Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 140: Wanted Reunion

Chapter 140: Wanted Reunion

"Get away from my wife, Attonson," Atticus growled out protectively, and then he launched himself straight at Eugene, decking him straight in the face.

"Atticus! Watch out! He’s using magic!" Daphne screamed in worry. She had every faith in her husband’s combat abilities but Atticus didn’t have his rings with him and he had already expended a lot of effort hunting earlier.

"How sweet." Eugene smirked, spitting out a mouthful of blood at Atticus’s face, using that brief moment of distraction to get out of the way. "To think that the both of you love each other so much. My apologies in advance, for ruining things."

He sent a small flurry of ice shards straight into Atticus’s exposed arms. Atticus winced as he felt them stab through his skin, his body strangely losing strength. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the shards were at fault. He grabbed one and tugged it out, and a sharp pain raced through his body.

Yet he felt slightly stronger than before.

Atticus gritted his teeth; there were too many shards digging into him for him to pull them out one by one. Knowing Eugene Attonson’s personality, he would purposely create new ones to shove into his skin right in front of Daphne. So he had to remove all of them without Eugene knowing.

The only answer was magic but he no longer had his stones with him. He willed himself to focus; he needed to get all of the shards out of his body. Eugene Attonson had his reasons for placing them so strategically, conveniently missing all fatal points in his body. The longer they stayed in was another second his strength could be affected.

He just needed some time. Once he had that, he would make Attonson pay.

"Feeling a little weak?" Eugene asked casually as he strolled towards him, making sure to keep out of reach of his fists. Even weakened, King Atticus was still a viable threat. "You should be, I did aim at your meridians."

Atticus’s eyes widened in surprise. What was he talking about? He had never heard that term in his life.

"Atticus!" The relief Daphne felt when Atticus showed up was quickly eclipsed by horror as she saw him stagger unsteadily, one knee hitting the ground. Atticus never knelt voluntarily.

"What did you do to him, you monster!" Daphne demanded, her hands glowing a bright orange.

Eugene laughed and crouched right in front of Atticus, conveniently using his body as a meat shield. "If you think your flames can hit me from there, you’re welcome to try, Queen Daphne. There is no better way to die than at your hands."

"You―! " Daphne wanted to run towards him but Atticus’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Run back to the pavilion!" Atticus ordered.

"Not without you!" Daphne retorted, her hands glowing bright orange. She ran closer, hoping to blast Eugene in the face with fire. "Get away from Atticus, Eugene Attonson!"

"I’m getting called by my full name now." Eugene shook his head sadly. "Queen Daphne, I thought we were friends."

"Friends don’t threaten each other!" Daphne retorted hotly. "Leave my husband alone!"

"It truly warms the heart to know you care so much for him," Eugene said as he stared at Daphne with barely concealed longing in his eyes.

Atticus wanted to snarl at him to keep his lecherous eyes to himself, but he held his tongue, the rage allowing him to access more of his power.

"That makes getting rid of him all the more satisfying."

Daphne roared, and a burst of flame emerged from her mouth. Eugene darted back, his face painted with exhilaration even as his clothes got scorched. He easily put out the flames with his bare hands, before clapping heartily. Atticus was also briefly awed at the display of power from his wife, but he kept his focus.

Meanwhile, Daphne wheezed, trying to control her breath and the flame. It had not gotten easier to control it. Her throat felt like she had just eaten a dozen peppers at one time and drank vodka shots like they were water. It didn’t feel nearly as bad as the first time but it still wasn’t comfortable.

"That was amazing! Incredible! Fire breathing is immensely difficult, but you have accomplished it already. Truly, as expected of you, Queen Daphne. You’re the most talented of all your siblings by far," Eugene declared fervently.

He placed a hand over his chest where his heart rested, a faint blush coloring his cheeks as he stared dreamily at Daphne.

"You must come with me. I’ll teach you how to polish your skills. With my help, you’ll be unstoppable. Empires will fall at your hand!"

Daphne shook her head in disgust, a wordless rejection. The only way she would be leaving with Eugene is if he dragged her cold frozen corpse in his arms.

"You have made no progress in your control so far. Isn’t it vexing, to have so much power hidden within you but to have it be so unreliable?" Eugene pointed out with a knowing grin. "If you had mastered it, the incident with Bram would have been a non-issue. Your poor maid Maisie suffered unduly because of you."

Daphne hissed angrily. "It was because of you!"

Eugene continued as if he had not heard her.

"One must wonder if anyone made you powerless before so they wouldn’t be outshone by your skills. Maybe someone knew about your potential long before anyone else..."

At his words, Daphne stilled.

"What are you implying?"

"Surely you must realize something isn’t right," Eugene said, smiling when he realized he caught her interest. "Your siblings are skilled, but none of them can channel flame through their breathing. How is it that you, someone who only realized her powers in less than a month, can pull off such incredible feats? Are you not suspicious?"

Daphne’s heart raced.

"And now that you know that your siblings do not have your best interests at heart, can you be so sure that none of them did something to you as a child?"

"I― No, this cannot be. My siblings were children too at that point! They couldn’t have done anything!" Daphne pointed out, raising her hands. "Stop trying to distract me!"

"Children can be cruel. Don’t you want to know the truth?" Eugene cajoled, holding out his hand. "Come with me, and I’ll help you uncover this secret. You deserve to know the reason for your miserable existence as a child."

Before Daphne could reply, shards of ice flew through the air.

Only this time, they were embedded straight into Eugene’s face.