed right. If Daphne were to see things in Atticus’s shoes, whatever he did wasn’t wrong, in his opinion. Furthermore, he went with the most efficient and effective method. It was only horrible for Daphne because she knew the victims personally. If it had been another kelpie and another griffin, would she care as much?

Probably not.

Whatever it was, Atticus was her spouse, her husband. Even though the nickname ’sunshine’ was his name for her, it still rang true the other way around― Atticus was the light of Daphne’s quite miserable life.

"How did you get in?" she asked, refusing to open her eyes. Her voice was a little pouty, her words a little harsh, but there was a softer edge to it all that made Atticus’s heart sing when he recognized it. "I made sure to lock the door."

"Magic," he simply cheekily replied. It was enough for Daphne to crack open an eyelid just to shoot him a stink eye. That only made Atticus smile a little brighter. "Hello, sunshine."

"Don’t ’hello, sunshine’ me. I’m still mad," she quipped.

"Is there nothing else I can do?" Atticus pleaded, pouting. "I know what I did wasn’t the prettiest and my hands are stained in your eyes, but it was a necessary evil to prevent more in the world."

Truly, that question struck a chord in Daphne. Even she herself wasn’t sure what Atticus could do that could change her mind.

"Well, for starters, you need to apologize to Nereus for taking his eye," she sternly listed, turning her head slightly in Atticus’s direction. The moment she did so, their gazes met and her words were clogged in her throat.

His golden eyes were staring right at her. Ever since the ritual succeeded, Daphne noticed one thing― Atticus’s gold eyes would always glow like a serpent’s. He was always watching her from some corner in the dark like a predator― no.

A guardian of the night.

"Done," Atticus readily agreed. "I just met with him earlier in the day, actually. We’ve already ironed out the creases and sorted our differences. I might even be able to forge him a new eye."

Daphne immediately frowned. "Don’t lie to me," she said. "First you create a potion that can regrow Zephyr’s wing and now, you already have a way to fix Nereus’s eye? Are you going to use the same concoction on him?"

"No," Atticus said. "But this might require your help. Nedour’s royal treasures have been guarded for generations, but they are pearls that are said to grant life to the sea. That is a possible solution."

Daphne pursed her lips, huffing a little. She didn’t entirely believe Atticus’s words but at the same time, she didn’t wish to have so much mistrust in their relationship.

As for their relationship, she still wanted it to work. Her mother was right. Atticus had never done anything to her personally. While their meeting wasn’t fated and it was simply a plan orchestrated by Atticus, that also wasn’t a new piece of information.

What was there to fault him, when she realized that he was a king trying to do his best for his people in the long run?

"How do you know it will work," she muttered under her breath, almost inaudible.

"I’m not sure if it will," Atticus confessed. "But I will try my best."

He got off the bed, the shuffle of the sheets a telltale sign of his departure. However, at the edge of the bed, Atticus did not walk away. He simply reached out his hand for Daphne to take, shaking it a little to urge her.

Daphne sat up and looked warily at Atticus’s outstretched hand, her eyebrow lifted high against her hairline in confusion.

"There’s somewhere I wish to take you," he said. "As a part of courting my wife back. May I?"