Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 378: Back to Small

Chapter 378: Back to Small

She could barely even stand upright. When Daphne caught sight of Zephyr on the bed, her knees felt weak and she would’ve collapsed right onto the floor if it weren’t for Atticus, who caught her just in the nick of time.

Instead of a man sleeping in bed, in his place was a griffin, snoozing peacefully with its eyes closed. Daphne didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry― for one thing, she hadn’t seen Zephyr sleep so peacefully ever since he had fallen sick; for another, it had been a long time since he had been in his griffin form.

"What happened?" Daphne asked, her voice quaking.

With Atticus’s help, she stumbled and wobbled over to Zephyr’s bedside. Her fingers hovered over Zephyr’s sleeping body, too afraid to touch his feathers. She was terrified, fearing that he might disappear or shatter upon contact. Or perhaps, he would wake up and forget all about her.

"I thought that it might be best to turn him back into his original form," Prince Nathaniel solemnly said. "Zephyr is using a portion of his strength and power to retain the human form, even if he doesn’t know it. As a griffin, he would theoretically be able to focus more on healing himself."

"And it has shown some promising results in the last hour we were observing him," Sirona added. "His fever has subsided and he finally fell asleep, instead of restlessly turning around."

That tidbit of information caused Daphne to perk up in surprise.

"His fever went down?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Nathaniel answered. "It’s a lot faster than we predicted. At this rate, he should be up and about in a few days, and maybe back to his human form by the end of the week."

"How did you guys even turn him?" Atticus curiously asked.

"A mixture of herbs and magic could trigger the transformation," Sirona said. "Prince Nathaniel is truly a marvel in these sciences."

The sudden compliment caused Nathaniel’s cheeks to flush apple red. He cleared his throat, sheepishly pressing his lips into a thin line as he fought against the proud smile that threatened to spill across his features.

"It’s nothing," he said, waving the compliment off.

"He’s a lot smaller than I remember," Daphne commented, squinting.

Now that the worry was lifted off her shoulders, she dared to venture a little closer to Zephyr. Beforehand, prior to his transformation, Zephyr was just a little smaller than a fully-fledged griffin. He even had to be moved to the outside stables as he was taking up too much room indoors.

However, it seemed as though he had regressed back to his size as a child. Zephyr was no bigger than a lap cat.

"He will grow as he heals," Nathaniel said. "Once he is fully healed, he should be able to transform as and when he likes, even without dragon fire as a trigger."

"We’re not exactly sure what it is that he’s infected with, but the symptoms are unlike the ones Prince Silas experienced." Sirona sighed, shaking her head. Her palm was pressed against her forehead as she pushed her hair back and out of her face. She continued, "All we know now is that it’s a virus and his body is treating it like such."

"Isn’t that wonderful, sunshine?" Atticus said, beaming. "Now you don’t have to fret over the stupid chicken any longer!"

That name-calling earned Atticus a glare, but he batted his eyelids and fluttered his eyelashes, pretending not to hear it at all. Instead, he saddled in a little closer to his wife, holding her close.

"Does that mean you’ll move back into the room tonight?" he asked.

"Right. That’s our sign. Let’s go, Prince Nathaniel. Unless you’re planning on staying as the third wheel," Sirona said. She raised both of her hands in surrender, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she made a beeline for the door.

Behind her, Prince Nathaniel hurriedly gathered his things. He grimaced, frowning at the blatant display of affection between the king and queen of Vramid, and spared not even a second glance before dashing out right after Sirona, leaving the door to fall shut behind him.

With all the other watchful eyes gone, Daphne playfully slapped Atticus’s shoulder. She hadn’t felt this lighthearted in what felt like years.

"Of course not," she said. "Who’s going to take care of Zephyr then? He’s even more helpless now, with beaks and claws!"

"I’ll have someone watch over him," Atticus smoothly replied.

"He’s a griffin!" Daphne reminded. "Your men are going to be frightened silly. Besides, I don’t want to risk any no-gooders sneaking in while Zephyr’s unable to protect himself. Aren’t griffins rather valuable in the black market?"

Atticus huffed. "You’ve paraded the damn bird around enough for my men to have grown used to him. They know how to deal with him better than you think."

Daphne bit her bottom lip. "But―"

"No buts," Atticus said, cutting her off. "Unless you’re saying that you’d rather spend the night with another man instead of your husband? Zephyr might be your pet griffin, but in his human form, he is still a fully grown man."

"Of course not!" Daphne frantically said.

She grabbed Atticus’s hand, shaking her head back and forth until she caught a hint of a smile curving the corners of his lip. Realizing she had been juked, she raised her hand and pinched Atticus’s nose hard, scowling as he winced and whined in pain.

"I’m kidding, I’m kidding!" he yelled.

Daphne let go with a harrumph, folding her arms across her chest. However, she knew that Atticus was right. It had been a long time since they had spent some time together. Even if it weren’t for her wifely duties, she still missed her husband. With everything that had happened, she didn’t have much time to rest in his arms and do nothing other than love and be loved.

"One night," she said. "And make sure you have Zephyr’s room filled with knights protecting him from all corners!"

A smile instantly broke across Atticus’s face — genuine, this time — and he rushed forward to hug his wife in his arms. He peppered kisses all over her face, with the final one square on her lips, taking her breath away.

"Just one night," he said. "One night is all I need."