ã€ŠStolen by the Rebel Kingã€‹


 Chapter 1: Stolen

    <h4>Chapter 1: Stolen</h4>

    "Get your hands off of me! Where are you taking me?" Daphne struggled in the grips of her captors, shoving back against their hold. Unfortunately, her frail strength could not bepared to that of two fully grown men, who each held onto one of her elbows with an iron grip.

    It was supposed to be her wedding day. She was prepared to suffer stiff muscles from sitting in a carriage for too long, ready to endure awkward conversations with her new, unfamiliar husband from a new, unfamiliarnd. After all, as the only royal family member who could not wield magic, that was all that she was worth.

    And the rest of the royal circle made sure she would never forget that.

    Yet, she did not expect to be inelegantly snatched from her carriage and kidnapped to and no one dared to set foot in. Vramid, with its numerous mountain ranges, frequent hailstorms, and deadly wildlife, was a death trap for the unprepared.

    And now, the chilly winds and frightful storms outside the barren stone walls of the fortress reflected the scene exactly in Daphne''s heart.

    "Shut up!"

    The guards promptly shoved her to the ground without further warning, causing her to cry out as her knees mmed against the hard marble floor. The skin on her hands burned as her palms slid across the floor from the strength of their throw.

    "How dare you!"

    The guards scoffed, unimpressed. They moved away without a single nce.

    Daphne was a princess; she had never been treated so roughly in her life. The skin of her hands was now red with friction burns and her knees were bruised due to the impact. However, that was the least of her worries.

    Right in her line of sight was a pair of polished boots. Daphne''s eyes reluctantly trailed up, her goosebumps rising more and more by the second. A long pair of legs, a strong torso, a broad chest clothed in fine military wear¨D her heart stuttered as she registered a pair of dark amber eyes ring down at her.

    Even though his eyes were a warm color, the look he shot her was frosty. Her hair stood to its ends and her blood ran cold.

    "Hello, princess," the man drawled in a deep voice, slow and sensual.

    From where Daphne was, the man seemed to be towering over her, though she knew that wouldn''t be far from the truth. He had a leg crossed over the other, the side of his head propped up by his knuckles as he smiled down at her.

    His smile, paired with his dark cold eyes, caused Daphne to feel more threatened than if he were to immediately stab a sword through her heart. She heard rumors that the people of Vramid were ruthless, but this man seemed to be another brand of intelligently cruel, the sort that would give her a rope to hang herself with.

    This was a man that liked to y with his prey.

    "Hello," Daphne replied. She stood up shakily, trying to calm her racing heart. Her hand instinctively went to her opal ne, preparing to shatter it to send out a signal for help once he was distracted.

    "You seem to have me at an advantage. I do not know your name."

    "Make an educated guess, princess. It''s not that hard," he said mockingly. "ording to the bards, the first princess of Reaweth was meant to be the wisest of all royalty. If you are the best they have to offer, your family must be as intelligent as a sack of rocks."

    Daphne spluttered furiously, her fear was now apanied by indignation at the insult to her family. If Daphne wasn''t his prisoner, she would have given him an earful for his rudeness.

    Instead, she could only settle for ring hotly at him. She reminded herself to stall. She had the crystal, and her fiance would soon realize she hadn''t arrived and send a search party out for her.

    "Are you going to give me three guesses?"

    "Do I look like an imp from a story, longing to steal your firstborn?" Now, there was amusement in his eyes. Daphne froze¡ª this was a story read to children in Reaweth. She highly doubted it would spread all the way to Vramid.

    How did this man know it? She eyed him carefully.

    "I¡ª"

    Suddenly he stood up, towering over her. He was close enough that she could smell the scent of cedar and pine from his body. She instinctively tried to step back, but her legs couldn''t move. It was as though they had been nailed to the floor with an unseen force.

    "What are you doing?" Daphne wanted to scream, but the air was stolen from her lungs.

    "Tsk, tsk. You''re smart, Princess. I stand corrected. But not smart enough." The man''s fingers gently stroked the soft skin of her cheek, before reaching for her chin, tilting it high enough that it was almost painful for her.

    This close, she could see the gold flecks in his eyes. They were still terrifyingly cold, despite the amused smile on his face. He leaned closer, as though he aimed to kiss her.

    "Don''t¡ª" Daphne frantically tried to push him away, but then she realized she made a fatal mistake.

    The man''s target wasn''t her lips. It was her ne.

    Before she could grab it, he reached out and easily tugged the ne loose from her neck. Daphne''s neck burned from where the ne was pulled free, staring helplessly as the crystal beads ttered loudly when it made contact with the cold marble floor.

    "How¡­" Daphne''s eyes widened in shock and fear. This ne was a priceless gift from her sister, crafted with nothing but the best for royalty. It was supposed to be indestructible.

    Yet¡­ This man snatched it from her neck as though it was merely a cheap trinket from the market.

    "This? This is nothing." Heughed, idly dangling the huge opal crystal in his hand right in front of Daphne''s horrified face. "My apologies. Did you depend on this for rescue?"

    "Give it back!"

    "It was mine first." Before Daphne could figure out the meaning in his words, the man clenched his fist around the crystal and crushed it with his bare hands, seemingly delighted at Daphne''s torment.

    "You beast! Why have you brought me here," Daphne seethed, forcing the words out. Fear and raged war within her. Her eyes darted to the fallen shards of the crystal beads, now coated with a thinyer of the man''s crimson blood.

    "Well," he said with azy grin. Daphne watched as he leaned back into the throne. "To be my bride, of course."

 Chapter 2: Unwilling Bride

    <h4>Chapter 2: Unwilling Bride</h4>

    "You are insane," Daphne spat out, furious. "Utterly deluded, if you think I would agree. I am promised to another."

    Contrastingly, the man seemed to be overjoyed. His eyes had lost some of their coldness. He chuckled, smiling fondly at Daphne as though she was his real lover. If she hadn''t known better, she would''ve even been mistaken by the look he gave her.

    She knew better. It didn''t stop him from messing with her mind.

    "Yes, I know. Poor Prince Nathaniel will simply have to live with this tiny disappointment. Don''t worry your pretty head about it," he saidfortingly, patting her cheek. She flinched.

    "Don''t be ridiculous. There''s still time for you to set things right. Unhand me at once! I have to marry him!"

    "Hmmm¡­" he tilted his head in consideration, before giving her a mocking smile. "No."

    Daphne stifled an exasperated scream, her fingers twitching as she longed to wrap them around her captor''s neck and squeeze. Meanwhile, the man just watched her yell with an indulgent smile, as though she was a pet making a fuss.

    "You''ll find that I''m a much better husband than Prince Nathaniel." He continued, "After all, what is a princepared to a king?"

    "... a king?" Daphne paled, giving the man a careful onceover.

    This couldn''t be King Attitcus, could it? ording to the stories, he was supposed to be an old wizened man!

    "You''re King Atticus?" Daphne asked, still disbelieving. "Of Vramid?" When the man didn''t reply, Daphne''s blood boiled. "Don''t lie to me, everyone knows that King Atticus is supposed to be an old man. Are you sure you''re not his son?"

    King Atticus, ording to the kingdom of Reaweth''s knowledge, was an old wizened man that made a deal with the devil for his powers. Tales of his cruelty and bloodlust were well-known in Reaweth¨D in fact, King Atticus was a popr tale used by parents to scare misbehaving children. They imed that King Atticus would steal unruly children by wrapping his long wed fingers around their ankles as they slept, and devoured them in his attic in exchange for cursed power.

    Daphne had treated those tales as sheer nonsense, a bedtime story cooked up by parents desperate for their children to behave. Only now, she realizes she would have preferred the boogeyman that stole children over the real thing.

    The man scoffed, muttering bitterly to himself. "Of course they would say that. Isn''t it so convenient? Liars to the bone¡­"

    "Excuse me?"

    "If that''s what people in Reaweth believe, your country''s education system needs an overhaul¡­ Princess, open your eyes and take a good look at me."

    He tilted her chin up again, amber eyes meeting hers. This time, she met his gaze head on, and her heart, traitorous thing it was, skipped a beat. It was entirely unfair for someone so nasty to have a face this handsome.

    She didn''t want to but Daphne did look at him. And what a sight for sore eyes the man was.

    His eyes were deep, swirling pools of what resembled liquid gold. Paired with his rosy lips and pale skin that reminded her of the powdery snow outside, Daphne wouldn''t even have been surprised if he imed himself to be an angel.

    Well, or at least, maybe if she hadn''t had the luxury of interacting with him yet she would''ve thought of him as one. With a personality like that, him being an angel was entirely impossible.

    "Does this look like the face of an old man to you? Or maybe you hoped for an old man that would die on top of you during your wedding night? You certainly have strange tastes for a princess."

    Daphne spluttered, her face turning red.

    "What?! How dare you¨D I would never¨D! The nerve¨D"

    He rubbed his hand over the small of her back, a mockery offort.

    "Unfortunately, if you want a wizened old man, you''ll have to stick with me for the next 50 years. That''s not a lot of time. I''m sure I''ll grow on you. Eventually."

    "50 years¡­ Over my dead body! I''m not marrying you even if you''re the king!" Daphne yelled, infuriated. She would rather marry a tentacle monster than him. Her hand moved to p him.

    King Atticus'' eyes shed a brighter gold. Daphne''s body froze, as though immobilized by another power. She wanted to speak, to yell and scream, but then her mouth refused to move. She couldn''t form a single word.

    "My dear, this is not up to you," King Atticus said woefully, but his eyes were sharp and amused. "We''re holding our wedding now. You can show up in tears or with a smile on your face, it will not change the oue."

    Daphne blinked furiously.

    "Servants, get the priest and the hall ready," King Atticus ordered. To Daphne''s surprise, an entire bevy of maids appeared and scattered, except for one.

    "Your Highness," she asked meekly. "Are you going to undo the enchantment? Or let the princess clean up?"

    "No. She''s so much trouble. Can''t have her drowning herself in the bathtub."

    Daphne scoffed a little in disbelief, though that was the limit of what she could do.

    King Atticus pretended not to notice. "Do be a dear, Maisie, and just help her change into her wedding gown and brush her hair." King Atticus shrugged nonchntly.

    Daphne red at him, willing him to turn to ashes. He smirked.

    "But I''ll let you talk, wife. It''ll be boring otherwise."

    "You scoundrel, you''ll pay for this!" Daphne yelled the moment she could. Said scoundrel only waved a mocking goodbye.

    "Princess Daphne, I''ll escort you to your rooms to change," Maisie said, and Daphne was forced to grit her teeth and endure the sheer indignity of being carted around by a maid as though she was a huge sack of potatoes.

    She was quickly deposited in a room.

    "We are so sorry about this," one maid said. "His Highness usually isn''t like this."

    "Hard to believe," Daphne muttered indignantly under her breath.

    The maids simply winced and smiled, unable toment any further. Daphne wasn''t sure if it was because they didn''t wish to entertain her or didn''t dare to. After all, the princess wouldn''t be surprised if heads started rolling due to wagging tongues.

    Daphne was quickly squeezed, primmed, and essorized like a doll within moments. She had a delicate white gown on, a dress that miraculously fit her perfectly. It had long, sheer bell sleeves and delicatece around the bodice of the dress. Her hair had been brushed and styled into a neat bun, a small tiara resting at the top of her head.

    The maids hadn''t even bothered to ask Daphne about her impression of the outfit. As soon as everything was in ce, Daphne was rushed out again. This time, the maids carried her down a long corridor and passed multiple twists and turns,ing to a stop in front of two grand doors.

    "Best of luck, Your Highness," Maisie said with a smile. The maid conveniently ignored the look of sheer horror that had caught Daphne''s facial features in a death grip. "May you have a blessed marriage."

    "Wait¡­ Wait, no¨D!"

    Therge doors swung open before Daphne could properly word her sentence. A sh of ring light nearly blinded Daphne as she blinked, turning her head away from the door. The sound of trumpets ring and the organ ying the ssic wedding march immediately sounded. Above all, she heard the voice of the herald announcing her arrival.

    Squinting through hershes, Daphne caught sight of the handsome ¨D albeit devilish ¨D man at the end of the altar. Even from this distance, she couldn''t miss the tilt of his lips, curved into a smirk.

    "Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Daphne of Reaweth!"

 Chapter 3: The Wedding

    <h4>Chapter 3: The Wedding</h4>

    ''This cannot be happening to me,'' Daphne thought dazedly. She couldn''t move her legs, but that didn''t stop her body from gliding down the aisle via a supernatural force. She narrowed her eyes, ring hotly at the culprit as the distance between her and her soon-to-be husband steadily shrank.

    Out of the hordes of servants watching this spectacle, no one blinked an eye at the fact that she was here under duress, getting married under the coercion of supernatural forces. If her groom could do this to her, an actual princess, who knows what the servants had to endure?

    Said culprit merely continued smirking.

    "Why do you look so delighted?" Daphne grumbled. She could not be less amused.

    "Someone has to be for this wedding, and it certainly isn''t going to be you," he replied glibly, holding her hand with his own,rger one. For such a cold-hearted scoundrel, he certainly had warm hands.

    "What makes you think I''ll ept this farce of a wedding?"

    "You have no choice," King Atticus said. "Agree to marry me, or I''ll kill everyone in this hall and marry you anyway. The choice is yours."

    "You¨D" Her blood grew cold when she heard the callous words from his lips. "They are your people! You''re their king. You would kill them for this?"

    "Like you said, I''m their king. If our marriage doesn''t happen, they''ll die anyway. It''s only a matter of time. Would you have their deaths on your conscience, Princess Daphne?"

    If Daphne were calmer, she would find those words suspicious. As it was, she was shaking from unrestrained rage. "Don''t you dare me me for your actions! I pity your people, for having to live under such a capricious and cruel king."

    King Atticus only looked more amused. He turned to the priest, who looked like he couldn''t wait to escape from the hall. Daphne could understand. She gave him a pleading look, hoping that he could help her stop this wedding.

    She was sorely disappointed.

    "We are gathered here today to witness the joining of hearts and minds¡­ "

    Daphne closed her eyes in desperate prayer. She missed the fond look her husband gave her, and the way he gestured to the priest to hurry up. Instinctively, Daphne reached up, thankful that her new husband had at least given her this bit of mobility back. Yet, her body felt like it was doused in cold water when her fingers touched nothing but the bare skin of her neck.

    That''s right. She had forgotten. King Atticus had ripped thest bit of familiarity left on her body and smashed it to the ground like it was nothing more than ss.

    The realization of her destroyed ne sent Daphne into further despair. After all, that ne wasn''t just an essory¨D like most jewelry on the continent, they were supposed to be charms, talismans that would aid them in their magic. And although Daphne had never been adept at it, that little trinket still made her feel safe. It was, after all, a gift from her sister.

    "...to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health¡­" the priest continued.

    Daphne could see clear as day the tick of irritation that shed across the king''s face, and with each passing word, increasingly so. The vein that throbbed at his temple nearly sent Daphne into a giggling fit.

    Why was he so impatient? Did he have somewhere else to be after this?

    So enraptured in her stupor, she hadn''t even noticed that King Atticus had already said his vows. And when the priest addressed her, calling her for the second time, Daphne snapped back to reality.

    "Your Highness?" the priest prompted.

    Daphne blinked. Dumbly, her lips parted but no words left. She couldn''t find her own voice, ncing back and forth between the priest and the king.

    "Pardon?"

    "Do you, Princess Daphne Amelia Molinero, take His Majesty, King Atticus Rowan Heinvres, as yourwfully wedded husband?"

    The hall was drenched in silence. Daphne was sure that everyone could hear her heart thundering in her chest without even having to strain their ears too hard.

    She wasn''t sure why but Daphne''s first instinct was to turn towards King Atticus. Her eyes met his instantly, gazes colliding.

    For some insane reason, Daphne felt her heart calm down. The gaze in his eyes were soft, mellow, and unlike anything else she had ever associated him with ever since she had first heard tales of this cruel king.

    The pooling gold in his eyes was hypnotizing. His irises reminded Daphne of the stars that dotted the sky at night, or of the glow of the sun when evening casts it onto the horizon.

    She was so mesmerized in his gaze that it was only when the hall erupted into boisterous cheers had she finally snapped out of it.

    "And now I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

    Wait¡­ had she already said ''I do''?

    "Wait¨D" Daphne murmured, looking around. "I didn''t¨D"

    "You did," King Atticus swiftly cut in. Daphne red sharply at him, her blood boiling when she connected the dots.

    "You! You used magic on me," she used angrily.

    Her new husband had the gall to look affronted at being used. "Honored priest, did you see me casting any spell on my bride?"

    "No I did not, Your Highness," the priest said cidly.

    Daphne gritted her teeth. They were all liars and scoundrels.

    "You heard him."

    Before Daphne could react, she felt a pair of warm lips pressed against her own. The kiss was not intrusive¨D there was no tongue or teeth or any of that disgusting action she had heard the maids of the Reawethen castle had gossiped about.

    Instead, it was just a chaste kiss, a brief moment where their lips were in contact. Yet, that brief second was all that was needed. Warmth rushed through her body. Immediately, where their skins touched, Daphne felt as though it was on fire ¨D in the best way possible ¨D as if there were flowers blooming where he touched her.

    The feeling confused her, for she rejected and repelled the man with all her might in her heart. Yet¡­ maybe it was just the power of it having been her first kiss. It felt like for a second, she had been cast into paradise.

    But that second came and went and as soon as Atticus pulled back, Daphne snapped back into reality. That was the second time within thest hour the king had done something against her desires.

    Meanwhile, Atticus only beamed when he saw his new wife''s angry face.

    "Now that the ceremony is over, we should proceed to the most important part of any wedding."

    "I''m not hungry," Daphne bit out. Her stomach was now twisted with dread and indignant anger¨D she doubted she could swallow anything bigger than a prune. "You can have the banquet without me."

    "Banquet? Surely you jest, my sweet wife. We''re not having a banquet."

    "Then what are you referring to? What can be more important than¡­"

    Her voice trailed off, a horrible conclusion forming in her mind. Her body trembled and shook and her eyes widened with fear.

    A look of utmost amusement shed across his handsome face.

    "It seems like you''ve guessed it." Atticus turned to his servants and dered, "Prepare the bedding chamber! I wish to consummate my marriage immediately."

 Chapter 4: Wedding Night

    <h4>Chapter 4: Wedding Night</h4>

    "C-Consummate?!" Daphne all but squeaked, her voice cracking in disbelief as she echoed the word she just heard¨D the only word she heard.

    "Is that so hard to digest, my beloved wife?" Atticus questioned, the corner of his lips raised in a slight curl. "Isn''t that something that every average, ordinary couple would do?"

    He leaned forward, bending down slightly so that they could meet eye to eye. Daphne leaned back as far as she could. If she hadn''t, their lips would''ve met again.

    A small part of Daphne wasn''t too against it. After all, King Atticus was remarkably handsome¨D

    ''No!'' Daphne squeezed her eyes shut. ''Snap out of it!" she chided herself internally.

    The man was indeed handsome, she would give him that. But he was also rude, annoying, and a persistently disrespectful, pigeon-livered¨D

    "Why is your face so red, my darling?" Atticus continued to ask, wearing azy grin as he watched her sulk. "Surely you wouldn''t abhor the idea as much as you seem to show?"

    "In case you don''t remember, Your Majesty, I was not and am not a willing participant of this marriage. " Daphne smiled with all her teeth. "And besides, no one would ssify you as average and ordinary."

    King Atticus smiled. "So you do think I''m extraordinary. What high praise, it almost makes my heart flutter."

    Before she could p him for his impudentment, he continued.

    "The whole hall heard you say your vows, sunshine." Atticus dared to reach forward, ying with a lock of her hair in his hand, twirling it around his finger. "You are now my queen whether you like it or not. And ultimately, you will still be by my side whether you like it or not."

    "Your Majesty!" A guard suddenly appeared, saluting the king.

    "Speak."

    "The room has been prepared as per your instructions."

    Before Daphne could react, Atticus scooped her up in his arms bridal-style, an arm under her knees and another supporting her back. She was swiftly lifted into the air and hulled out of the hall, a collective gasp ringing throughout the hall as the crowd watched their king and new queen practically disappear in a cloud of dust.

    "Put me down!" She protested, but of course she was ignored.

    They went past a few different corridors which all looked the same to Daphne. And when they finally came to thest door at the end of the hallway, Atticus unceremoniously kicked it open, causing her to panic. That door was made out of heavy wood, and it was dented by one mere kick. If he used his strength on her in bed, her bones would shatter immediately. She immediately squirmed, trying to escape.

    He tightened his arms around her as he strode into the room. "Don''t worry. I won''t hurt you."

    She had half-expected him to be rough. Yet, Atticus gentlyid her down on the silky sheets before reaching for her shoes. Carefully, he helped her to remove them without another word, cing them against the wall and out of the way.

    "What are you doing?" Daphne asked, wrinkling her nose in suspicion. "Why are you suddenly so¡­ so¡­"

    Gentle.

    That was what she wanted to say. Yet, the word was caught in her throat.

    "Hmm?" he hummed, looking up. In the dim light, Atticus''s eyes reminded Daphne of a wild animal¨D wild and ravenous.

    "Can I not help my lovely wife getfortable in our own bed?" Atticus asked.

    He reached up, loosening his own clothing. One by one, each piece of fabric fell from his body until all that was left was a loose white top with a very low cor. Daphne''s eyes dropped down, betraying her by stealing a nce at his broad, firm chest.

    She caught a slight glimpse of his sculpted figure, tantalizingly hidden only by a piece of sheer white fabric. But before she could see more, a finger was propped under her chin, lifting gently so that now her gaze met the king''s.

    "Eyes are up here, sunshine." He chuckled.

    Atticus leaned forward, sending Daphne quickly scrambling back in a futile attempt to create distance between them. However, her back soon came into contact with the head of the bed frame, rudely reminding her that she now had nowhere else to run.

    So instead of running, Daphne looked for a weapon. Her eyes flitted back and forth around her immediate vicinity until theynded on the bronze candbra that was ced right next to the bed. She reached for it and gripped it tightly in her hold, poised and ready to strike.

    "Is that necessary?" the king asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "I don''t exactly fancy the idea of fornicating with a man I am not in love with."

    "Most married couples aren''t in love, especially kings and queens," Atticus dryly replied. "And, correction, we are husband and wife. We should ''fornicate'' intensely and frequently, for the good of our people."

    "Frequently?! You must be daft. I see¨D you just want children. Well, since I''m your wife, I''ll let you adopt all the children you want for your lineage! There''s no need for consummation." She wielded the candbra in front of her protectively, her knuckles turning white.

    At her words, he chuckled darkly. "My my, are you so sheltered to believe that children are the only reasons for consummation?"

    "Why else would anyone have bedroom rtions?" Daphne demanded, her cheeks red hot.

    She knew. Of course she did. There were more than a hundred whispers from the maids whenever they thought that no one else was within listening range. It was just that Daphne had never dared dream of it.

    Could anyone even imagine? She was a princess! These vulgar gossip should''ve never made it to her ears. However, God made women curious creatures.

    "And ¨D if it were for children ¨D what if I wanted children born from true royal blood?" Atticus hummed, his voice almost sing-song.

    Daphne gulped, wishing away the bitter taste in her mouth as she prepared for what she was about to say next.

    "Then take concubines, lovers, if you must."

    "And you would allow that, my queen?" Atticus teased. "If I were to spend the night with another woman in bed," he moved forward, "tumbling in the sheets," another inch closer, "our breaths hot and heavy¡­"

    Daphne took in a sharp breath when Atticus edged in nearer. Their faces were barely inches apart now. She was so close that his gaze was all that she could see, and as like before, she was entranced.

    Just a bit. A bit more and their lips would''ve touched. But as much as her mind fought against the thought, her body couldn''t seem to obey.

    "Tell me, my sunshine," Atticus continued, "would you truly be okay with seeing your husband with someone else intimately?"

 Chapter 5: Rescue the Princess!

    <h4>Chapter 5: Rescue the Princess!</h4>

    Daphne didn''t have the chance ¨D thankfully ¨D to reply. Before she could even gather her thoughts, a series of knocks thundered on the door that separated them from the outside world, sending Daphne jumping a little where she sat.

    Atticus''s head spun immediately to face the door, a scowl hanging on his face.

    "Who dares to interrupt my wedding night?" he bellowed. If looks could kill, Daphne knew that nothing could save the person that had just knocked on their bedroom door.

    "Your Highness!" A panicked voice could be heard from outside. "We have intruders in the castle!"

    Atticus rolled his eyes at the door. "That''s it? I thought it was an emergency."

    Hope bloomed in Daphne''s heart. Intruders? No, it must have been a rescue party sent to retrieve her after they realized she hadn''t arrived on time.

    She genuinely smiled for the first time since arriving in this wretched kingdom.

    There were sounds of a scuffle at the door, but King Atticus merely looked irritated.

    "This is a sign that our union is not blessed by the Heavens," Daphne couldn''t help but point out smugly as she escaped from the bed, scuttling to the edge of the room with the candbra still clutched in her hand. "You should have known that kidnapping a royal bride would have consequences."

    "Get back here. It''s dangerous," Atticus demanded, an actual frown on his face¨D a far cry from his smug expressions. It delighted her to know that finally, he was experiencing some sort of inconvenience after all he did to her.

    "No thank you," she said primly, loving the sudden turn of events. Ever since she had arrived to Vramid, King Atticus was the one that had the upper hand. Finally, Daphne felt as though she was one leg ahead.

    "Don''t stand there," Atticus warned, but it was toote.

    A loud crash reverberated through the room. A masked man had shattered the ss panel of the window and leapt through the newly created gap. His eyes scanned the room, eyebrows furrowed deeply until his gazended on Daphne''s trembling figure.

    Daphne screamed and flinched at the sharp sound of ss breaking, fully expecting to be showered by ss shards. To her surprise, the shards never made it to her.

    She opened a wary eye, only to see multiple shards floating in the air.

    King Atticus had his hand outstretched, a snarl on his face. The small obsidian stone embedded in his silver ring glowed, practically shimmering. That was the source of his power. And clearly, he was powerful enough to simply freeze objects in motion as if it was a feat no more difficult than lifting his finger.

    Daphne was relieved he saved her from being cut, but then she reminded herself that she wouldn''t be in such a situation if not for him.

    Besides, that shy disy of power only once again confirmed what she had already assumed. Their power difference was so stark that there was nothing Daphne could do to escape him on her own. What magic he wielded so effortlessly could not even be done by her after years of futile training.

    What a poor excuse of a princess she was. Even her own little charm had been crushed by his bare hands.

    "Princess!" the masked intruder shouted. "We''re here to¨D"

    "You''re here to what?" Atticus cut in, a sneer on his face.

    With a mere flick of his wrist, he directed the ss shards over to the intruder. The shards obeyed, slicing through the air like a thousand daggers.

    The intruder managed to evade some but he definitely did not escape unscathed. While it was nothing fatal, cuts had already peppered his skin, lines of crimson seeping into the dark fabric of his clothing.

    Sensing that he was seriously outssed, the intruder reached for something under his scarf. There hidden just under the thin fabric was a clear stone. When the man touched it, the stone started to glow brilliantly.

    A shrill, high-pitched sound resonated, immediately causing Daphne to reach up to shield her ears.

    Within seconds, three other masked men appeared. Their appearance caused Daphne to take an unsure step back. There must''ve been a piece of ss that had been missed out by Atticus because the next thing she knew, a sharp pain shot through her leg, originating from the sole of her foot. When Daphne looked down and was met with the scarlet of her blood, she knew she had been cut.

    A hiss involuntarily left her lips, the sound caused by her pain. It immediately drew Atticus''s attention as the king spun around until heid sight on the cut on her foot. Instantly, his frown deepened.

    "Princess," one of the intruders said, "we are here under the orders of Crown Prince¨D"

    "What a fucking pest," Atticus spat out.

    "What?" One of the intruders had dumbly spoken out of turn, quickly gaining Atticus''s scornful re.

    "In case you four imbeciles didn''t know," he said, "it''s supposed to be my wedding night."

    With that said, Atticus raised a hand, holding it out in the general direction of the one that had spoken. Immediately, the man''s limbs tightly stuck onto his body as if he was held together by a tight rope. His body went rigid, under Atticus''splete control.

    The next man raised a hand, a silver glint forewarning a de. Noticing that, Atticus narrowed his eyes. He moved his hand sharply in the direction of the broken window, sending the first man flying out with a scream.

    As soon as the man was gone, Atticus held his other hand out to the second one. The scarlet light from the second invader was quickly snuffed. This time, instead of flinging him out, Atticus started to clench his fist.

    The man''s body was crushed along with the king''s hand motions, paired with Daphne''s horrified gasp. Multiple cracks could be heard due to the shattering of the man''s ribs, along with pained gurgles from the victim. Yet, all this while, Atticus remained unflinching.

    "Get him!" The other two intruders let out a unified battle cry as they charged toward the king, their weapons in hand.

    "Pathetic," was all Atticus murmured. "If you so wish to court death, I will bring you to hell myself."

 Chapter 6: The Truth Behind Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 6: The Truth Behind Rumors</h4>

    The intruders rushed toward King Atticus, intending to overwhelm him with their attacks. But Atticus merely stretched his necknguidly, like a panther preparing to strike.

    "Look out!" Daphne screamed in warning, but it was toote.

    Those intruders didn''t know what her new husband was truly capable of, despite getting a tiny hint of his powers. With a tiny flex of his finger, Atticus had flung the same man whose ribs he crushed, straight into the chandelier hanging over their bed. The curved golden spikes stabbed straight through his body, as though he was a pig trussed up for ughter.

    The intruder gurgled, desperately trying to cry for help, but he only seeded in coughing out blood. More blood flowed out of his wounds, sullying the bedsheets.

    "Not how I expected blood to be shed this wedding night," Atticus said disapprovingly, ring at the bloodstains as though they personally offended him. "Now the servants have to change the bedsheets."

    Daphne shuddered at the sight, but her new husband wasn''t done with causing enough carnage. The other two men made more desperate attempts to kill her husband, causing her to trip as she tried to keep out of the way.

    These intruders clearly didn''t care if they trampled on her in their attempts to kill the king!

    While her fiance must have sent out this team of rescuers, they certainly didn''t have her well-being as a priority! In fact, Daphne had the strangest feeling that she was merely an afterthought, the men were focused on killing Atticus, and not so much on rescuing her.

    She had to rescue herself. Daphne stered herself to the side of the wall, eyeing the drop from the window.

    No, that wouldn''t do. It was a long way down and she couldn''t fly. If she focused, she could see a limp body lying prone on the ground, with his neck lying awkwardly to the side. She had no intention of joining him.

    Daphne hurriedly turned back, only to see Atticus stepping on their heads with his foot, their faces frozen into a wordless scream.

    "Now¡­ where should I put you both?" he asked casually, not expecting a reply. "It''s regretful that I only have one chandelier."

    "Underneath my bed? No, no, too dirty. My dust bunnies don''t deserve this," Atticus mused to himself. "The mantlepiece? How about the vanity table? I suppose if I lop off one of your heads I could mount it over¡­ Wife, which head do you want to stare at while you do your hair?"

    "Atticus!" Daphne screamed. "I don''t want any heads! Let them go."

    "Fair enough." Atticus shrugged, and flicked his fingers.

    There were two identical cracks as both necks snapped at once.

    Daphne gasped, horrified. This man, her husband, had just killed two men with a flick of his finger, as though he was snuffing out candles.

    "I told you to let them go!" Daphne cried out.

    "Yes, I let them go to receive divine judgment from the heavens," Atticus said blithely.

    "You know that''s not what I meant," Daphne seethed.

    "Then you should have been more clear," Atticus said, his eyes zing. "And I see no reason why you should care for these intruders."

    "They were my rescuers!" she screamed. The hopelessness of the situation was sinking in; herst hope of rescue was gone, twisted away with a simple flick of his fingers.

    "Sunshine, you cannot be this foolish," Atticus said, looking strangely disappointed. "How can this paltry team be a rescue party fit for a princess? I am offended on your behalf."

    "Maybe this was all my fiance could manage in such a short time!" Daphne retorted. "It''s not as though you gave him a lot of warning!"

    "Are you listening to yourself? Crown Prince Nathaniel, of the prosperous Raxuvia Kingdom, can only afford to send a team of five to retrieve his fiancee? If you were my fiancee, I would have ridden out myself, rather than entrust such an important task to these pathetic assassins. Does he even care about you?" Atticus demanded, his eyes zing with indignation.

    "Assassins? How do you know?" Daphne chose to focus on that part. She didn''t want to think about the heart-fluttering thought of Atticus riding out to rescue her from trouble. He was her trouble. She was in this state because of him!

    Atticus easily pulled off one of the dead man''s masks. He tilted his head, so that Daphne could see a tiny ck mark at the back of his ear. It was in the shape of a serpent.

    Her heart chilled.

    Why was her fiance acquainted with them?

    "You see this mark? This shows that he belongs to the Order of the Serpents. Surely you must have heard of them."

    Daphne nodded, stunned into silence. While it was not customary for princesses to know about assassination guilds, Daphne had hoped that these people, living on the outskirts of thew, would know how to deal with her¡­ inability.

    As such, members of her family had once approached this and other simr guilds in hopes that someone from the ck market would have a method to help her harness magic like she should''ve been able to at birth.

    They hadn''t.

    And thus the royal family decided that this princess was no longer useful to keep around.

    "Then," Atticus continued, "you should understand that they are most certainly not good people your ''lovely'' fiance had sent to rescue you."

    He walked around the bodies, easily evading the corpses without even having to look down. When he approached Daphne, thetter instinctively stepped back. The singr step was enough to send a throbbing pain up her foot, the sensation trailing up her leg like a bolt of lightning.

    Instantly, Daphne hissed. She had forgotten about the cut herself.

    "You''ve got a cut on your foot from the ss," Atticusmented, his nose wrinkling. "These men obviously didn''t have your well-being in mind."

    When Daphne tried to move again, Atticus clicked his tongue in impatience.

    "Stop squirming. You''ll only hurt yourself further."

    Gently, Atticus reached for Daphne''s foot. He picked at the piece of ss that was wedged in between her flesh, one hand holding her leg. His touch was feather-light and warm, a jarringly stark contrast to the violent monster that had torn apart four men just now.

    "This will hurt."

 Chapter 7: Monsters Can Be Kind

    <h4>Chapter 7: Monsters Can Be Kind</h4>

    Without further warning, Atticus pulled the wedged ss out of Daphne''s foot.

    A scream tore through her throat. The pain of it was just as bad as when it had cut into her flesh. Now that it was so abruptly pulled out, the wound scorched.

    But, surprisingly, as quickly as the pain came, it was gone. What was once painful was soon reced by a cooling sensation. Daphne heaved, her chest rising and dropping rapidly as she looked down at Atticus, who was squatting just beneath her.

    A king like himself, someone high and mighty, was bent over at her feet. He gently held her with one hand while the other hovered over her skin. She could feel a slight tingle where her wound was. It felt like frost was kissing her skin when his hand moved over.

    Within seconds, Daphne watched as her skin stitched itself back bit by bit. It was only then had she realized that Atticus was using his magic on her¨D the very same magic he had used to kill those four men was now used to heal her.

    Just like that, her foot was back to normal. There was no scar, no pain, no wound. Just a slight tint of redness from the leftover blood to remind her that what had happened was not just a frightening nightmare.

    "Is there any leftover difort?" Atticus asked, drawing her attention.

    Daphne snapped out of her reverie, blinking rapidly. Her throat was dry as her gaze met Atticus''s. He was still on one knee, his hand holding her ankle as he looked up at her like a devoted follower in praise of his goddess.

    "N-No," Daphne finally managed to force out. "I''m good."

    The king nodded before rising to his full height once more. As soon as he stood up, he scooped Daphne up in his arms. She yelped a little in surprise, her arms quicklying to hook around his neck as she tried to bnce herself. Daphne could feel Atticus shake slightly inughter.

    "Let''s get you somewhere safe," he said. When she looked away from the ground so as to meet his gaze, Daphne was met with mirth dancing in his eyes. "This isn''t a room for a new bride. Especially when you''re mine."

    His broad steps quickly helped them cross the room. Daphne couldn''t bring herself to look at the fallen men. She knew ¨D or had guessed ¨D when they had walked past them. The entire time, she had her eyes squeezed shut. Yet, even though she refused to open her eyes, she knew that the image of their broken necks and mangled bodies had already seared itself into her mind.

    Without a doubt, she would be haunted by nightmares for many nights toe.

    "Your Majesty, are you alright?" A man suddenly appeared with a couple of guards behind him. He was dressed a little differently, prompting Daphne to assume that he wasn''t merely part of the knights, but maybe someone a little higher up thedder.

    "And of course, you couldn''t have shown up fifteen minutes earlier when you would''ve actually been useful." Atticus snorted, rolling his eyes. "Clean up my room. Some idiots tried to n an ambush."

    "Did you¡­"

    "Unlike someone," Atticus pointedly said with a re, "I can actually get the job done quickly and efficiently. Go be useful, Jonah, and get someone to tidy up the room. I don''t want the blood to stain my carpets."

    "Seriously?" The man, Jonah, sighed. He rubbed the back of his head with a hand.

    "Those were imported," Atticus said primly. "If you dawdle, I''ll make you scrub them clean."

    "How terrible," Jonah drawled out, seemingly unbothered by Atticus''s words. "Princess Daphne, please convince your husband to be less of a tyrant. Scrubbing carpets isn''t in my skill set."

    Daphne raised her eyebrows in surprise. This man didn''t seem to fear King Atticus at all! She took a closer look at him.

    It was undeniable. Jonah was quite handsome, with humor visible in his eyes.

    Daphne assessed him, giving the man a quick scan. Messy golden hair, forest green eyes, and a smile that reminded Daphne of a golden retriever.

    The way he easily sidled up to the tyrant king of the North, however, was more than enough proof of his strength. Just because he looked harmless did not mean that he was indeed so. After all, no fragile do-gooder could so easily befriend the monsters parents would tell their children of.

    He shot her a dimpled smile, as though encouraging her to join in a private joke. Bubbly youthfulness practically radiated from the man.

    If King Atticus embodied winter''s harshness, this man was the warmth of summer. She found herself rxing the more she looked at him.

    Then she remembered she was still in King Atticus'' arms, and hurriedly gestured for Atticus to put her down. It was embarrassing to greet someone new when she was tucked in his arms like a baby.

    "I can walk," Daphne dered, before turning to the stranger. "I''m Princess Daphne Molinero, of Reaweth. May I have the honor of your name?"

    "The honor is mine." The man bowed, lips quirked into a smile. "I''m Jonah Raycott, leader of the Kingsguard. And an old friend of your new husband. Do look after him for me, he gets cranky easily. Sulky too, like a baby."

    "Some guard you are." Atticus scowled. "And I do not get ''cranky'' or ''sulky'' easily. You liar."

    The fact that his new bride seemed to warm up to Jonah in mere minutes irritated him. It had always been like this when they were children¨D Atticus, blithely offending people with his words and actions while Jonah soothed rankled feathers and hurt feelings.

    "Do you want me to tell your new wife about all your idiotic moments?" Jonah threatened. "Because that''s what will happen if you make me scrub even one carpet."

    "ckmailing the king counts as treason. I''ll throw you into the dungeons."

    "Then you''ll be in the dungeons too, listening to my report for tonight," Jonah replied easily. "What will your new wife think? Her husband, spending a night in a cold, dingy cell, with only another man forpany."

    Daphne snorted in amusement. Atticus caught the brief twitch of her lips and sulked even further.

    "Just leave, you moron." Atticus was a king, so he didn''t ¨D couldn''t ¨D whine, but there was a certain petnce in his tone as though he was a disgruntled child.

    It was an emotion so ordinary that Daphne had to blink in surprise. All this time, Atticus had behaved like an intelligent, deadly monster, but at this very moment, he was merely a man teased by his best friend.

    A funny feeling rose in Daphne''s heart.

    Said best friend gave him a two-fingered salute and then gave Daphne a deep bow. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Princess Daphne. Have a good rest. I''ll leave him in your tender hands."

    And then they were alone.

 Chapter 8: Cracks in Walls

    <h4>Chapter 8: Cracks in Walls</h4>

    With Jonah gone, the hallway fell into uneasy silence. Daphne was once again alone with her captor, the monstrous King Atticus who took joy in tormenting her and forcing her to marry him.

    The same King Atticus that saved her and healed her, who bantered and sulked like a schoolboy when teased by his oldest friend.

    The thought was making her head hurt. How could a man be so different from one moment and then another?

    "You''re awfully silent," Atticus observed. "Are you alright?"

    Daphne looked away from where she saw Jonahst. Her eyes met Atticus''s, holding his gaze for a second or two before she blinked and looked away.

    "Just a lot to think about," she muttered.

    A lot indeed. The look he gave her whenever he thought she wasn''t paying attention, the way he could joke and jest when around those of his inner circle, and also, the gentleness of his hands when he had healed her. Daphne hadn''t forgotten the manic look in his eyes when she had first injured herself too.

    "You shouldn''t walk," Atticus said.

    Again, Daphne was in his arms without warning. This time, she merely gasped. She wasn''t as surprised as when he had done this the first time, but still, it wasn''t something she had entirely expected.

    "A little warning would be nice," she grumbled under her breath.

    Beneath her touch, she could feel the vibrations from Atticus''sughter.

    "Always have to have thest word, don''t you, sunshine?"

    "Only because you''re such a prick."

    "Not really something I would expect a princess to say," Atticus answered, chuckling. "But you''re not wrong either."

    Then, a glint of mischief lit up Atticus''s eyes. He threw Daphne slightly up. It wasn''t much, just so she hovered barely inches in the air beforending back in his arms again. But it brought about the intended effect.

    A sharp yelp escaped Daphne''s lips as she tightened her hold on him. Her arms wrapped securely around Atticus''s neck, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. From their close proximity, her warm breath tickled his bare skin.

    "Who knew you could be such a darling when you''re not gearing up to attack?" Atticus mused.

    When Daphne realized she''s been had, she immediately pulled back. Or at least, as much as she could while still in his arms. Her cheeks flushed hot for the hundredth time that night, indignation and embarrassment surging through her veins.

    "Now now," Atticus sang, "don''t get your knickers in a twist."

    "I can''t believe I¨D" Daphne stopped herself short. She pursed her lips, ring hard at her new husband.

    "Well?" Atticus raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out."

    ''I can''t believe I ever thought well of you.'' That was what had nearly slipped out. But there was no way she could say what she thought. Daphne would rather die than admit she thought well of this evil man.

    "I feel like strangling you," she said instead. An ordinary man would have been horrified at her words, but Atticus merely chortled, throwing her up again. She shrieked, her arms immediately grabbing his shoulders for support.

    "How kinky." Atticusughed at the redness on Daphne''s cheeks. Truly, she was too easy to tease. "We''ll save that for the bedroom."

    "Bedroom?" Daphne flushed. The intruders had merely postponed the inevitable. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as she thought about the bedding, and what it would entail. Her body grew mmy with fear.

    It did not escape Atticus''s eyes.

    "Well, now that Jonah is trying to salvage whatever''s left of our bedchambers, I suppose you would have to make do with a guest room for the night," Atticus answered. "Don''t worry, it''ll be just asfortable as the original bedchamber."

    "...I''m sure," Daphne replied faintly. Even if she tried to strangle him, she had a feeling it would end up with her hands feeling more tired than his death.

    With Atticus''s heaven-blessed long legs, they crossed the expansive corridors of the castle within mere moments. Daphne had wished ¨D prayed ¨D that it would take longer than that to get to their new bedchambers. Every step Atticus took just made her heart drop further and further into the pits of her stomach.

    They stopped in front of a door, in and unassuming. But when Atticus had opened them with magic to reveal the room inside, Daphne bit the inside of her cheek.

    It was definitely nothing quite as grand as Atticus''s original chambers. Yet, their substitute bedroom was certainly still much grander than many other rooms even back home. With how night had already fallen, the flickering candles were all that illuminated the space. Ornate furniture decorated the room, along with arge floor-to-ceiling window that led to a balcony and, of course, a huge bed fit for a king.

    The second they entered, the room closed shut behind them. A slight dark purple glow shimmered around the door frame, a sign once more that it was all Atticus''s doing.

    Daphne couldn''t help but sulk a little at his disy of magic. It was so easy for him, so effortless. Yet for her, whenever she used magic, she seemed like a fish flopping about on drynd.

    Painfully, utterly,pletely useless.

    She had never cursed her own inability more than now. If she had some elemental ability, she could get away, but instead, she was helpless while Atticus gentlyid her on her new bed. She gazed up at him, face red and her stomach queasy with fear.

    Atticus leaned closer, and brushed her hair away from her face. Daphne held her breath as his eyes met hers, and then they drifted to her lips. Daphne flushed, the memory of their brief kiss floating unbidden in her mind.

    She did not have anything topare it to, but it was a nice kiss.

    His eyes continued to roam down, to her breasts. Daphne''s heart began to race, was he going to undress her? She heard whispers from the scullery maids about what men liked to do to women''s breasts¨D surely someone as cruel as Atticus would have ns for every part of her body, in addition to getting her with child.

    She squirmed underneath his gaze.

    Atticus smirked, like he could sense her unease and was reveling in it. She paused, taking a deep breath. She would justy on the bed like a dead fish. If Atticus liked making her react, she was determined to be as nk as the castle walls.

    Atticus continued to stare at her as the candles continued to melt themselves to stubs. Eventually, Daphne caved.

    "Just get it over with already," Daphneined. Her fear had morphed into irritation at his inaction. She did not like feeling like a mouse squashed beneath the ws of a yful cat."Why are you wasting time?"

    Atticus moved, faster than she expected, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. She breathed in deep, steeling herself. Perhaps Atticus would devour her lips and rip away her dress¨D but to her surprise, Atticus simply stood up and made his way to the door.

    To say Daphne was confused was a massive understatement. "Where are you going? Are you leaving me alone?"

    Her words bore an unspoken meaning. ''Are you not going to carry out what you imed you would?''

    "Why rush the inevitable?" Atticus turned his head enough so that Daphne could see the sly edge of his smile. "You''ll be begging for it soon enough. Sweet dreams, sunshine."

    Then he turned tail and left the room, leaving Daphne alone. Her cheeks flushed with anger as she realized she had once again been toyed by him.

    ''That infuriating man!''

 Chapter 9: The Ins and Outs

    <h4>Chapter 9: The Ins and Outs</h4>

    Atticus strolled out of his new wedding chamber, internally snickering at the idea of his new wife cursing him in her sleep. Since she already had less than positive feelings about him, he might as well relish in the moment. There was no way she could escape; she was exhausted and Jonah had put his best guards along the perimeter of the castle.

    Speaking of Jonah¡­

    "Jonah, report," Atticus demanded the moment he strode through Jonah''s office. Jonah leapt to his feet from his desk.

    "You''re done? So quickly? It''s barely half an hour since Ist saw you!" Jonah eximed. "Did the assassins injure your manhood? Stay put, I''ll get the physician!"

    "Yell louder, I''m sure the whole castle would love to hear about my imagined impotence," Atticus said dryly. "Nothing happened."

    "Then why did you take half an hour?" Jonah asked curiously. "Don''t tell me you were just staring at her the whole time."

    Atticus was silent.

    "You were?" Jonah let out a bark ofughter. "The power of love is wondrous."

    "It''s not love," Atticus corrected, "She''s a means to an end. Don''t get too attached to her."

    "Yes Sire," Jonah said, his smile dimming at the reminder. It was a pity that Princess Daphne entered their kingdom in less than ideal circumstances, but Vramid had very few cards to y when it came to the security of their kingdom.

    Hence the nned kidnapping.

    "And here''s the report I promised you," Jonah said, handing Atticus a parchment. The ink was still wet at the end, and there was a huge line where Jonah was startled by Atticus'' early entrance, but it contained a wealth of information and confirmed some suspicions.

    "You believe they snuck into our kingdom as traders?" Atticus asked, reading it carefully.

    "Definitely. We only started keeping close track of who enters and leaves our borders when you took over, and even now, every summer we wee a huge party of traders with goods from other countries and they stay for at least a year. What''s stopping our enemies from slipping in a spy or assassin?"

    Atticus scowled, frustrated. Traders were a necessity to Vramid''s survival. If he had to increase the requirements for traders to enter, they would simply seek their fortunes elsewhere, leading his people to suffer.

    Yet he couldn''t leave this problem alone. He couldn''t ignore the fact that assassins had managed to ambush him on his wedding night.

    Atticus knew that there was no possible way they could have crossed the mountainous path to enter the country in time, regardless of whether they were from Reaweth or Raxuvia. He had ounted for that in his ns.

    Either he had spies from other kingdoms pretending to be his own citizens while still being in touch with their masters, or someone from his inner circle had leaked their ns to their enemies.

    Both oues were terrible for Vramid, and both oues could be true. Atticus gripped at the parchment hard enough for it to tear, the obsidian in his ring casting long shadows in the room.

    "Hey, I worked on this report. Don''t ruin it," Jonah reminded him gently, tugging the report away.

    "How many people know about the attack?"

    "Truthfully? The entire castle," Jonah said regrettably. "For such a small team, they made a hugemotion. Almost like they wanted everyone to see them."

    Atticus cursed. That was true. If they had wanted to rescue the princess, they could have simply snatched her when the maids were preparing her for the wedding ceremony. There would be no need to wait for him to arrive.

    "The winter fair ising soon. I''ll double your guard," Jonah continued firmly.

    "I don''t need protection."

    "Your wife does, and you''ll be with her." There was a knowing glint in Jonah''s eyes.

    "I can protect her."

    "And the guards will protect you," Jonah retorted, in a tone that brooked no argument. "Don''t fight me on this. You know I''m right. You''re strong, but not invincible. And if you''re distracted by her, you won''t be at your best."

    "I''m not distracted by her nor will I be," Atticus said.

    Jonah merely stared at him steadily with a raised eyebrow. Who was the one that stared at his new wife for half an hour? Despite iming that she was nothing more than the means to an end?

    "Fine," Atticus sulked, giving in because he didn''t want to waste his time arguing about this. "I''ll agree to your stupid request."

    "And maybe you should bully your wife less. My nephew can woo girls better than you." Jonah continued cheekily, "Pigtail-pulling is beneath you, my liege¨D ouch, ouch, ouch!"

    Atticus put Jonah in a headlock, and only let go when Jonah pleaded for mercy.

    After Jonah caught his breath, he continued more seriously. "Speaking of your wife, I can''t believe the rumors were true. She really can''t do any magic at all?"

    "So far, none." Atticus frowned.

    It was almost unheard of for royalty to have no affinity for magic. After all, their ancestors had ensured that they kept magic in the royal bloodline by marrying mages as concubines and killing those unwilling. Now, it was rare for anymoner to have magic abilities.

    If Daphne had no magic affinity, and he had a child with her¡­ Vramid would be severely weakened.

    He had purposely terrified her, hoping for signs of idental magic to show. There was nothing.

    And then there was that useless piece of rock she wore around her neck. It was pretty, made of what seemed like a clear quartz that had diamonds embedded around it. If it were just a shy piece of jewelry at the bottom of a nobledy''s jewelry box, Atticus would''ve thought nothing of it.

    But that was exactly the problem.

    That was just what it was¨D an essory. Beautiful but useless.

    Why had she held onto it so tightly like it would save her life? Did she honestly think that it would?

    "She was wearing this," Atticus said, throwing something towards Jonah.

    When thetter caught the shards that came flying at him, he frowned, observing what was left. It seemed like a ne. There was a chain and broken bits that could''ve made out a pretty pendant. Other than that, Jonah couldn''t tell what was special about it that would''ve prompted his king to keep the remains.

    "A ne?" Jonah questioned.

    "One from the Reawethen vault, most probably," Atticus responded. "They had a few useless trinkets like these back then."

    Jonah wrinkled his nose. "And what''s so special about this then?" he asked, toying with the pieces. "This is¡­ junk now. The shards are too small to work with now that you''ve gone and shattered it."

    "She was wearing this when she first arrived." Atticus heavily slumped into the sofa ced by the window of Jonah''s office. "Holding onto it like it was her ticket out of here."

    Something clicked in Jonah''s head.

    "You think that this is why¨D"

    "Find out everything there is to know about it," Atticus cut in. "Report back on your findings."

    "Of course, Your Majesty," Jonah said. He tucked the leftover pieces of the ne in a napkin before tucking it in his pocket. "Oh and one more thing."

    Atticus raised an eyebrow.

    "What?"

    "The winter fair," Jonah said. A sly grin crept up his face, shaping his lips. "Does the princess know you''re about to take her out on a date yet?"

 Chapter 10: Precious Naivety

    <h4>Chapter 10: Precious Naivety</h4>

    "Rise and shine, Your Highness!" Maisie chirped delightedly as she pulled the curtains to let the first rays of sunlight through. Daphne let out a groan that sounded more like a drunk stumbling out from a tavern than a sound from a dignified princess.

    "It''s morning already?" Daphne grumbled, but she still sat up, her hair looking like a bird''s nest. She felt barely rested from the events of yesterday, how could it be morning mere hourster?

    "Yes!" Maisie beamed at her. "Our mornings start early. Would you like to change for breakfast? I''ll brush your hair too."

    "Yes please," Daphne got up and sat at the dressing table while Maisie brushed her hair, her face scrunched in concentration as she detangled the knots with a deft hand. Daphne suddenly felt strangely homesick; this was something her old maids would have helped her with.

    Yet here she was, hundreds of miles away from her original destination, with no one she trusted forpany. Her eyes burned, her heart even more so.

    "Your Highness?" Maisie paused, panicking as she saw tears in her princess'' eyes. Oh dear, the King would have her head! She dropped the brush and knelt down, her head on the carpet. "I''m sorry!"

    "Why? You didn''t do anything wrong," Daphne said, hurriedly drying her eyes before pulling Maisie to her feet.

    "I''m still sorry," Maisie said, bowing her head repeatedly. "I know you must miss home, but I can''t let you go either! I''m sorry!"

    "It''s not your fault," Daphne said.

    The faulty with one man and one man alone. What could servants do but obey? Daphne sighed, world-weary. If she wanted to escape, she would have to bide her time. Atticus hadn''t dishonored her the night before, so she could still regain her old life if she fled.

    "Please stop crying," Daphne pleaded, now realizing that Maisie was the one sobbing into her carpet. Maisie replied with wet sobbing.

    Daphne sighed. It was a bit like dealing with her younger half-sister Drusi. She could also easily turn into a blubbering mess without warning. Daphne handed her a handkerchief before making her way to her window. The window pane already had a thinyer of frost, and when she peered down, the grounds were covered in white.

    But what stood out was the addition of tents in multiple colors right in the middle of the town square. The castle was a distance away, but Daphne could spot the townspeople, d in their furs, going about their day.

    "Maisie, why are there so many tents?"

    Maisie hurriedly blew her nose into the handkerchief and answered her.

    "Your Highness, it''s the start of our winter fair!" Maisie cheered up almost immediately. "We get traders from all around the kingdom and abroad, there''s good food and wine and ice dancing too! They''ll be there even after Yuletide."

    "That sounds fun," Daphne said wistfully.

    Even in Reaweth, she had never been out in a fair. She had no magic; it was simply too much of a risk. Her parents would never allow her. And each year, she could only watch from her window as her brothers and sisters enjoyed their time out and about. On the other hand, Daphne was just a songbird trapped in a golden cage.

    "It is!" Maisie nodded enthusiastically. "Princess, you must visit the fair at least once!"

    Daphne snorted, udylike. There was no way King Atticus would let her leave the castle to explore. Daphne hadn''t kidnapped anyone before, but even she knew it was preposterous to let one''s captive stroll around the town unguarded.

    "Maisie, I''m here as a captive," Daphne reminded her gently. "I doubt the King would let me wander around the kingdom unescorted."

    "But you are his wife. He will escort you," Maisie said, blinking guilelessly at her. "Why would he stop you from leaving?"

    Daphne sighed. Maisie was gullible enough that she would be an easy mark for any conman. Lord help her. Daphne had no idea how Maisie survived in the royal pce for so long, given that it was usually the most dangerous ce to be with all the schemes and betrayals.

    "Nevermind, just help me dress."

    She then observed the dress Maisie picked out for her. It was a beautiful sky-blue dress made from silk, but there was a dark blue overcoat that came with it, most likely to ward off the wind and chill.

    It wasn''t in her wardrobest night. She had poked around the room, hoping to find something to aid her escape, but she only found a lot of matronly maroon dresses in the wardrobes. They looked like something her grandmother would wear.

    Absolutely ghastly.

    "This dress¡­"

    "Is it not to your liking?" Maisie asked, immediately apologetic. "I''ll pick a new one for you!"

    "No need. I was just wondering where it came from."

    "Why, it came from the king, of course!" Maisie said, sping her hands together. Daphne choked on her spit. "He had these speciallymissioned for you. He loves you."

    Oh did he? Daphne scowled. This clearly showed that he made ns to kidnap her at least months in advance. Dresses like these weren''t made in a day.

    And ''love''? Daphne made a face, unable topletely mask her thoughts. It seemed like Maisie really was more naive than she looked to be.

    Love didn''t exist within the walls of the pce. It wasn''t just in Vramid but in Reaweth too, and possibly every part of this godforsaken world. People married for politics and power. Only themoners were free to marry for love.

    "Your Highness?" Maisie asked cautiously, not liking the murderous look that appeared on the princess'' face.

    "I''m fine." Daphne wiped the scowl away to stop herself from scaring Maisie. It wasn''t Maisie''s fault she was working for a madman, and she was easily taken in by his lies.

    But if Atticus wanted to dress her up like she was his ything and expected her to take it lying down, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

    "Maisie, can I borrow a dress from you instead?"

    "But that''s¨D Your Highness! You can''t, you mustn''t!" Maisie was nearly in tears. "His Majesty would be furious!"

    Her hands came to wrap around her own neck. Daphne wasn''t sure if Maisie was trying to protect it or mimic how it would look when Atticus found out she had lent Daphne a maid''s garb.

    "He might just¡­" She gulped.

    Daphne couldn''t help but roll her eyes.

    "Maisie, he''s not going to kill you," Daphne said in a deadpan. "Now hurry along and get something. Anything."

    "Oh¡­" Maisie bit her bottom lip. "Alright then, Your Highness."

    Daphne watched as the young girl scuttled out of the room, only to return momentster with a dress in hand, along with a couple of essories to match. The princess eyed themon garbs, her eyes brightening.

    A bold idea slipped into her mind.

    "Maisie," she said, "you are brilliant."

 Chapter 11: Mouse in a Maze

    <h4>Chapter 11: Mouse in a Maze</h4>

    Cotton was surprisingly a much better material to wear than Daphne had guessed. Call her pampered but she was, after all, raised as a princess. There was never a need for her to wear anything less than the finest fabrics the kingdom had to offer.

    Yet, dressed in a simple white bell-sleeved blouse and a pale brown skirt, Daphne felt much morefortable than she would in those stuffy corsets and embroidered gowns. At least she felt like she could breathe properly for once.

    When Maisie had shown up with the clothes, an idea popped up in Daphne''s head. Or rather, just one word.

    Escape.

    It was stupid, yes, she could''ve guessed. However, if Atticus had been so kind as to use magic to treat her foot injury instead of letting her heal on her own, Daphne deduced that she must be somewhat of value to him.

    She just wasn''t sure how valuable she was. Plenty high, though, she assumed.

    That would mean that if ¨D or rather, when ¨D her escape n failed and she was once again captured, at least Atticus wouldn''t have her head. There was no use patching up a small tear just to rip the entire fabric the next day.

    Of course, sweet darling Maisie hadn''t guessed what was running through Daphne''s mind when she had helped her change into the clothes. Daphne had bid her farewell, promising to return soon after, iming that she was on her way to look for the king.

    Bless Maisie; she hadn''t asked to follow along. She had simply let the princess run off on her own.

    The chain of events eventually led Daphne to where she was now. Completely, utterly, foolishly lost in the castle. She had not a single clue where she was, how she got there, and how to leave. And given the fact that she was supposed to be a prisoner, she didn''t dare ask for directions either, lest the castle staff recognized her.

    "I can almost swear the gate is supposed to be around here somewhere," she murmured under her breath.

    She was in an open courtyard. Again. Daphne could''ve sworn she had just been in an area simr to this. It wasn''t possible for a castle to have that many courtyards, was it? Surely the entire castle was enchanted. She wouldn''t put it past Atticus to do such a thing as punishment for servants that don''t pay attention.

    "Need some help, sunshine?" a voice asked from above her. "You''ve been walking in circles for thest hour."

    Daphne''s blood chilled, her feet rooting to the ground when she heard that familiar teasing voice. Her eyelid twitched in annoyance, her head slowly pivoting to face where the noise came from.

    Surely enough, lo and behold, there sat Atticus right at the windowsill two levels above her, one leg dangling outside while the other was raised, his arm resting on his knee. As ever, Atticus wore a cocky smile that Daphne wanted nothing more than to scratch off his lips.

    He was dressed casually¨D a loose white linen blouse and some dark-colored pants with matching boots. Thece of his blouse was left untied, revealing his broad, muscr chest.

    Damn him. Damn him and his God-blessed looks. If only he had the personality to match.

    With Daphne stunned, silly, and speechless, Atticus chuckled.

    "Perhaps you would like some help?" Atticus asked.

    He then leaped off where he sat, slowly descending until his boots made contact with the stone pavement with barely a sound. Up close, right before he reached ground level, Daphne could see wisps of indigo surrounding him, a tell-tale sign of his magic at work.

    "Show off," she grumbled under her breath.

    If Atticus had heard her, he didn''t show. Instead, he said, "I''m not going to lie. It was awfully entertaining to watch you run about like a mouse in a maze. But it''s also getting slightly infuriating that you still can''t find the exit even though the corridors are empty of guards to catch you."

    Daphne could feel a vein throbbing underneath the skin of her forehead.

    "I almost had it," she said through gritted teeth.

    Atticus grinned, his dimples showing. "Darling, you have such a terrible sense of direction that I am starting to think that I am not even sure you can escape from my kingdom even if I pointed the path to you and gave you a map."

    ''Breathe,'' Daphne reminded herself. ''Dear Lord in heaven, would you please smite him for me or would I have to do it myself?''

    Outwardly, she merely forced out a smile. "Why, if you would be so kind, I would be happy to prove you wrong?"

    The king chuckled, hisughter bouncing off the walls that surrounded them.

    "No can do, sunshine," he said. "However, if you''re keen on leaving the castle but returning after night falls, I would be happy to show you around town."

    "You mean¡­" Daphne''s eyes widened. "You would let me go to the fair?"

    "I would escort you while you visit the fair," Atticus corrected her firmly. Not only did his new wife have a bad sense of direction, but the report Jonah gavest night also highlighted the possible threats. He wasn''t taking any chances.

    "Oh," Daphne''s face fell."I had hoped for more anonymity. How will I enjoy the festival with you around?"

    Her brothers and sisters had always enjoyed fairs, and the more daring ones even went in disguise, iming that it was the best way to get an authentic festival experience. Once one appeared as royalty, vendors would be cloyingly fawning while the townspeople would gawk and stare. It didn''t seem much fun to her, to be scrutinized like a prized animal.

    "Anonymity, you say?" Atticus raised an eyebrow, taking a closer look at her attire. "Like you pretending to be a pce maid to escape?"

    Daphne spluttered.

    "But I see your point," Atticus continued. "In that case, I''ll make some changes to my wardrobe. Meet me in the main courtyard in half an hour. Keep your maid attire, if it pleases you."

    With that final statement, Atticus turned and leaped back through the castle window, using the branches as leverage. That casual show of strength infuriated Daphne and made her nearly green with envy, but she told herself to remain calm.

    She was going to the fair. Surely she would be able to find help there, especially if she revealed her identity to any Reaweth trader!

    Now¡­ where was the main courtyard again?

 Chapter 12: No Longer Royal

    <h4>Chapter 12: No Longer Royal</h4>

    It was absolutely infuriating.

    Daphne no longer knew if she was just mad at the man or if everything he did was truly against all that was right with the world. However, no matter what it was that Atticus did ¨D even breathe ¨D it sent Daphne''s eyelid twitching and hands itching.

    She had been led out of the inner courtyard that she had been walking rounds in and towards the back exit where the stables were. There, she waited for a few minutes with the quiet castle help until, eventually, her knight in shining armor arrived on a white horse.

    Only, he wasn''t really a knight nor dressed like one.

    Atticus didn''t look very different from the way he was dressed previously, other than the new brown vest he had added on top of his linen shirt. His hair was tousled, still slightly damp from what Daphne assumed was a bath. The materials he had chosen for his clothing were much simpler too, closer to what actual peasants would wear. But despite the fact that he was stripped of all the glitz and mor, he was still a sight for sore eyes.

    ''It''s witchcraft,'' Daphne thought to herself, unable to help but sneer as she watched him trotter over on the horse.

    "Your disguise isn''t realistic," she said out loud to him when he was near enough. "No peasant is this good-looking. It''s unrealistic."

    "So you admit." Atticus smiled coyly, stretching out one hand for her to take.

    Daphne was about to grasp his hand when she heard his words, pausing. She cast him a curious look as his beam widened.

    "You admit that I am good-looking?"

    Immediately, Daphne scowled, swatting his hand away instead of holding it. To Atticus''s and the nearby servants'' surprise, she easily mounted the horse on her own without needing the help of anyone else. Sat snugly behind Atticus, Daphne huffed.

    "Whatever floats your boat, Your Majesty," she said patronizingly.

    "And how would you know what realistic peasants would look like?" Atticus continued, ignoring the death res she shot him. "Have you been looking at many peasant men? I thought that the ss princess of Reaweth had never left the royal pce. Princess, do you have something to confess?"

    If looks could kill, even the great king of Vramid would be six feet under with the way Daphne was shooting daggers at him.

    "Let''s. Go."

    Atticus''sughter was melodious. He raised the reins of the horse, prepared to send it into a gallop. Right before, he cast a look over his shoulder to nce at the princess sulking behind him.

    "You might want to hang on a little tighter, sunshine."

    "I will be fine," Daphne replied, clutching onto the saddle instead. She knew what Atticus was implying and she didn''t wish to give him that satisfaction.

    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you." The words were sing-song. "Hyah!"

    The second the horse shot off, Daphne lurched forward with a squeal, her arms immediately wrapping around Atticus''s firm torso. She pressed her face tightly against his back, basically hanging on for her dear life. She had ridden horses before and she was pretty adept at it too. However, they had never gone at such speeds, especially when she wasn''t the one behind the reins.

    With the thundering of the hooves against the ground and the wind that whipped across her ears, Daphne barely heard Atticus''s chuckle.

    The servants that were left in the dust, on the other hand, all stared wide-eyed at their king¨D a man that they had never seen smile so genuinely before.

    ***

    They reached the outskirts of the town in no time at all because Atticus rode horses like a madman. Daphne didn''t want to cling to him, but she didn''t want to end up as an ugly st on the floor either.

    "Never again," Daphne wheezed as he finally got the horse to stop at a nondescript stable.

    "Alright there, sunshine?" Atticus asked, easily dismounting from the horse and tying its reins to the post. He smirked up at her and offered a hand to help her down. "You look pale."

    "I''m. Fine." Daphne gritted out, pointedly ignoring his outstretched hand. But her attempts to get herself down without help were unsessful. The horse was taller than what she was used to, and her limbs were still wobbly. Atticus snorted, and simply plucked her off from the saddle and nted her in the snowbank, ignoring her outraged noises.

    "If I waited for you to get down, spring would arrive. Come on, sunshine."

    Before Daphne could respond, Atticus slid his fingers between hers. She froze, unused to the sensation. His hand was big, much more so than she had guessed from sight alone. And the warmth it radiated rivaled the chilly cold of winter. It was cozy to have her freezing fingers tucked in his hold, protected from the wind.

    She didn''t move, scared that if she did, the spell would be broken. Who knew that the mere touch of a hand could be such aforting thing? Though, Atticus didn''t notice how the princess had been rooted to her spot. He simply tugged her towards the vige path, where they joined the couples and families on the way to the fair.

    The colorful tents that Daphne spotted from the castle soon came into view. Daphne''s nose twitched; the winter air was crisp and cold, but Daphne was focused on the fragrant aromas. A quick nce showed that there were vendors selling food and drink. Roasted potatoes drenched in gravy, grilled meat seasoned with spice, sugared candy on sticks¡­

    Her mouth watered.

    "Are you hungry?" Atticus asked. "You did spend one hour wandering around the maze like a concussed duck."

    "No it''s fine, I''m perfectly well, thank you," Daphne said primly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right.

    Her stomach growled, loud enough for both parties to hear. Daphne flushed in embarrassment.

    "Guess your stomach is more honest than your mouth." Atticus whistled cheerfully. "I''ll pick something for you to try."

    "I''ll get it myself!" Daphne dered. This was her first time at a fair, and she''d be damned if she let Atticus haul her around without her input.

    "As you wish, wife" Atticus bowed gantly, causing some onlookers to giggle at his theatrics. Women especially, tittered behind their hands.

    "Who is he? A traveler?"

    "I want to know which vige he''s from!"

    "So handsome!"

    "Ah¡­ what a pity he''s already married."

    "It''s always the good ones that are taken¡­"

    Daphne rolled her eyes at the whispers while she went to the grilled meat stall. If these women wanted him, she''d hand him over without a second thought. Since he had gone to the trouble of kidnapping her, she would even wrap him up in a bup sack as repayment.

    Meanwhile, Atticus idly strolled behind his wife, his hands in his pockets as he whistled a jaunty tune. His little wife was hrious when miffed.

    "What would you like?"

    "A¡­ sweetened spiced ham, please. And a roasted smoked bun. And a slice of grilled pork!" Everything looked delicious, and Daphne wanted one of each.

    "Sure! That''ll be 50 coppers."

    Daphne reached into her pockets and froze.

    She forgot to bring any money with her. And it wasn''t as though she had any money, being a prisoner.

    "You can''t pay?" The shopkeeper''s face turned dark. "Then get out of the line!"

    "Darling, why did you walk so fast?" Atticus eximed loudly, drawing everyone''s attention. He jangled his coin purse in front of her tauntingly. It sounded heavy.

    "Forgetting something?"

 Chapter 13: Yuletide Generosity

    <h4>Chapter 13: Yuletide Generosity</h4>

    Daphneughed awkwardly while shooting daggers with her eyes. "Thank you for reminding me, darling." She stressed thest word, basically spitting it out like it was a mouthful of venom.

    Reaching up, she snatched the pouch from Atticus''s hands. He simply let her, spreading his fingers casually the second she had a firm grip on the coin bag, grinning.

    "Aren''t you pretending to be a peasant?" Daphne hissed in his ear as she fished for coins in the pouch. "Stop unting your purse!"

    "If we were real peasants, we''d be working here instead," Atticus retorted cheerfully.

    The man''s face grew darker as he overheard thement.

    "Mister," Atticus said cheerfully, "don''t yell at my wife. She was just excited to try out your new recipes."

    There was a note of warning in his voice. His gaze darkened.

    "Come to think of it, didn''t this amount of food only cost 35 coppersst year? What happened?"

    Daphne watched as the vendor''s Adam''s apple rolled up and down. A bead of perspiration trickled down his temple despite the cooling atmosphere.

    "Supplies are getting expensive," the vendor said, looking anywhere but at Atticus. "Booth rents are also much steeper this year aspared to thest festival. We store vendors have our hands tied too, mister."

    "Oh, really?" Atticus smiled.

    He nodded at Daphne, prompting her to hand the coins over to the store vendor, who all but snatched the money as he chucked her purchases at her. No doubt he had something to hide and wanted them gone as soon as possible, Daphne deduced as much. She silently examined Atticus''s behavior. However, he didn''t do much, simply thanking the store vendor before reaching for Daphne''s spare hand, gently leading her away from the stall.

    "How''s the food?" he asked once they were a short distance away, right as Daphne bit into the grilled pork.

    "Surprisingly mundane," Daphne answered, her nose wrinkling. She held out the money pouch, returning it to its rightful owner. "It smells much better than it tastes."

    "I''m not surprised," Atticusmented knowingly, taking the bag of coins. He leaned in and took a bite out of the food, licking the sauce from the edge of his mouth. He made a face, seemingly in agreement with Daphne''s opinions. "If the other vendors are the same, I might have to get Jonah to rehaul the store vendors of this fair."

    "Dishonest vendors?" Daphne asked. She had her own guesses.

    Atticus merely nodded, choosing not to reply.

    In front of them, there was a mother who bought only one stick of food from a different stall to share among the family. Daphne watched as her children, a boy and a girl, squabbled over the sole stick.

    "No, this is mine!"

    "You ate it already! You ate two bites!"

    "You took three!"

    "My bites were tiny!"

    "They were not!"

    "Children, please." Their mother sighed. "If you can''t share, we''re going straight home."

    "Mom!" The children whined in dismay. "Can we have one more? Please please please?"

    The woman shook her head, and her children fell silent in disappointment. Daphne didn''t miss the hurt on the woman''s face, and how she patted her pockets. Clearly she didn''t have enough money to buy enough for three people, and she decided not to eat so her children could have more.

    Daphne''s heart ached. This was a struggle unfamiliar to her. She had to help.

    "I''ll buy you one." To her surprise, she wasn''t the only one who spoke. Daphne whirled around to find that Atticus had already produced several silver pennies for the shopkeeper.

    "Two portions please! One for my darling wife, the other for the two cute children waiting in front of me."

    "Oh! I couldn''t possibly¨D" the mother replied, flustered by the sudden generosity. Then she saw Atticus and her face promptly grew five times redder.

    How could such a handsome man exist? And he''s so kind-hearted too!

    His wife was also a great beauty and she watched their sped hands with no small amount of wistfulness. What a loving couple they made!

    Next to him, Daphne was struck dumb with astonishment. Atticus, doing good deeds? No, that could not be true, but her eyes didn''t lie. Atticus handed her one of the grilled meat portions and gave the other to the young girl.

    "Thank you, sir!" They both chorused, staring at him in reverence. Daphne meanwhile, stared at Atticus with great suspicion.

    "Thank you for your generosity. I really can''t repay you." The mother was helpless in front of her children''s happiness.

    "Consider it Yuletide generosity. I know what it''s like to feel hungry as a child," Atticus said, causing Daphne to raise an incredulous eyebrow. He was a king, most likely a prince before he rose to the throne. What lies was he spouting? "No child deserves that."

    The mother smiled at them both. "I''m sure any child you and your wife have would be very well-loved indeed!"

    Daphne nearly dropped her food on the ground as she choked on the fresh bite of meat. She coughed violently as Atticus gently patted her back in an attempt to soothe her.

    "My wife is expecting, actually," Atticus smoothly responded, causing Daphne to cough even harder. "That''s why we decided to drop by the festival a little earlier this year. Cravings, you know?"

    When Daphne had finally cleared her airways of the lodge of food, she glowered heavily at her brazzen husband. The hand that was still in his tightened, squeezing his palm as hard as she could. She knew it did nothing much, judging by the passive look on his face, but Daphne found great joy in causing him even the slightest bit of inconvenience.

    "Oh my! That exins the radiance on her face!" the woman crooned, delighted. Her eyes practically had stars in them. Daphne wondered if she had sight problems. "There''s a stall further down that is selling children''s toys and clothing. Perhaps you both could check it out. They have quite a few beautiful knick-knacks, all handmade, apparently."

    "That''s a wonderful suggestion." Atticus beamed. "Thank you. We will have a look at it for sure."

    When the woman walked off with her two children, Daphne turned sharply, hissing. "What are you babbling about now, with all these lies¨D"

    "Sunshine, I will be simply ted to make a truth out of that lie, if you''re willing to," Atticus smoothly cut in. He wore a debonair smile, tilting his head slightly to one side.

    "Ugh!" Annoyed, Daphne shook off Atticus''s hand, aggressively biting into the rest of the food that had started to turn cold. All the while, she could hear Atticus''sughter trailing after her like a ghost of the past that could never be banished.

 Chapter 14: Winterâ€™s Magic

    <h4>Chapter 14: Winter''s Magic</h4>

    "Sweetheart! Look at these toys!" Atticus called out loudly, purposely attracting the attention of onlookers.

    Daphne turned around and gave him a flinty re, but there was nothing she could do in front of this crowd. Nothing she wanted to do, at least. Such as wrapping a cord around this man''s neck and wringing him dead.

    A sparkle appeared in Atticus''s eyes. "Don''t you think it would be perfect for our new baby?"

    The princess''s eyelid twitched as she huffed at her husband. She had forgotten how many times she had sent death stares and dagger-filled looks to this man. In thest two days, she felt as though she had forgotten all other emotions other than anger.

    "Would the lovely couple be interested in some children''s wear?" the store vendor asked, edging closer to them. She sped her hands together, eager to pounce on her new potential customers.

    Decently dressed, tidy, and free of grime. The eagle-eyed seller basically salivated at the thought of their next big sale.

    "How old is your child?" she continued to ask, leaning forward. "We have wares for young babes all the way to children ages seven to eight."

    "Oh no, we don''t have¡ª"

    "Just a newborn," Atticus said. He gently pinched the side of Daphne''s waist, not hard enough for it to hurt but enough for her to fume silently beside him.

    "Yes," Daphne smiled with too many teeth, ring at Atticus from the corner of her eye. There was a six-foot-tall newborn right next to her at the moment, talking a lot of nonsense. It was also socially uneptable to smack him to shut him up. "Currently he likes to make a lot of noise."

    Atticus snorted, being called a baby was a new low for him. "Isn''t that a good thing? Our child could be a minister! Just like me, he has a bright path ahead of him!"

    It was Daphne''s turn to scoff. "Don''t jest, dear husband. He clearly takes after me!"

    If her metaphorical child turned out like Atticus, she might fling herself from the castle walls. How could anyone deal with two of him?

    Even in this entirely hypothetical, unrealistic, nonsensical scenario, the child had to take after her.

    Atticus winked at the seller. "That''s what she thinks."

    The seller giggled. Oh, this couple was so humorous too!

    "The both of you are such a loving couple! I have just the thing for your newborn!" the seller excitedly dered. "I remember how my firstborn would howl through the night! Those were rough times. But don''t worry, they shall pass faster with this invention of mine: the Star Bloom!"

    She presented said invention with a dramatic flourish. Both Atticus and Daphne stared at her palms.

    It was a plush toy in the shape of a star. It was¡­ nice enough. Definitely nothing fancy, but there was evidently hard work put into making it.

    "You can touch it," she gestured to the toy. "It''s covered in spun wool so it''s the perfect softness for a baby!"

    Daphne stroked the toy with her fingers. It was soft to the touch, and she could easily imagine the tender hands of a baby or a toddler wrapped around it as they slept.

    It was an adorable thought; pity it would nevere true.

    "What else does it do?" Atticus asked curiously.

    Evidently, the seller was waiting for such a question, for she eagerly squeezed it. It easily changed shape with a crinkly sound, as though it was made of moldable y.

    "This will give your child hours of fun!" she imed. "It''s weighted inside, but not so much that it would be difficult for a baby to lift. The weight could help calm them down."

    Daphne squeezed it too, just to try it.

    To everyone''s surprise, the star toy began to glow and radiate a warmth, simr to the snug feeling one would get if one crawled underneath the covers on a cold winter day. It wasn''t burning hot, but in the cold of winter, this warmth was much appreciated.

    "It''s warm!" Daphne eximed in surprise. "How is this possible?"

    Atticus narrowed his eyes.

    He and the seller spoke at the same time, one curious and one petrified with fear.

    "Magic."

    "How?" She shot a bewildered nce at Atticus. Magic was purely supposed to be meant for royalty and nobility. How could a mere seller, amoner, get their hands on something like this?

    And there was no way it could''ve been Daphne''s handiwork. She had no magical abilities to speak of! How could she trigger a reaction just by touching it? But there was no denying that she had. After all, nothing happened when the seller had touched it, and judging by the way the seller looked like she was about to faint, she didn''t expect this either.

    "I''ll take this then," Atticus said, his eyes gleaming with pleasure. "I''m sure my wife and child will absolutely adore this magical toy." His voice held a hint of caution, almost like a predator stalking its prey. "How did youe by it? Enchanted items aren''t so easy toe by."

    "I¡­" The seller shook her head frantically. "Please don''t tell the king! His Majesty is awfully strict about magic practices. I don''t want to leave Vramid! I don''t know how this happened either¡­ I swear¡­ this has never happened before!"

    "Then answer my question," Atticus demanded, his tone hardening. "Where did thise from? What is inside this toy?"

    "They were just ordinary tiny pebbles!" the seller said frantically. "I was looking for something I could rece beans with as my family needed the beans more for soup. Someone suggested I try using gravel instead, so I tried to find some. But most of them were too rough for babies and I couldn''t risk it."

    "This one isn''t," Daphne prompted. "It feels perfectlyfortable. It''s incredible!"

    The seller smiled, but it looked more like a grimace.

    "You couldn''t havee across this by yourself," Atticus said, narrowing his eyes. "Someone gave this recement filling to you."

    The seller paled further. "I¡­ No, I¡­"

    A pointed look from Atticus sent a chilly frost into the seller''s heart.

    "Last chance," he warned.

    She sighed, worry evident on her face. "How¡­ how did you know?"

 Chapter 15: Stolen Identity

    <h4>Chapter 15: Stolen Identity</h4>

    "Tell me."

    "I¡­ there was a traveler that stopped by my farm," the seller started to say. "He helped us craft some of the more intricate toys in exchange for our sheep''s wool. When he heard about my problem, he offered to give me some of his own stones." She paused, hesitating. "He said he found them by the ocean, when the tide was gone."

    Atticus clenched his fist. Great.

    Someone had infiltrated his kingdom, possibly using his own helpless citizens to smuggle precious gems into his country. This seller would have simply created the toys, and then the rest of the smugglers would simply buy the toys from this woman, who didn''t know any better.

    No gems appeared with the tides, but how would his citizens know? Most of them have never seen the ocean. Vramid was surrounded by endless winter and what seemed like an infinite row of trees. It would be a miracle to even find moving water in a stream or river.

    And if one of Atticus''s men had discovered this scheme, this innocent seller''s head would have rolled. His kingdom didn''t support the illegal mining of gems.

    "Am I going to be imprisoned?" the woman asked softly, spotting the murderous look on Atticus'' face. This man was probably a constable, even a soldier. He was going to haul her to the king! The very thought made tears form in her eyes.

    "No, of course not," Daphne said, holding her hands. "You werepletely unaware."

    "I didn''t know," the woman repeated, just short of crying. "I really didn''t. You have to believe me!"

    "The pebbles inside this toy," Atticus said instead, changing the topic. "What were the colors? Do you remember?"

    "I¡­" The seller''s mouth gaped open and close, unsure what to say. "No, sir. It''s hard to tell since the stones were generally mixed. There''s a variety of colors in each toy."

    "How much is it?" Atticus asked. "For the toy, I mean. I''ll buy all of them you have on hand."

    "Please take them for free, if it means you wouldn''t report me to the king!" The seller reached for the rest of her stock, pulling out a dozen more simr-looking toys.

    "Nonsense." Clicking his tongue, Atticus reached for his pouch, pulling out a couple of gold coins. "You are running a business nheless, and you have a family to take care of. There''s no reason to report you if you''re an unknowing helper." cing eight gold coins in the stall vendor''s hands, he continued, "Will this be enough?"

    The woman''s eyes widened at the sight of the shiny golden coins that now sat in the center of her palm. She had never held so much money before! This could feed their family for a whole year, if she budgeted wisely.

    "It''s more than enough!" she eximed. "Thank you, sir, thank you. Thank you for sparing me."

    "In exchange," Atticus said, "I''ll need you to do something for me."

    The seller''s heart sank. She knew it wouldn''t be so easy to detach her name from magic once they have been rted.

    Nheless, she still bravely said, "What is it? If it''s something I can do, I will definitely help out in return for you and your wife''s generosity."

    "If the same man ever approaches you again, let me know," Atticus instructed. Reaching for the piece of paper and quill behind the counter, he scribbled down an address. "Address your letters to this location and name. It might be better for you to have someone you trust to go in your stead."

    The seller peered at the address written on the parchment, her eyes turning as wide as saucers.

    "T-This¡­" she stammered. Her hunch had been right. This man was indeed someone she shouldn''t mess with. "Of course, Sir Jonah. If Ie across any new information, I will let you know at once."

    They bid the frantic woman goodbye, and in their hands were bags full of her toys. To any casual festival goer, they looked like an ordinary couple who went overboard with shopping for their newborn, which was how Atticus wanted it to look.

    "Does Sir Jonah know you''re stealing his identity?" Daphne asked quietly after they were far enough from the stall vendor.

    Atticus shrugged. "What he doesn''t know won''t kill him."

    Daphne longed to take out the toys one by one to see if she could inspire a simr reaction, just to make sure she hadn''t been hallucinating the entire situation. Initially, she still wanted to take a look at the many other stalls, but the realization that she could have magical abilities drove all other thoughts from her mind.

    ''Please let it be true.'' She prayed desperately in her heart. If it was nothing but a mere fluke, it would be utterly devastating.

    Atticus was surprisingly silent. She cast a careful look, not liking the grimness in his eyes. He was so noisy throughout the trip that she wished he would keep quiet, but now that he wasn''t saying a word, the atmosphere was bing ufortable.

    "Do you want to go back to the castle?" Daphne asked unsurely, her voice barely above a murmur.

    "Hmm?" Atticus turned to look at her as if snapped out of a trance. "Oh, no, of course not, sunshine. We''ve barely just begun."

    "You just seem very¡­," Daphne hesitated, "out of it. Don''t you have to deal with what just happened?"

    "Of course I do," Atticus answered. "But it''s not that urgent that I would have to sacrifice time with my new wife." His signature cocky grin slipped back onto his face. "Unless, of course, my beloved is rushing back so that we can continue our quality time spent in the bedroom?"

    Daphne scowled. She should''ve known better than to worry about a prick like that. Atticus was a fully grown adult, much more a king. He could take care of himself plenty.

    "I take back what I said." She scowled, folding her arms across her chest. "If I''m finally out here, I might as well make full use of the time. Maybe all the walking could even tire you out."

    "I know something else that could tire us both out," Atticus immediately glibly insinuated, wiggling his eyebrows. "And it would be an activity both of us would enjoy. Tell me, my dear wife, would we have a dozen kids to make full use of the toys we just bought?"

    Instantly, Daphne''s face burned red at his words. She sneered at him, eyebrows furrowed and lips pinched into a straight line. If only her little disy of magic just now hadn''t been a fluke. She would very much enjoy burning this man down to his bare bones.

    "Over my dead body!"

    "I''m not exactly into necrophilia, but I''ll make an exception for you," Atticusmented, pretending to be deep in thought. "But I must say, you have an incredible variety of interests in bed. First strangtion, now necrophilia¡­"

    The audacity of this man!

    Daphne screamed into her hands. She wanted to hit him so bad her body was practically steaming with repressed need. There had to be something she could use¡­something on hand¡­

    "That''s a rather distasteful thing, especially for a princess, don''t you think?" Atticus continued, loving how his wife was turning a fetching shade of red. She took deep gulping breaths and crouched down, as though she suddenly lost strength in her limbs.

    "Sunshine?" Atticus asked warily, now slightly worried. His wife did identally discover possibletent magic in her, who knows what effect it might have on her body? There were hardly any studies in this field.

    "Are you alright? Do we need to go¨D"

    He was met with a snowball to the face.

 Chapter 16: Traitorous Mind

    <h4>Chapter 16: Traitorous Mind</h4>

    Atticus spluttered as he coughed out a mouthful of snow, only for Daphne to grab another handful and shove it down his shirt. The cold caused him to let out an undignified shriek; he immediately channeled his powers through the sunstone in his pocket, suffusing his body with a warmth that melted the offending snow.

    He bared his teeth, ready for battle. Even if the opponent was his wife, he wasn''t going to show her any mercy!

    But when he was about to strike, he was struck dumb by the sound of herughter. His wife, who had scowled and grumbled and snarled at him in no small measure ever since she had arrived at Vramid, had her face tilted to the sky as sheughed uproariously. She was practically wheezing withughter.

    He stilled his hand, all of a sudden captivated as though he was stuck in a trance.

    She looked enchantingly lovely, her cheeks flushed with exertion, her breath escaping her mouth in puffs as she gasped andughed. All this while, Atticus had viewed her as part of his project, a means to an end. She wasn''t really as much a person as she was a tool. Just like the stones they wielded, she was beautiful but that was just about it.

    Yet now¡­ Now he was utterly beguiled. How hadn''t he noticed before?

    Princess Daphne of Reaweth was always rumored to be beautiful. He hadn''t been surprised or disappointed when Atticus finally saw her in real life as well. But now¡­ every bit ofughter that escaped her lips sounded like the tinkling of wind chimes. Her smile was radiant and seemingly held the warmth of sunlight in it. And her eyes, when they weren''t ring him down with the heat of Hell, reminded Atticus of the swirling depths of the ocean¨D he was willing to drown in them forever.

    She bent down again and flung another handful of snow at him.

    Atticus blinked, snapping himself out of the strange stupor he found himself in. So what if his wife was beautiful and lovely, and when sheughed it felt like theing of spring in his heart? That wasn''t important, and it wouldn''t derail the ns he had for her.

    It couldn''t.

    He steeled his heart, and then scooped up the snow, using his powers to quickly, yet discreetly, shape it into a perfect snowball. Daphne may have gotten the better of him, but it was only because he was taken unawares. He was raised in the heavy snowfalls of Vramid, there was no way a sheltered princess from sunny Reaweth would defeat him in a snowball fight!

    He flung it straight at her. Now it was Daphne''s turn to scream as she ducked just in time, covering her head with her hands.

    "Sunshine, don''t start battles you can''t win," Atticus drawled out, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he prepared to fire his weapon at her.

    Daphne frantically gathered snow to gather into a ball, not liking the look in his eyes. She was going to suffer severe consequences for her audacity, but the first shot had already been fired. Since she was going to be punished either way, she might as well go down with a fight.

    "You''ll never get me alive!" she dered hotly as she simply flung what she had at him.

    Without magic, the snowballs that Daphne made in haste were anything but great. They were barely circr and really more oval than anything. Some snowballs were so fragile that they broke apart before even crossing the distance between them. The others were too densely packed and would''ve no doubt hurt if it had sessfully hit its target.

    Thankfully, Atticus had the unfair advantage of using his magic to tear through her ammo. If the snowballs actually made it to him, it would no doubt cause a bruise.

    "Are you getting tired already?" Atticusmented,ughing as he shot snowball after snowball in Daphne''s direction. He could see the puffs of white that escaped her lips with every breath. Her stamina was quickly running out. "You can always surrender, you know? Along with a nice apology since you did start this war."

    Daphne gritted her teeth, her buttons officially pushed. "Never!"

    Letting out a war cry, she did something her parents and the rest of her family would''ve keeled over if they saw her doing. Taking off at full speed, Daphne made a mad dash toward Atticus. She charged towards him, reaching out her hands to tackle him.

    At first, Atticus was confused about what his new wife was up to. Then, when he saw the look on her face ¨D one which resembled a berserk animal in an arena ¨D his eyes widened in horror.

    "Wait¡­ Sunshine¡­ No¨D"

    It was toote. By all means and reason, Daphne''s body weight and strength shouldn''t have been enough to tackle down the monstrous giant Atticus was, standing at 6''3. However, when the tuft of bright golden hair came charging towards him, he didn''t know what took over his body.

    The moment her hands wrapped around his torso, Atticus fell back with Daphne clinging onto him. Gravity brought them down to the ground while theyers of powdered snow cushioned their fall, though Atticus took the brunt of it.

    His hand held Daphne''s head securely, making sure she hadn''t hit anything on the way down. Or at least, nothing more than more snow shoveled in their faces due to the fall.

    "You are insane." Atticus hissed, wincing. Nothing badly hurt but it wasn''t exactly a pleasant feeling either to be sent sprawling onto the ground.

    "Desperate times call for desperate measures," Daphne grumbled.

    "Sunshine, there are better methods to win a fight," Atticus retorted. "For example¨D"

    He stopped short when Daphne looked up, finally lifting her gaze from his chest and back onto him. Their eyes met and for a second, Atticus forgot how to breathe. He hadn''t realized they were so close to one another. And at that moment, he was suddenly hyper-aware of everything¨D how their faces were inches apart, how his hand was on the back of her head and at her waist, how her palms were pressed against his chest.

    Atticus''s Adam''s apple rolled up and down. His heart felt like it stopped beating for a second there.

    "Like?" she asked, her voice suddenly softer and meeker than before.

    "Like¡­" he trailed off. His gaze lowered from her doe-like eyes down to her soft, pink lips before snapping back up to meet her gaze. "Like calling it a truce," he finally choked out. "You are freezing."

    In haste, Atticus climbed to his feet, pulling Daphne up along with him. Once they were standing properly, he repelled away from her as though she had caught the gue. He didn''t know why he was acting that way either, only that he knew he couldn''t be near her in that manner again. If not, who knew what would happen to his traitorous mind?

    "Let''s head back," he said. "You need to get warm."

    With that said, Atticus and Daphne started their journey back to the castle. Only this time, unlike when they were leaving the castle earlier, the journey back had more words unspoken than said.

 Chapter 17: First Things First

    <h4>Chapter 17: First Things First</h4>

    "Princess! You''ve returned safely!" Maisie wailed in relief when she saw Atticus and Daphne arrive back at the castle. She had been anxiously pacing a hole in the courtyard, waiting for the princess to return. When she had realized the princess had left for the Winter Fair, she had been beside herself with horror.

    The princess was dressed as a maid and had no money! The weather was cold and she had no cloak! What if she got conned by dishonest vendors? What if unrighteous men lusted after her beauty and took her captive? What if the princess never returned?

    The poor maid only calmed down slightly after knowing that King Atticus was with her.

    "You''re shivering!" She quickly wrapped a cloak around the princess, not liking the paleness of her skin and lips. When Maisie spotted the wet patches on her dress, she panicked. "Princess, what happened to you?"

    "Snowball fight," Daphne replied tiredly, her mind in a daze from the day''s events. She identally activated a magic crystal, started a snowball fight with Atticus, and tackled him into the snow. Now Atticus was treating her like she had the gue, refusing to talk to her or even look at her on the way back.

    This was even stranger than them finding out a toy seller had unknowingly sewn magic crystals in her toys.

    "Run a hot bath for the princess," Atticus ordered as he strode indoors.

    "What about you?" Daphne asked, not out of concern, but out of¡­ something. She had shoved him into the snowbank. He must have been freezing. She felt vaguely guilty.

    "I''m busy," Atticus curtly said, pointedly not looking at her as he strode up the stairs.

    Maisie blinked, before looking at Daphne as though she had the answers to her liege''s unlikely behavior. Daphne could only shrug. Perhaps Atticus was allergic to being tackled by women?

    Was he such a petty man that he didn''t like her after she caught him by surprise, even for something as trivial as a snowball fight?

    She sniffed. How small-minded.

    "Yes, Your Majesty!" Maisie bowed hurriedly. "Princess, this way! There''s an active firece here. Please wait while I prepare your bath."

    Daphne followed her, one eye on Atticus''s back.

    "So you''ve finally returned!" Sir Jonah had stormed down the corridor, hotly pointing at King Atticus who paused at the steps. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

    "Hi Jonah, how are you doing?" Atticus said ndly, but Daphne could detect the sheepish tone in his voice. "Lovely to see you, do you want some roasted meat¨D"

    "I''ll turn you into roasted meat!" Sir Jonah dered as he leaped up the stairs. Atticus, the fearsome king he was, simply flung the bag of children''s toys at Jonah, before turning tail and running up the stairs like his life depended on it.

    Sir Jonah caught the bag and was hot on his heels, yelling at him to stop.

    Daphne raised a curious eyebrow.

    "Sir Jonah was so mad with worry when he found out King Atticus didn''t tell him before sneaking out with you," Maisie whispered. "His face could curdle milk!"

    Daphne snickered and then sneezed. And then sneezed again.

    Darn it.

    ***

    "Jonah, if you behave like this, there''s going to be a lot of rumors about us," Atticus pointed out as Jonah finally cornered him in one of the castle''s empty rooms, mming the door behind him. "Why do I feel like a husband that got caught having an affair?"

    "Like I would ever marry someone that decides to leave the castle without even a simple note." Jonah scoffed, and Atticus winced.

    He knew he had forgotten something when he left the castle in a hurry. He was too focused on spending time at the fair, spying on his people, and teasing his new wife. The thought of her rosy puffed cheeks and her pouty lips unknowingly sent a grin onto Atticus''s face.

    "And look at you, smiling right now, as if it was something to be proud of!"

    The observation quickly wiped the smile off. Atticus''s expression straightened, his lips pursed guiltily as if he were a child whose hands were caught in the cookie jar.

    Jonah continued to rant, upset. "No note, no guards, nothing but only a horse and a princess dressed as a maid with you. Your Majesty, do you have memory loss? Or did the very recent assassination slip through your mind? Should I bring out the decapitated heads for you to jolt your memory? Maybe ssh some blood on the washed rugs?"

    "I handled that just fine, so honestly¨D" Atticus began, but Jonah was on a roll.

    "I''m not stopping you from having your fun. In fact, I think it''s a great idea if you wish to go out with the princess to endear yourself to her." Jonah sighed, pinching the skin between his eyebrows. "But for the love of God and heavens above couldn''t you let me know first? Especially after we had that talk about getting you guards! Were you not listening to me?!"

    "Yes I was, and I truly forgot about sending you a note," Atticus said meekly, trying to seem sorrier than he was.

    His mother had long passed away, but sometimes Jonah channeled her so well he wondered if it was her spirit possessing him. When he got like this, Atticus would just nod his head and admit his faults.

    "But don''t worry, my friend, you''ll be getting plenty of notes soon enough," Atticus continued, a glint returning to his eyes.

    "What do you mean?"

    Atticus then regaled him with everything that happened at the fair, from Daphne''s magical awakening to the toy seller''s story and how he gave her Jonah''s address. Jonah looked less than pleased, his face growing darker with every word that crossed Atticus'' lips.

    "What a headache," Jonahined as he looked into the bag he caught. "Not only do we have a smuggling ring on our hands, you gave her my address?"

    "Well, I wasn''t going to give her mine," Atticus said, shrugging. "I was in disguise! I can''t exactly say ''Please address your intel to the king at the royal pce''. She thinks I''m you. If she falls in love with you, do know it''s because of me. I was a perfect gentleman."

    "Nonsense! You probably ruined my reputation!" Jonah squawked. "Besides, ''I'' am now married with quite possibly a child on the way. Why would she be sending me love letters? And if she did, if I had reciprocated, wouldn''t that be the end of my reputation?"

    "Bah, that''s a problem forter. Right now, there''s something we''re missing," Atticus said."If you were a smuggler, why would you choose children''s toys?"

    "No one would expect it. We certainly didn''t." Jonah shrugged and pulled out a toy, wondering what Atticus meant. It didn''t react in his hands so he pulled out another.

    This time, the toy glowed a bright green¨D a tell-tale sign of earth element activation. Jonah hurriedly tamped down his aura, causing the toy to dim.

    "Fuck," Jonah cursed, his eyes widening.

    "Fuck indeed."

 Chapter 18: The Missing King

    <h4>Chapter 18: The Missing King</h4>

    "What are we going to do about these?" Jonah asked, staring cautiously at the bag of toys.

    From afar, they were harmless little toys. But with those crystals in them, there was no saying what could be done if itnded in the hands of someone more sinister than a child. While it was true only nobility had the ability to wield magic, there were also many abandoned children conceived from romps, some led astray.

    "Let''s see if that man returns for his stones," Atticus said, scratching his chin.

    "Alright." Jonah nodded. "I will also send a couple of men to look into this."

    "Be discreet. We can''t have it attract too much attention."

    Jonah scoffed. "Who do you take me for?" Crossing his arms, he continued, "With all due respect, my liege, I am not you. I know the necessary steps of precaution and will make sure to take them."

    "Oh, drop it, won''t you." Atticus yfully swatted the back of Jonah''s head, to which caused Jonah to scowl, rolling his eyes.

    "Not until you''ve learned to keep your word," he quipped. Then, he pointed to the children''s toys on the table. "What do we do with these, then? Should I have someone process it and leave it in the treasury?"

    The king''s eyes followed the direction Jonah pointed at, his line of sight falling on the toys. Immediately, the image of Daphne cradling the toy in her hands with a delighted smile lit up in his mind. Even the toy that had initially caught her attention had been added to the batch. In the end, it was all confiscated as part of an investigation.

    Yet, something itched in Atticus''s heart.

    "Actually, leave it," he said. "I¡­ I have some use for it."

    Jonah raised an eyebrow. "What use?"

    "Bugger off." Atticus scowled. "Why do I have to report back to you on everything? Am I the king or are you?"

    Jonah rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself then, Your Majesty."

    If it weren''t for the fact that Jonah had slipped out of the room and escaped quickly, he might''ve been met with a toy thrown right in his face. Instead, the ammo merely hit the door that closed just a tad second prior, shielding Jonah from the impact. Even through the wooden door, Atticus could hear Jonah''sughter from the other side, slowly softening as he walked away.

    ***

    It had been a total of five days since Daphne and Atticus had run off to the winter fair on their own. That also meant that it had been five days since Daphne had seen Atticus, much less spoken to him.

    Ever since he had gallivanted off into the sunset with Jonah hot on his heels when they returned, Daphne hadn''t even caught sight of the king''s shadow. Daphne had tried asking Maisie a couple of times where the king was but the maid could never give more than a clueless shrug.

    Oddly enough, the days were too silent for her liking. This was exactly how life was like for her back in Reaweth''s royal pce. And yet, thest couple of days were so eventful that it had already shattered the routine she had spent her entire life doing.

    Nheless, just because her life was quiet now didn''t mean that it was a bad thing. Theck of a significantly annoying husband also meant that she now had much more freedom to do what she wanted. Her time was now in her hands, not in the control of her captor.

    Time meant she could attempt her great escape once more.

    "If you need anything else, Your Highness, please let me know," Maisie said, scuttling to the door. She had just entered Daphne''s room to serve breakfast and was already running off. The poor girl hadn''t even the time to stay and chat anymore.

    "Are you busy with something?" Daphne asked, piercing her fork through a plump cherry tomato. It was wondrous how Vramid had such fresh fruits and vegetables even though thend was filled with evesting cold.

    "I apologize for having to rush off so soon. It''s not just me that''s busy these days," Maisie answered, sheepish. "The entire castle is currently preparing for the Winter Ball. It''s to be held in a couple of days'' time. It''s usually an event that is held alongside the fair; one for themon folk and one for the noble circle."

    Daphne''s eyes went wide.

    "A ball?" she echoed. "So soon?"

    "Did¡­ Did His Majesty not mention it?" Maisie asked. Her face then paled several shades. "Oh no¡­. Was I not supposed to say it?"

    The cogs in Daphne''s head started to turn. There was no better time to make an escape than when everyone was distracted by dancing and music. Atticus would be too busy entertaining his guests and the rest of the staff would all be bustling around the castle making sure everything went well.

    "I''m sure it''s fine, Maisie." Daphne waved the maid''s worry off with a smile. "I am his wife, after all. I would eventually know these things."

    "That''s true¡­" Maisie muttered under her breath. "Oh well, I best be off, Your Highness. Do let me know if you need me for anything."

    With that said, she hurried off, the door closing gently behind her.

    Daphne''s lips slowly curved into a smile once she was sure Maisie was gone. Poor thing. She was definitely way too naive for her own good. However, Daphne did not have the luxury to look out for others when she could barely care for herself.

    If she was to escape, she would need proper tools and a proper outfit.

    Jumping off her bed, Daphne trotted over to the wardrobe, pulling the doors open. There were a bunch of different gowns, all beautiful, vibrant, and way too extravagant to be discreet. Now, Daphne had two options. She could either dress up and attend the ball before eventually sneaking out, disguised as a member of the crowd. Or, she could return to her maid''s attire and leave through the back.

    She had been shown the way once. It wouldn''t be too hard to find the exit this time, aspared to thest. Furthermore, Atticus surely wouldn''t expect her to make use of the same method twice in a row, would he?

    With her decision made, Daphne pulled out the maid''s attire she had hidden behind the piles of dresses, admiring the in fabric.

    Freedom was just within reach now.

 Chapter 19: Depressing Regularity

    <h4>Chapter 19: Depressing Regrity</h4>

    In the days leading up to the ball, Daphne yed her part as the dutiful princess. It wasn''t hard to slip back into the skin of her past self, and it helped that somehow, every servant seemed to hold her opinion in high regard.

    If Daphne made an off-handment about the color of the tablecloths not suiting the ambiance, the tablecloths were changed without question. She didn''t even have this much power at home!

    Hence she grew very careful about using her words. Instead, she decided to ask Maisie more questions about the ball; who was invited, what food was served, how long would itst, and if she needed to prepare anything special to avoid shaming Atticus.

    Maisie was beside herself with happiness, pleased that the princess was taking an interest in her husband''s affairs. She eagerly answered all the questions to the best of her ability, all while getting Maisie to prepare a variety of jewelry for her to choose from.

    Meanwhile, Daphne plotted her escape with the details she had gathered.

    When the big day arrived, Daphne insisted on dressing alone. Maisie was too busy, anyway, and didn''t push further when Daphne had shooed her off.

    "I''ll be backter in the day to help youce up!" Maisie had said before rushing off, heaps and bounds of fabric in her hands.

    The moment Daphne was sure that Maisie was gone, she slipped out of her clothes and into the maid''s attire that she had kept hidden all this while. Having worn it once before, it wasn''t difficult for Daphne to quickly figure out the odds and ends. She quickly changed, this time, adding a in scarf to cover up her hair and shield her face.

    With the start of the ball soon approaching, the castle help were all busying back and forth, too preupied with their tasks at hand to care about a lone maid. To help her blend in, she tried her best to act like Maisie¨D a basket in hand with bundles of fabric in it.

    Huffing and puffing, Daphne was much smarter this time and her journey proceeded much smoother than previously. She easily and quickly located the stables, stealthily heading over to the horse she had picked beforehand.

    "Here¡­ here¡­ it''s me," Daphne murmured to Sable, feeding her an apple she had saved from earlier.

    Sable was the horse she had chosen to apany her. She was a sweet-tempered mare with a coat darker than midnight, but she had a white stripe running through her forehead. Daphne had adored her from the first time she visited the stables.

    The grooms were horrified at the thought of a princess potentially stepping in the muck of the stables, but she waved them off.

    When they left, Daphne hurriedly stowed away a tiny bag of jewels under the haystack, along with some clothes she could change into and food that wouldn''t go bad quickly. With the cold weather, they stayed in fairly good condition since she had left them there.

    Thankfully, Sable didn''t eat them either. They would help tide her over a good couple of days if not weeks.

    Quickly strapping in all that was needed, Daphne led Sable out of the stables and quickly climbed on. Her actions were fluid enough and she silently thanked the practice she had when she had run off to the fair with Atticus a few days back. That was a good warm-up.

    "Let''s go, Sable," Daphne quietly said, urging the horse to move.

    The horse neighed, following her heed. Yet, itsted not more than a couple of steps when it suddenly gave a violent shake. Daphne tried to hold on as best as she could, but every couple of steps, Sable would repeat her movements until eventually, Daphne''s hand slipped.

    She fell off the horse, a silent scream escaping her lips. Surprisingly, the fall wasn''t as painful as she thought it would be. However, a mouthful of sand definitely stuck onto her lips.

    "Oh,e on." Daphne hissed.

    She didn''t give up. Again and again, she climbed onto the horse. Again and again, Sable threw her down. Even though the impact ofnding didn''t hurt, it still wasn''tfortable tond on the same spot every couple of minutes. She had barely even left the castlepound when Daphne was thrown down for the sixth time in a row.

    "Now you''re just doing it on purpose," Daphne said through gritted teeth, fuming. The horse merely softly neighed in reply, its tail flicking. Even without saying a word, Daphne felt that Sable was mocking her.

    The princess took in a deep breath before she ced her hand on the saddle again, taking a moment to breathe before her next attempt in hoisting herself back on. Truthfully, the repeated action of climbing up the horse was starting to get tiring. Her movements had turned sluggish and she wasn''t sure how many times more she could repeat this.

    Yet, right before she had the chance to pull herself up, she felt her body turn weightless. She was lifted in the air like magic, her limbs moving on their own ord. Daphne''s eyes widened with surprise as her legs maneuvered themselves, along with her arms and her body, positioning so that she was now back on the horse in an upright position as if she had never fallen down in the first ce.

    Daphne''s eyes narrowed. She hadn''t missed the telltale glimpse of purple that had surrounded her for a brief second before fading away into nothingness.

    "Shit."

    "Shit indeed," came the familiar voice. "And that refers to what an utterly shitty escape artist you are, sunshine."

    Like a predator, Daphne caught sight of Atticus''s golden eyes first. They were like two orbs of sunlight, glowing in the dark. Then slowly, the silvery moonlight illuminated his face, slowly showing his features as he leisurely walked out of the shadows.

    Daphne''s body went rigid. She didn''t miss the sight of his lips, curved into a sinister grin.

    "Funny thing," Atticus said with a chuckle. "I keep seeing a certain blonde woman attempting to escape via horseback. Yet, the horse she picked didn''t seem to be too¡­ persuaded, causing her to fall off with depressing regrity. I wonder why."

 Chapter 20: A Piece of Junk

    <h4>Chapter 20: A Piece of Junk</h4>

    "Oh, piss off." Daphne scowled. There was no need to be polite to her captor, and besides, the frequent falls have made her testy. That smirk on his face was also nipping at her patience. "Do you have nothing to do all day but torment me?"

    "Why would I do anything else?" Atticus retorted. He shrugged. "Your escape attempts are a lot more entertaining than my minister''s ideas for the ball. Please, get back on the horse. I''m looking forward to more performances. Up you go, yip yip."

    And that infuriating man had the nerve to cross his arms, cocking his head expectantly after talking to her like she was a pet dog.

    "Come on, get back on! Sable is waiting!"

    Hearing her name, Sable turned to look at him and trotted over. Atticus broke into a handsome smile as he petted the horse, fishing out a slice of carrot from his pocket.

    "A my dearie, did this clumsy oaf hurt you when you threw her off? Poor baby, your back must be so tired from carrying her."

    Sable neighed, as though in agreement.

    "Excuse me? I hurt her?" Daphne cried out, giving the horse a betrayed look. "To think I''ve even fed you apples!"

    Sable blinked, the very picture of innocence as she continued to nuzzle Atticus, hopeful for more treats.

    "The loyalty of my subjects cannot be bought so easily. Sable is one of my favorite horses, of course she would listen to me over you."

    Daphne begrudgingly epted his point. She had only known Sable for a few days. At least King Atticus had good taste in horses.

    "Sunshine, now that I see it, you have two choices. Continue your desperate attempts to escape, or¡­ you cane with me as we try to figure out yourtent magical abilities."

    Daphne blinked, not believing her ears.

    "You¡­ you think I have magic?"

    "Sunshine, you''re all sorts of magical." Atticus drawled out as he looked at her intently. The look in his eyes was smoldering, with his gaze feeling like it could set fire to her skin wherever it touched, which she didn''t know was a good thing or not.

    Daphne pursed her lips. It sounded like he was making fun of her.

    "I was right next to you when the toy started glowing," Atticus borated dryly when he realized his wife wasn''t moving an inch. "It had to be magic, or we''re both suffering from joint hallucinations. Rare, but not impossible."

    "Fine. I get your point," Daphne said as she walked towards him. "How will you test me? I''ve been tested periodically through the years, but all of them gave the same result."

    "Reaweth doesn''t have a monopoly on magic," Atticus said, his eyes dark. Somehow, the air around him crackled, as though he was a lightning cloud ready to storm. "Whatever they can do, Vramid can do better."

    "That''s not true," Daphne said, feeling a need to defend her homnd. "Everyone knows harnessing gems as magical conduits originated from Reaweth. My ancestors were the original mages."

    Atticus straight up snorted at her words. "And I''m sure your family farts roses and shits out gold too."

    "You!" Daphne pointed an angry finger at him. "Don''t be disrespectful!"

    "My apologies." Atticus rolled his eyes. "I meant, your family''s farts smell fragrant and they can use their shit to pad their treasury, how''s that?"

    "Urghhh!" Daphne scowled. This man was incorrigible. "Just because you phrased it all prim and proper doesn''t mean it''s any better!"

    Her infuriation seemed to have delighted Atticus, for his lips curved into a smile.

    "How did they test you? If you don''t mind me asking."

    Now it was Daphne''s turn to roll her eyes. "You didn''t care much for permission all those other times," she grumbled under her breath. Yet, she still answered his question. "I was eight when they made me take the first test. And I failed."

    "Details, sunshine. How else am I supposed to help you?"

    "I was tested two years earlier than the norm because of my older brother," she continued. "My older brother apparently could manifest fireballs when he was just five. Thus, my parents had high hopes for me."

    "Ah, crown prince Alistair of Reaweth." Atticus clicked his tongue. "They continued testing you after, you said?"

    Daphne nodded. "I could''ve been ate bloomer." She shrugged. "But when my sisters were born and one by one, they, too, could use magic, it became obvious that I wasn''t going to start blooming anytime soon."

    It seemed like everyone in the family was a magical prodigy. Some could light a candle with a flick of their fingers as a toddler, others could conjure butterflies from mes with just a burp or a giggle.

    Daphne had never heard of any royalty that couldn''t manifest the barest hint of magical ability as an adult¨D then again, she hadn''t mingled with royalty from other kingdoms. No one wanted to speak to the poor, untalented princess who couldn''t conjure up a single element.

    "And they just gave up on you." It was a sentence, not a question. A dark look shed across Atticus''s face, almost as though he was angry. Though, Daphne wasn''t sure why. "And you just let them?"

    "It''s hard to think anything else when all you''ve been told in life is that you''re a failure," Daphne murmured. She took a deep breath, forcefully peeking up. "But I''m over it. I know now that my magical abilities will not define my worth. I''ll just have to find something else I''m good at and they''ll see me for more than that."

    "You don''t need their approval for anything you do in life, Daphne."

    Daphne''s gaze snapped towards Atticus sharply. That was the first time he had spoken her name with so much sincerity. She liked it, she decided. She liked the way her name rolled off his tongue so effortlessly, especially when he wasn''t speaking in a patronizing manner.

    "Of course," she said. For a moment, she had forgotten about her situation. He wasn''t her captor, she wasn''t his prisoner, and they weren''t kings or princesses from rivaling kingdoms. For a brief moment, Atticus was just someone that understood her. "Thank you."

    He smiled. This time, it wasn''t anything cunning or snarky. And that smile was so warm that it felt like a peck of sunshine.

    "I have another question, though."

    "What is it?"

    Atticus furrowed his eyebrows. "If you are inept at using magic, why were you wearing that pendant on your first day here? You were reaching for it like it would aid you in battle."

    "Oh! Oh." The mention of her ne was a rude reminder of how it was utterly destroyed on her first night here. "Right. The one that you conveniently shattered. It was a gift from my sister. She said it would help me harness my magic quicker and I could use it to channel whatevertent magic I might have in times of need."

    "What stone did you think it was, then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Clear quartz." Daphne furrowed her eyebrows. "They help to release and regte energy, right? Drusi said it would help."

    "It was a piece of junk," Atticus revealed. "No wonder you couldn''t do any bit of magic."

 Chapter 21: Do Me Up

    <h4>Chapter 21: Do Me Up</h4>

    Piece of junk¡­

    Daphne''s heart dropped as his words reverberated in her mind.

    "How could this be? You must be lying." Daphne shook her head furiously.

    "What reason do I have to lie to you?" Atticus pointed out. "If anything, I''d keep you powerless and ignorant. That''ll make it easier to control and imprison you."

    "Thank you for that consideration," Daphne replied, slightly appeased. "Could it be that clear quartz just wasn''t the right stone for me?"

    "Perhaps. I wouldn''t know. The pendant wasn''t made of clear quartz, to begin with."

    Daphne''s mouth fell open.

    "Sorry to tell you this, sunshine," Atticus said, looking slightly pitying at her. "You were slinging around that bit of ss like it was a prized possession. You would have done more damage waving a stick."

    "ss?" Daphne repeated dumbly. "Then my sister¡­"

    Her mind swirled at this new information. It would mean that Drusi had gotten her something useless on purpose.

    No, that couldn''t be.

    There was no way Drusi would have done this to her. They may be half-sisters but she had always been the sister closest to her, and whenever someone insulted Daphne''sck of magical aptitude, Drusi would immediately defend her, pointing out her other strengths.

    Drusi must have been taken advantage of by a swindler. Daphne nodded firmly to herself. Drusi and Maisie were a lot alike, and it was entirely possible that a con man sold Drusi a fake ne, iming that it would save Daphne''s life.

    "Someone really wanted you to remain useless," Atticus said. "Are you sure you can trust your sister?"

    "Nonsense, my sister would never harm me. She must have been hoodwinked. Don''t try to sour our rtionship!" Daphne dered imperiously, even as her mind scolded Drusi for not checking.

    Daphne was her sister. Why didn''t she care enough to make sure the ne worked?

    If the situation had been flipped, Daphne would have never given her a spoilt gift.

    Atticus raised his hands, a smirk on his face. "Hey, don''t shoot the messenger. As it stands, your sister gave you a useless ne, and your family never discovered yourtent magical ability, yet they made you feel like a failure for their mistakes. If I were you, I''d be furious."

    "I''m fine," Daphne said. "That''s not important. They''re my family. I can''t be angry at them. It''s fine."

    "Funnily enough, I''d think being family is all the more reason to be angrier." Atticus mused, a faraway look in his eyes. "Strangers don''t owe you a thing, but family does. They owed it to you to cherish you, to nurture you, to love you."

    Daphne sucked in a deep breath. His words struck a chord in her, and she had to blink back tears that formed in her eyes.

    She had never felt so seen, so acknowledged than at that moment¡­ and it had to be by a man who kidnapped her. Not her siblings, not her parents, not her fiance. What a travesty.

    "It''s fine," Daphne repeated, now sounding more choked up than before. She had to change the topic before she burst into tears in front of him. "Now, can you test me for magic? Oh wait, I have to fast for a day first. And cleanse myself¡­ Do you have ake?"

    Atticus stared at her nkly as though Daphne started neighing like Sable.

    "...I''m guessing Vramid does things differently," Daphne said, after an awkward pause.

    "Reawethens." Atticus rolled his eyes and grumbled. "What nonsense are theying up with now? Next thing you know, they''ll be making the next generation of kings walk naked through their capital."

    "It''s spiritual!" Daphne squawked. "You''re supposed to rid yourself of earthly attachments!"

    "It''s hogwash," Atticus retorted. "We''re testing for magic aptitude, not trying to fit you intost season''s ball gowns. Go and starve yourself if you want, but don''t me me if there''s no result."

    Daphne fell into sulky silence.

    Atticus was torn between the sudden urge to pinch those cheeks of hers or cuddle her until her frown vanished. No, that would be foolish. She was a prisoner, a chess piece. Not hispanion.

    "Alright. What should I do then? Walk out into the snow?" Daphne asked, curious as to what rituals Vramid had.

    "You have to find a bear, and wrestle it," Atticus said seriously.

    Daphne was just about to panic, but then she caught the tell-tale glint of mischief in his eyes.

    "Liar! If you don''t want to help me, don''t waste my time!" She smacked his arm, upset at how he was treating it like a joke. Her blow barelynded, but Atticus pretended to be grievously wounded. She stormed off, only for Atticus to chase after her and pull on her arm.

    "My apologies, sunshine. You make it too easy to tease you," Atticus said, and he actually sounded apologetic. "But there''s no set ritual in Vramid. I''ll just hand you certain stones found in the toys, and you''ll hold them."

    "That''s it?"

    "Well. The toys are in my office." Atticus gave her a roguish smirk. "If you can ept spending time alone with me in such an intimate setting¡­"

    "Let''s just go," Daphne said primly, excitement radiating through her. She was finally going to find out her true abilities!

    Atticus led her easily to his office, pushing the door open.

    There was not much light in there with the curtains down. Only a slight sliver of the setting sun''s light slipped into the room, illuminating whatever was on Atticus''s desk. Stones of all shapes and colors were scattered across his desk, freeform crystals that weren''t polished nor properly handled yet.

    The king smiled sheepishly. "Pardon the mess," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I''ve been a little busy."

    "Is this where you''ve been disappearing to?" Daphne looked around, walking towards the table.

    She picked up a random stone on the desk¨D aquamarine, she guessed. The beautiful pale blue looked just like the tides of the ocean. On her palm, the stone was cool to the touch. She couldn''t help but be entranced by it.

    "Maybe." Atticus''s reply was purposely vague. "That''s not the point."

    His long strides quickly brought him across the room. He gestured to the couch. Daphne''s line of sight trailed after where Atticus pointed, where she found a beautiful gownid over the couch''s backrest. The fabric was red, detailed with gold embroidery that almost shimmered even under the soft lighting.

    Daphne couldn''t help but gasp in awe.

    "Get dressed," Atticus instructed.

    "With you still here?" Daphne asked, eyeing him warily. There was a folding screen in the room, but it still made her uneasy.

    Atticus rolled his eyes. "Don''t tter yourself, sunshine. If I wanted you naked, I wouldn''t go through this much trouble."

    Daphne scowled, quickly picked up the dress, and walked over to the folding screen. It was soft and silky, and she couldn''t help but run an appreciative hand across the fabric, admiring how the light highlighted the gold embroidery.

    "Are you done?" Atticus asked, just because he knew it would annoy her.

    "Can you just wait?" Daphne retorted. Unknown to her, Atticus smirked at her peevish reply.

    Daphne hurriedly slipped out of her old outfit and stepped into the new dress. Yet, when she got to the corset, she stopped short. She couldn''t possiblyce it up on her own! But the only person avable was¡­

    "Uh¡­ Atticus?" Daphne reluctantly called out, peeking out from the screen. "I might require your assistance."

    Atticus, who was preupied with staring intensely at the box in his hand, jumped a little when he heard her voice. He snapped the box shut and shoved it into the drawer of his desk, clearing his throat. He then made his way over, frowning.

    "What is it?"

    "Could you call Maisie over?"

    "Why? I''m sure she''s busy." Atticus raised an eyebrow. "Is it that hard to put on a dress? "

    Daphne breathed deeply, reminding herself to be calm.

    "I need help with my dress," she said evenly, spinning around. She pulled her hair to the front, showing Atticus the looseces of her corset.

    "No offense, sunshine, but I don''t exactly trust your little maid yet." Atticus folded his arms across his chest. "I can''t let her into the room filled with possibly smuggled crystals that could be potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong people."

    Her face felt hot when she squeezed her next words out. "If you''re so confident about this, then you can help me do up myces."

 Chapter 22: A Gift

    <h4>Chapter 22: A Gift</h4>

    For a man of royalty, Atticus was a king that prided himself on maintaining a cool head on numerous asions. He had been in battles, fought wars, handled the court, and been through many other things that would''ve been the end of him if he had let himself slip.

    So, it was rather odd that it took as little as ady asking for help to cause his face to burn bright red like a beetroot.

    "Pardon?" Atticus asked. "You want me to do what?"

    "Do me up," she repeated. "Myces, I mean. I can''t properlyce my corset myself."

    Atticus swallowed heavily, his Adam''s apple bobbing up and down as he did so. Slowly, he edged closer toward Daphne before holding onto theces where she gestured to.

    "Most women can do this themselves," he muttered under his breath.

    "Yes," Daphne answered. "But I can''t get it as tight as I want it to be. Thus I need another person''s help."

    "Let me know if it''s too tight, then."

    He began pulling the strings, tugging at theces as Daphne gasped in surprise. He repeated the motion a couple of times, watching in awe as her waistline got smaller and smaller. All the while, Daphne did not make a single sound above a gasp or a muffled grunt.

    "Is that better?" he asked once he was done.

    "Thank you," Daphne said. She moved her hair back, and when she did, Atticus could smell the fragrance of flowers on her hair.

    She turned nearly just as quickly, and only when she had did Atticus realize how close they were standing to each other once again. When their gazes met, Atticus thought his feet had been nailed onto the floor and his heart had been whipped¨D it was racing like a horse running free.

    The memory of Daphne sprawled on top of him that day of their snowball fight resurfaced in Atticus''s mind. It was an odd sensation. His blood felt cold, as though someone had reced it with the chilly, near-frozen waters of Vramid''s rivers. Yet, his body felt likeva had been poured over his skin.

    "You''re wee," Atticus croaked out.

    He cleared his throat and mentally snapped himself out of the feverish state his body found himself in. It was as though she had ced an enchantment on him; his fingers still felt heated¨D as though he was a young boy that had burnt himself on candlelight.

    Daphne turned around, curious at the strange tone of his voice.

    "Are you alright? Will you be ready for the ball?"

    "Thanks for your concern," Atticus said, purposely batting his eyshes as he quickly stepped back. Teasing Daphne brought him back to familiar territory, something he desperately needed. "But this humble servant finds his fingers in excruciating pain. Will mydy be so kind as to kiss them better?"

    Daphne scowled, a red flush on her cheeks. She shouldn''t have wasted her concern on him!

    "Put those fingers near me and I''ll make sure you lose them!"

    "All good deeds remain unappreciated," Atticusmented dramatically, gesturing to the box. "To think I was going to give you this beautiful jewelry set I got for you for the ball¡­"

    "You were?" Daphne eyed the box warily.

    "You of little faith." Atticus popped the box open with a flourish, and Daphne couldn''t stop the breathless exhale that escaped her when she caught sight of its contents.

    Atticus wasn''t lying. In the boxid a pair of dangling earrings with an impressive ga crystal at each end, designed to look like a blooming rose. Daphne watched, captivated, as they flickered in the light, glowing like tiny fire embers.

    When she reluctantly tore her eyes away from them, she finally noticed the ne. If the earrings were lone stalks of roses, the ne was an entire flower garden. Surrounding the ga pendant were plenty of other crystals in various shades of red, the intricate golden chain weaving them together in perfect harmony.

    "You got this for me? Why?" Daphne asked, wonderingly.

    "You are my wife," Atticus said bluntly. "How could I let you face my court without any armor?"

    Daphne''s heart raced at the surprisingly considerate gesture. "I doubt your court is that terrifying. Nothing could be as terrifying as you."

    "You''ll see when you meet themter," Atticus promised. "Please keep these on you at all times."

    "...Why?"

    Ignoring Daphne''s previous threat, Atticus brought Daphne''s hands to his lips, cing a gentle kiss on the back of it. He tried his best to ignore the sensation of her bare skin against his, how soft, smooth, and fragile it was¨D she was.

    "For protection."

    Yes, protection. Against the questioning stares of the noble circle, against the calctive nces of the members of his court, and against the curious looks that would''ve been given by themon people if they had the luxury to meet their new queen in person.

    Atticus had many enemies. Much too many to count. And it would be good for Daphne to have a crystal she could use ¨D one that was actually working ¨D to protect herself if it ever came down to it.

    "And," Atticus added, "this shall be your first aptitude test."

    "Oh?" Daphne''s ears perked a little in curiosity. "To test my magic?"

    "Yes." He nodded. "May I?"

    Daphne smiled, wordlessly shifting her hair away and turning around to provide Atticus ess to the back of her neck. He picked up the ne from the box, carefully securing the ne around Daphne''s neck. When he was sping it shut, his fingers identally grazed against the back of her neck, causing her goosebumps to rise.

    She tried her best to refrain from shuddering instinctively.

    "You will be wearing this for the next few hours," Atticus said. "This will give us enough time to observe how your aura reacts with the stone. If ga works well with you, these will help you hone your magic."

    "And if it doesn''t?"

    Daphne turned around once Atticus was done, allowing her gaze to meet his. For a second, Atticus thought he spied fear in her irises. But as soon as it came, it was gone.

    "Then," he answered, his voice barely even above a murmur, "it will be a pretty piece of jewelry for a beautifuldy."

 Chapter 23: Here Comes the Queen

    <h4>Chapter 23: Here Comes the Queen</h4>

    The carriages began rolling in when the sun began to set, and Daphne watched with no small amount of interest at the difference in carriage designs. There was a sigil on top of each carriage, and they seemed to be based on animals. From her room, she could spot a hawk, a bear, and even a fox.

    How interesting. Reaweth had nothing like this.

    The sight of never-ending carriages lining the path did cause a pit to grow at the bottom of her stomach. These were Atticus'' people, and they would be her people soon enough.

    Everyone''s eyes would be on her. How was she supposed topose herself, when she spent most of her teenage years at the corner of every ballroom? What if Atticus'' nobles were just like him, ruthless and cunning and prone to mocking?

    How was she supposed to escape?

    "Are you alright?" Atticus asked.

    Startled, Daphne jumped a little, turning her head to look at him. Her hand was looped with his, resting on the crook of his elbow.

    "Of course," she replied. "Why wouldn''t I be?"

    "Because you''re about to be sent into the lion''s den," Atticus answered, a sparkle in his eye. A faint red crept onto his cheeks. "Well, at least you''re dressed for battle."

    Daphne''s hand reached up to touch her hair.

    Maisie hade into her room after she had returned, dressed. The maid basically sobbed and wept in apology for her tardiness before flying into action. Maisie had decided to braid her hair into an elegant, borate chignon, emphasizing the sparkle of her earrings, as well as the slenderness of her neck and the ne that adorned it. She had used red flowers to keep in the theme of the dress, insisting heavily that the king''s vision should be kept since he had taken the time to pick such a wonderful outfit for Daphne.

    "Let''s go."

    Her earrings chimed with every movement. She would have to remove them if she was to make her grand escape, in case someone would hear the noise they made. Judging by their craftsmanship, they would fetch her a tidy sum in the case of an emergency.

    If the earrings weren''t enough, she would have to sell the ne too. Her hand instinctively curled around the ga pendant, feeling a strange pang of loss. She had this ne for less than a day, yet she felt a strong kinship with it, as though it was giving her strength she didn''t know she needed.

    Daphne thought about the gentle way his fingers brushed her neck as he tried to fasten the ne for her. The very same bloodstained hands that had killed assassins without mercy. She shuddered.

    Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the grand doors of the ballroom, her arm linked in Atticus'' own. They swung open, and Daphne was momentarily blinded by the bright lights.

    "Introducing King Atticus Heinvres and his wife, Queen Daphne Molinero of Reaweth!" the herald announced.

    At that moment, the chattering nobles that had gathered in the ballroom, sipping their wine sses fell into immediate silence as they finally got a glimpse of their king''s chosen bride. Instinctively, Daphne''s grip tightened around Atticus''s.

    Daphne looked down and gulped. There was a long, twisting flight of stairs they had to walk down to the ballroom, and she felt her hands begin to sweat as she caught sight of the numerous judgemental gazes sent her way.

    She caught more than a few sneers directed at her, but she willed herself not to react.

    She had guessed that there would be plenty of people in attendance tonight but she hadn''t thought it would be this many.

    How was she supposed to escape like that?

    As if he had read her mind, Atticus leaned in and whispered, "Don''t even think about running, sunshine. Sable hadn''t been very cooperative earlier today and she most certainly wouldn''t be now."

    Daphne scoffed but otherwise didn''t say another word.

    The king led her down the stairs and into the middle of the dance floor. As they walked, the crowd parted for them like the red sea, a hushed murmur falling over them. Daphne could catch whispers from here and there, things that only added to her nerves.

    "Is that the new queen?"

    "I heard she isn''t able to use magic."

    "A royalty that can''t use magic? How weak."

    "She will be the fall of the king."

    Each additionalmentary only made Daphne''s heart thump even faster. She didn''t care much for whether or not she would be a good queen for Atticus ¨D she didn''t n to stay long, after all ¨D but she most certainly had an issue with them talking so brazenly about her when she was right there.

    What they said might be true but she was still a princess, and at that moment, their queen. How dare they?

    "What a disgrace," the woman nearest to Daphne scoffed. Herpanion nodded fervently in agreement.

    Daphne red hotly at the women. If looks could kill, they would''ve been dead.

    When their gazes met, the woman''s scowl deepened. She pursed her lips in disdain, trying to match Daphne''s re. But for a second, her eyes flitted to behind Daphne and immediately, her face paled several shades. Herpanion followed suit, both of them turning away to look at the floor instead in shame.

    She wasn''t stupid. Daphne knew that it must''ve been Atticus''s doing. And surely enough, she heard Atticus''s voice speaking lowly right by her ear, "Is someone bothering you, sunshine?"

    "Only a handful of flies, my dear. Nothing for you to worry about." The endearment rolled off her tongue easily. She hated calling Atticus that, but it was worth it to see the way the women''s faces fell in disappointment and fury.

    No one said she wasn''t capable of being petty.

    "My apologies for dirtying your eyes," Atticus said as he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "I''ll trim the guest lists in the future."

    The women''s faces fell even further, and they stalked off to the sides of the ballroom, upset. In their ce, several other couples took their spots in the ballroom.

    "Forgiven," Daphne said, her lips forming a small smile.

    The orchestra started to y.

    "Shall we dance?" King Atticus asked with an outstretched hand, a twinkle in his eyes.

 Chapter 24: Trouble Comes Knocking

    <h4>Chapter 24: Trouble Comes Knocking</h4>

    "My dear husband, I''m d you asked."

    Daphne ced her much smaller hand in his, willing herself not to flinch as he ced his other hand on her waist. There were countless eyes staring at her, waiting for her to make a mistake. She wouldn''t give them the satisfaction.

    Atticus took a step forward, and they were off. Daphne felt years of dance practice take over instinctively, as she matched his movements step for step, beat for beat, in unison to the melody of the violins. Her dress red out as she twirled.

    As they spun around the dance floor, the lights around them blurred like they were stars. She could fuzzily make out a few more couples joining them when the herald prompted. Slowly, more and more people joined them, surrounding Daphne and Atticus, who were dancing right in the middle.

    They were the star, the main attraction. And for once, it didn''t feel like too bad of a thing.

    Atticus was a great dancer. He moved with expertise, leading them into swirls, dips, and turns. And when the music came to an end, Daphne and Atticus were pressed up against each other. Smiles had unknowingly crept up both their faces, their foreheads slightly shiny with a thinyer of perspiration.

    "Quite a nimble dancer you are, Your Majesty," Daphne teased. There must''ve been something in the air for Daphne felt light, as though she was floating on cloud nine.

    "Not so bad yourself." He smiled.

    A wave of apuse surrounded them but for a brief moment, none of that mattered. Daphne was still riding the adrenaline from their dance, so when Atticus had offered a hand out to her to lead her to a corner, she didn''t hesitate and took it instantly.

    "Wait here," he instructed. "I''ll get us something to drink." When he saw the glint that shed in Daphne''s eyes, he added, "And see that?" Atticus pointed to something a distance from them.

    Daphne followed where he was pointing to, only to see two guards positioned right in front of the main door. As she looked around, it seemed clearer and clearer that every exit had been blocked off by Atticus''s men.

    "Don''t waste your breath, sunshine," Atticus said. "Wait for me."

    The king quickly disappeared after, blocked by throngs of people that immediately rushed forward to socialize once they realized that the king and queen had momentarily separated. Daphne squinted at the women that had wormed their way to Atticus''s side. She might not be in love with that man but it didn''t mean that she enjoyed sharing.

    The fact that these women werefortable enough to attempt to seduce her husband in their pitiful attempts at ttery showed that they didn''t respect her or her authority. And to add salt to a wound, her husband seemed to be taking his own sweet time with the drinks.

    ''What a shame,'' Daphne thought. ''It would''ve been a good opportunity to escape.''

    "Might I interest Her Highness with a drink?" A voice spoke in a tone much higher than Atticus''s voice.

    Daphne spun around, rmed. When she came face to face with a dashing young man, her eyebrows furrowed. Wrinkles appeared on her forehead as she frowned, taking a step back to create some distance between herself and the mysterious man.

    "It depends," she said. "Who''s offering?"

    The man smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth.

    "Apologies, Your Highness," he said, cing a hand over the left side of his chest where his heart should be, dipping into a bow. "Eugene Attonson, at your service."

    "Lord Attonson," Daphne greeted. "Happy to make your acquaintance."

    She didn''t recognize the face but the name, at least, Daphne had heard of even back in Reaweth. The disabled son of the viscount family, the boy that climbed to the top of thedder only because of his older brother''s untimely death.

    It was hard to forget such a name when all that the maids spoke about were of his rumors. Many gossiped about how it was Eugene that murdered his brother due to jealousy and ambition. However, no one ever found out the truth since the man was hidden well in Vramid, and no one outside dared to enter needlessly.

    "Forgive me for intruding so carelessly but it seemed like His Majesty had left for a period of time," Eugene said. "It didn''t seem like he was returning anytime soon, so I took the liberty to bring something back for Your Highness."

    Daphne eyed Eugene, then the drink he held out in his hand. He had another identical cup, both filled with what seemed like wine.

    The smile he wore on his face seemed genuine enough, but Daphne knew that it was just a basic skill to have when in the ranks of nobility. All smiles had to look sincere, all words had to be polite. However, not everyone would have good intentions.

    Daphne took the ss.

    "Thank you for the kind thought, Lord Attonson."

    She didn''t drink from it, though. And Daphne didn''t miss the way the viscount''s eyes had flickered to look at her drink for a fraction of a second. A sinking feeling weighed down in her stomach.

    Where was Atticus when she needed him?

    "The drink isn''t poisoned, if that''s what you''re wondering," Eugene said with a slight chuckle.

    Her wariness had been obvious and Daphne wasn''t surprised that he noticed it. She was, however, shocked that he had voiced out his thoughts. That was what piqued her interest.

    "Lord Attonson, you''re surely not what I expected you''ll be like," she slowly said.

    This time, it was his turn to look surprised. "Because I am not Edward Attonson?"

    "No," Daphne answered immediately. "Because you''re much bolder than what the rumors made you out to be."

    Eugene smirked. "Correct me if I am wrong, my queen, but the rumors state that I am a murderer that spilled my own blood just to get a mere title." There was something dark hidden in his expression but it came and went so quickly that Daphne thought she had hallucinated it all. "Is that not bold enough?"

    "It most certainly pales inparison to the disrespect you''re showing," a new voice added.

    A hand came to rest on Daphne''s shoulder, her back pressed against someone else''s body. She didn''t need to turn back to know that her husband had finally decided to show up to her rescue, though she did anyway.

    He sure did take his damn own sweet time.

    A menacing glint flitted across Atticus''s eyes. Eugene was by no means a short nor small man but whenpared to Atticus, thetter seemed like a giant with his bulging muscles and intimidating height.

    "How dare you speak to my wife."

 Chapter 25: Poisoned Wine for a Poisonous Tongue

    <h4>Chapter 25: Poisoned Wine for a Poisonous Tongue</h4>

    "Greetings to the king," Eugene immediately greeted, bowing.

    Atticus barely inclined his head in response. He was behaving like a badly behaved guard.

    "Took you long enough." Daphne hissed under her breath. Her nose wrinkled in displeasure; she could smell the stench of other women on him. For some reason that upset her immensely.

    How dare hee back smelling like a perfume bottle?

    "Oh, you were waiting for me?" Atticus asked hopefully.

    Daphne responded by discreetly trodding on his toes, feeling vindictive pleasure in the way he tried not to wince.

    "I''m sorry, sunshine. I had to make sure to pick the most suitable wine for you," Atticus said, looking appropriately repentant. He grabbed the ss from Daphne''s hand and reced it with his own.

    Daphne wanted to warn him about the drink, but maybe he already knew. Atticus was many things, but he wasn''t an idiot. If he was one, her escape n would have worked the first time.

    Speaking of idiots, Daphne also wasn''t fooled by his acting, but at least she wasn''t cornered by Eugene.

    Atticus then shot Eugene a look so derisive, as though he was muck found at the bottom of his shoe.

    "I''m a jealous man, Lord Attonson. I don''t appreciate anyone getting drinks for my wife."

    "Jealousy is a vice, King Atticus," Eugene replied easily, but Daphne saw how his eyes darted from Atticus'' face, to the ring on his finger. Obsidian had never glinted so ominously.

    "Then let the gods judge me as they deem fit," Atticus said wryly, and before Daphne could react, he downed the entire ss of wine.

    "Atticus! Don''t do it! Spit it out!" Daphne shrieked in horror, and the entire ballroom fell into stunned silence as they turned to stare at them.

    The new queen was making a fuss, and the man next to her had such a muddied reputation it made convicted felons look like saints. Did Lord Eugene already offend Vramid''s royal couple? Or was the new queen already losing her mind?

    Regardless, it was a scandal waiting to happen. The crowd watched with bated breath.

    "What?" Atticus said, blinking innocently as Daphne tried not to hyperventte. "Sunshine, you have your own drink. I just gave it to you. Drink up, you''re looking quite red."

    Eugene chuckled darkly. "Your Highness, your wife thinks I''ve poisoned you. I must say, this does hurt a man''s feelings."

    Daphne spluttered frantically. "You¨D"

    Atticusughed, as if highly amused. "Would you rather she hurt your feelings, or for me to hurt you?"

    Eugeneughed warily with a light bow. "I''ll ept whatever decision you deem worthy."

    "Wise man," Atticus said cheerily, but the hard glint in his eyes didn''t vanish. "Stop monopolizing my wife with your inane conversation and scram."

    Anger briefly shed through Eugene''s eyes as he was ordered to leave, as though he was a mere servant. Daphne internally shuddered at the look. She wouldn''t put it past him to take revenge at ater date.

    However Eugene Attonson said nothing. He merely gave onest reluctant bow before stalking off, presumably to harass other youngdies.

    Daphne breathed a sigh of relief at his retreating back, watching Atticus from the corner of her eyes.

    "That was rude of you. Are you not worried he''ll see revenge for this slight?"

    "He''ll have to get in line. I have so many enemies that''ll fight him for the honor of decapitating me," Atticus said matter-of-factly, before turning to give Daphne a careful once-over. "Did he say or do anything to you?"

    Then returned that careless smirk.

    "If he did, nothing will stop me from throwing him into the dungeons," he promised.

    Daphne gave him an incredulous look. "I''m not the one that drank the wine he offered! It could have been spiked! Or poisoned!"

    Her new husband, instead of being appalled or worried at her usation, beamed even brighter. Daphne had to wonder if he had been dropped on the head as a baby.

    "You were worried about me? How sweet, sunshine. I''m d to know you care so much about my well-being."

    "I do not care about you," Daphne retorted defensively. "I''m just shocked that my new husband has so little self-preservation that he would drink poisoned wine. Perhaps if the heavens are kind, I''ll be a widow by next week."

    "Yet again, you demonstrate yourck of faith in me. I would be hurt, if I didn''t find it incredibly charming."

    Daphne snorted in disbelief. "So charming that you took an astonishingly long time to get a single ss of wine? You didn''t even get me a single crumpet or scone to go along with it."

    Atticus shot her a teasing grin, a hand idly stroking the small of her back. "So you were watching me. Were you jealous that this handsome husband of yours has women swarming all over him like bees to honey?"

    Daphne spluttered, her face red. Jealous? Only in his wildest dreams. To spare herself the indignity of a reply, she all but drank her wine like it was water.

    "Sunshine, have I driven you to alcoholism?" Atticus asked, watching her with mild rm.

    "Be thankful you haven''t driven me to murder," Daphne replied primly, ''identally'' stomping on his foot.

    He winced, but then that disturbingly happy grin refused to leave his face. It made plenty of women titter behind their hands, snatching covetous nces at him and disdainful looks at Daphne.

    King Atticus had always been a handsome man, but when he smiled, he was breath-taking. It was such a shame that he had to be saddled with such a talentless princess! Such were the thoughts the women had, even among those who were already married.

    "I hate her, I hate her so much!" From the corner of the room came a bitter whisper.

    It was Lady Veronica, the youngest daughter of Earl Yarrowood. She had been beside herself with glee to be invited to the ball, yet that woman caused her to make a negative impression in front of King Atticus!

    It wasn''t like she was lying. Princess Daphne of Reaweth couldn''t do magic. What right did she have to act pitiful in front of the King and insult them afterwards?

    "She doesn''t deserve him! Look at her¨D she still dares to stomp on his foot!" Veronica scowled, stomping her own foot in anger.

    "So ill-bred. Was she raised in a barn?" Her bosom friend, Lady Penelope, daughter of Baron Huntington, added in agreement. They watched as King Atticus led the Reaweth princess in yet another series of dances, and nearly went blind with jealousy. "Look at how she doesn''t even smile when he''s paying her so much attention. Who does she think she is?"

    "Then why don''t you teach her a lesson?"

 Chapter 26: Cordelia

    <h4>Chapter 26: Cordelia</h4>

    "Then why don''t you teach her a lesson?"

    At these words, Veronica and Penelope nearly jumped in surprise. They didn''t expect an eavesdropper, let alone one as aplished as Marchioness Francessa Seibert. Before she got married, she was Earl Rindwald''s daughter. It was an open secret that she was one of the prime candidates for Atticus''s wife, since her father was among the first people to support his bid for the crown.

    She had definitely tried her fair share of buttering Atticus up but the king was as cold as the kingdom''s winters. For a woman who had a heart of ice, it was impossible for her to melt down his defenses.

    Atticus had refused to take her as a wife, so she married Marquis Seibert instead. It didn''t miss their notice that Marquis Seibert wasn''t at the ball.

    "Mydy!" They both bowed hurriedly.

    Veronica and Penelope were just small fry whenpared to someone like the Marchioness. Thedy was someone they looked up to, a name that they were familiar with. Even though every woman strived to be the queen of Vramid, there was just one woman they wouldn''t mind losing to¨D Francessa.

    She would''ve been the perfect queen. There was no other among their age group that was more fitting for the title, and most certainly not the trojan horse of a princess Reaweth had sent in a marriage of alliance.

    "Good evening,dies." Francessa smiled with all the goodliness of a saint. However, if only the women looked closer, they would''ve noticed that her expression was about as dark as any and everything that was rotten and soiled.

    "Good evening," Penelope fairly greeted back.

    "Mydy, what did you mean by¡­?" Veronica trailed off, waiting for Francessa to continue.

    "You heard me." Francessa''s smile maintained, ever beautiful like a porcin doll despite speaking words that were filled with poison. "She''s still an outsider, isn''t she? And if it was a marriage of alliance, she might not even have the king''s backing."

    "His Majesty defended her just now¡­"

    "Only because everyone is watching," Francessa smoothly answered. "If there weren''t anyone watching, why would he defend a wife he didn''t even want?"

    At her words, the other two women looked at each other and smiled.

    ***

    Daphne caught the look of displeasure on Atticus''s face when he yet again caught her wandering off on her own. That made it the fourth time that night she had disappeared from his sight, and the fourth time he had caught her.

    It wasn''t that she was actively trying to escape but it was getting boring standing around faking smiles for people she didn''t know that well.

    "And where are you trying to run off to this time?" Atticus sternly asked, frowning deeply. He caught her by her elbow, gently but firmly holding her in ce, preventing her from running off further.

    Daphne matched his expression. "Apologies, Your Majesty," she stressed his title sarcastically, "but corsets and high heels aren''t exactly the mostfortable things to wear. Especially when I am famished and exhausted."

    "Such a pampered princess." Atticus clicked his tongue. "Let me escort you¨D"

    "Your Majesty!" A distant voice caught both their attention, cutting Atticus''s sentence short as they whirled around in the source of the voice.

    There, Daphne caught sight of anky-looking man dressed in a suit that looked way too big for him. Beside him was a beautiful woman with long pastel blue hair, curled neatly in waves. Her dress was a matching color, slightly darker in tone. Thebination created a beguiling contrast when paired with her tanned skin tone.

    Daphne wrinkled her nose. She hadn''t a clue who those people were but judging by their appearances, they didn''t look like they were mere nobility. For one thing, that woman had plenty of jewelry stacked on her delicate arms, the most jarring of them all was the sapphire-studded bangle she wore on her wrist.

    Someone of high rank, she assumed. There were very few that could afford jewelry like that, not to mention so many.

    "Your Majesty," the man repeated, "my humblest greetings." He bowed low, extravagant, holding a hand to his chest and the other spread out.

    Atticus''s eyesnded on the blue jewelry decked on both their bodies, quickly guessing their identities.

    "Lord Castillo," Atticus nodded. His gaze then turned to the woman. "And you must be Princess Cordelia. Happy to see that you both could join us on this momentous asion."

    Princess Cordelia. Cordelia Aberforth of Nedour, Daphne assumed. It was a coastal kingdom that was far away from both Reaweth and Vramid. While Daphne knew that Vramid and Nedour had trade partnerships, their rtions weren''t good enough for the crown princess herself to show up at a mere ball all the way across the continent.

    "Yes, congrattions to Your Majesty¨D" Lord Castillo cut himself short, sharply turning his gaze to eye Daphne up and down before continuing, "Your Majesties," he corrected. "As Vramid''s biggest trade partner, His Majesty King Marinus thought it was only respectful to attend. s, His Majesty''s hands are a little tied at the moment and thus he sent the crown princess in his stead."

    Princess Cordelia surely did not disappoint. The woman stepped forward a little, a beautiful smile on her face. When she moved, so did her hair. The silky strands slipped off her shoulders, revealing her bosom. Her low-cut dress left little to the imagination.

    "Greetings, Your Majesty." She curtsied, purposely dipping lower than what was needed. Daphne could fully well look into the cleavage of her dress without even intending to.

    Daphne snorted. She had an inkling on what this princess was here to do and behold, thetter had indeed proved Daphne right.

    "Has the kingdom of Nedour fallen so low that their princess has to act like a harlot?" Daphne asked inquisitively, purposely taking a slow long nce at the deep cut of Cordelia''s dress, where her sadly unimpressive cleavage was attempting to make an impression.

    Cordelia''s face purpled to match her dress.

    "I''ll forgive you for your ignorant words, Princess Daphne." Cordelia shrugged delicately, rising to her full height. "It''s not your fault you never left your country''s borders until today. The world is vast, and the world of fashion is even more so."

    Daphne scoffed.

    "Ah, but it''s impolite of me to bring out your defects, isn''t it?" Cordelia let out a tinklingugh, mockery in every syble. "When you have no magical affinity, even a priceless ne on you is worth nothing."

    Daphne clutched at the ga, not liking the covetous way Cordelia was looking at it. First her husband, now her jewels. This woman was a menace.

    "That''s not how you activate magic affinity." Cordelia tutted, a wicked glint in her eye. "I''ll show you what power is."

    And Cordelia flicked her wrists, and the sapphire bangle began to glow.

 Chapter 27: Youâ€™re Not Too Important

    <h4>Chapter 27: You¡¯re Not Too Important</h4>

    Daphne flinched instinctively, expecting a blow to the face, but nothing happened.

    "I don''t think you see¨D" Daphne''s voice trailed off as a strange feeling began to creep up on her. It was as though she was getting soaked in seawater, and every part of her, from her heels to her stockings to her undergarments were wet.

    "Do you really think I would aim straight at you, in full view of everyone? Princess Daphne, perhaps that might be your style, but don''t lump me in with the lights of you," Cordelia murmured as she grabbed her hand, a mockery of a handhold between close friends.

    Daphne felt the chill spread through her body.

    "I hope you enjoy drowning on drynd," Cordelia whispered, her eyes manic with glee. "I''ve been told it''s an experience."

    Daphne was about to let loose the string of expletives that had already made their way to her lips, but they were stamped down by a gentle warmth that suddenly seeped through her clothing. As soon as they had gotten drenched, they were dry once more.

    She instantly turned to look at her husband, who hadn''t met her eye. However, the subtle orange glow of the sunstone in his pocket told her that it had to be his handiwork.

    "Princess Cordelia," he gently called out, though his expression was everything but gentle, "do remember that while you are a guest here tonight, we are also celebrating the coronation of my queen. She isn''t just the princess of Reaweth any longer but the rightful queen of Vramid."

    Cordelia''s face looked as though she had just chewed on a lemon peel, but her words were ever courteous. "Of course, King Atticus."

    Sensing tensions rising, Lord Castillo immediately stepped in. "King Atticus, may we upy a moment of your time?" He cast a not-very-subtle nce in Daphne''s direction. "It''s regarding the issue that''s currently in discussions between Vramid and Nedour."

    Whatever it was, Atticus didn''t divulge. Instead, he pursed his lips, turning to Daphne.

    "I''ll get Jonah to escort you back," he said. "Don''t go running out on your own."

    "I am not a child." Daphne scowled, her voice low, careful not to let the Nedour princess overhear.

    "Be good." Atticus''s hand cupped her cheek, his thumb gently running over her skin. His hand was warm but his next words sent a chill up Daphne''s spine. "Even if you run, no matter where you go, I''ll find you."

    Before Daphne could retort, he strode off, with Lord Castillo and Princess Cordelia trailing after him like puppies after their master.

    Princess Cordelia had the nerve to turn back to give Daphne onest smirk of victory. The action was slight but Daphne definitely caught it. Her eyelid twitched in irritation, just itching to go over and hand her a piece of her mind.

    Sure, Daphne wasn''t at all familiar with magic, but she was pretty nifty with a sword if it meant she could cut up people like Cordelia into pieces. If she couldn''t get her hands on a sword, she didn''t mind using her fists either.

    She would love to see Cordelia use her magic when she pulled out all her hair. Just the very thought made her smile, and Daphne busied herself by imagining how she would pay Cordelia back for her insults as she waited for Jonah toe get her.

    However, minutes went by and there wasn''t a sign of the king''s closest aide. Daphne was just about to give up waiting when someone spoke up, catching her attention.

    "Princess Daphne, what a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance."

    Daphne turned only to see two young noblewomen in front of her. One had dark hair and a certain wildness in her blue eyes, while the other had red hair and a freckled face.

    Their jewels and dresses were fine enough to Daphne''s trained eyes, but they thankfully did not signify the presence of royalty. One Princess Cordelia was more than enough for her to deal with.

    "A pleasure. May I have your names?" Daphne asked politely.

    "I''m Veronica Yarrowood." The dark haired woman curtseyed.

    "And I''m Penelope Huntington." The red haired woman curtseyed.

    Daphne merely nodded. She didn''t know enough about Vramid nobility to ce their ranks, and Atticus, her beloved moronic husband, hadn''t bothered to teach her.

    "...Do you know who we are?" Veronica asked cautiously, as though not believingly her ears.

    "My apologies. I have no idea. I am unfamiliar with Vramid nobility," Daphne honestly replied. Veronica suddenly looked like she sucked on a lemon.

    "It''s alright," Penelope said, clutching at her friend''s arm, giving her a warning stare. "This must be very new to you. I''m sure you must have had a hard time learning."

    "In more ways than one," Veronica added waspishly, now giving Daphne a disparaging look. "How can you not know anything about the kingdom you''re marrying into? What do you do all day?"

    "Nonnie!" Penelope scolded, aghast. "You can''t say that!"

    Meanwhile Daphne hastily stifled a snort. They were troublemakers, but at least they were blunt about it. She''d take outright confrontation over Cordelia''s fake sympathy any day. And she was still feeling pretty rankled over Cordelia''s insults¡­

    "You thought so too, Penny!" Veronica retorted, and then she red at Daphne. "So, not only do you know no magic, you also have no knowledge of our kingdom, and you''re not even pretty enough to make up for these ws¡­ How did someone like you be his bride? Did your father beg for him to take you?"

    "Believe me, I ask myself that every day," Daphne replied dryly, before adding. "And my husband does tell me about people important to him. I guess both of you are simply not important enough to be mentioned by my husband''s own mouth."

    Penelope''s jaw dropped a little but she recovered quickly, albeit still stunned speechless.

    Daphne continued, "And if you care so much for my husband, you''re wee to have him. Remember to feed him three times a day and take him out for walks. "

    Veronica got even angrier at her words. Her face was practically steaming. Next to her, her friend looked appalled at the words from Daphne''s lips.

    "That''s disrespectful of you," Penelope said, her eyes glinting with anger. "King Atticus is the best man Vramid has to offer, and he has offered you his love and protection. If he wasn''t there, you would have died at the hands of Princess Cordelia. How could you say this? Treat him like a burden?"

    Next to her, Veronica looked fit to burst. She dered hotly, attracting the attention of the ballroom, "If you have no skill in magic, then you should at least study to make up for it! He honored you with multiple dances, and you repaid that honor by stomping on his feet. So you have no grace, no magic, no brains¡­ his regard is wasted on you!"

 Chapter 28: Favorite Man

    <h4>Chapter 28: Favorite Man</h4>

    "Then tell him that, if you have the guts to." Daphne shrugged nonchntly. "If not, as your new queen, I can have you punished even without my husband''s presence."

    It didn''t escape her notice that these two women only confronted her when Atticus was gone from the ballroom. Compared to Cordelia who dared to threaten her right in front of Atticus, they were practically infants.

    "Are you sure about that?" Veronica asked challengingly, even as she cast a quick look around the ballroom for the King.

    Daphne snorted quietly, and Veronica whirled back to point an offending finger at her.

    "You''re the outsider who knows nothing about ournd or our customs. You might be a queen, but that isn''t worth much if you don''t provide him with a son."

    "Veronica, that''s enough," Penelope chided gently, but there was a mean glint in her eyes that Daphne didn''t trust. She was proven right when that girl continued, "King Atticus may not want children with her, due to her¡­ deficiencies. He has the kingdom to think about."

    "You''re right, Penny. After all, it''s not as though his queen is doing any thinking." Veronica sniffed haughtily. "If I were him, I wouldn''t want to risk my child being useless because of his mother."

    A muscle twitched in Daphne''s jaw. These women were getting toofortable with insulting her right to her face. Even if they made valid points about her not studying more about Vramid, she could hardly be faulted for that misstep.

    She didn''t expect to be kidnapped and crowned, after all!

    "Lady Veronica seems particrly wise on the topic of useless children," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow. "But then again, you are one."

    "You¨D"

    "I don''t need to know your rank to know that you are behaving deplorably in the presence of royalty." Daphne shifted, pulling herself to her full height as she stared down these two women.

    "He doesn''t even love you." Veronica seethed, attempting to grasp at anything she could to prod at Daphne''s sore spots.

    Daphne tilted her head and blinked with mock innocence. "He doesn''t love you either."

    Veronica''s face instantly turned redder than beetroot. She took a step forward, only to get held back by her friend. Penelope was equally as mad, but it was nice to see at least one of the two had a brain still.

    If these women tried anything like that stuck-up Nedish princess from before did, Daphne wouldn''t shy away from throwing in a few hits of her own. These women weren''t royalty and didn''t seem to have much political power. The mess should be easy enough to clean up.

    Seeing them momentarily shut-up, Daphne smiled coldly.

    She said, "Even if I wasn''t married to King Atticus, I would still be a princess in my own right. To be so ill-mannered in the face of foreign dignitaries is disgraceful. Nothing has destroyed the reputation of Vramid''s nobility faster than the both of you baying like goats."

    Both their mouths fell open in unison, but Daphne wasn''t finished.

    "I''m sure King Atticus would love to hear about your behavior. Perhaps he would find it endearing to know how two of his citizens managed to ruin Vramid''s diplomatic ties with Reaweth while he was still busy working on the night of his ball."

    Daphne smiled, but it didn''t reach her eyes. It was satisfying to watch them gulp with fear as they slowly realized a simple truth.

    "And I would like to see," she continued to say, "if he would stand on the side of two random women that are evidently of no use to his kingdom or if he would be on the side of his wife."

    Daphne was a princess that didn''t have magic.

    But even so, Daphne was still a princess. Not a scullery maid they could kick around at their whim. Even at her most powerless, she was still more highly ranked than them.

    "Well-said, Your Highness. My apologies for the slight dy. There were certain issues I had to take care of," Jonah interrupted, bowing apologetically.

    His sudden appearance caught the attention of all threedies.

    The leader of the royal guards was dressed in something out of the usual. Finally out of his uniform, Jonah was in a white suit, his light blue waistcoat serving as a nice contrast underneath, paired with silver cufflinks. His color scheme was theplete opposite of Atticus''s, Daphne noticed, with thetter in ck, red, and gold.

    It was a fresh look, something that quite suited Jonah, though she was more used to seeing him in his usual uniform. Nevertheless, Jonah still had his hair let loose as usual, his golden strands tousled yet somehow still neat.

    Daphne couldn''t help but smile. Jonah really reminded her of a golden retriever puppy.

    "And look who finally showed up," Daphne said, pretending to be mad. For a moment, she hadpletely forgotten about the existence of the two annoying women with her.

    Jonah expertly bnced a te of crumpets and lemon cakes in front of her, to which Daphne''s eyes glistened at the sight of.

    He said, "I noticed you hadn''t eaten, so I took the liberty of taking some food for you."

    "Since you''ve brought me sustenance, you''re forgiven," Daphne gleefully dered, eagerly dipping a crumpet in honey and popping it into her mouth, a blissful smile crossing her face as the vor hit her tongue. "You''re truly my knight in shining armor."

    "I don''t know about that." Jonah shrugged, giving Lady Veronica and Lady Penelope a sidelong nce. "I doubt you were in any danger, especially from such¡­ lovely youngdies. Good evening, Lady Yarrowood and Lady Huntington."

    Daphne was probably the only one who caught the slight sarcasm in his voice.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Jonah!" They chorused, with stars in their eyes.

    With Jonah now present, Veronica and Penelope had no choice but to swallow down whatever fight they had prepared against Daphne. Only an idiot would offend him¨D doing so would be the same as offending the king himself.

    Jonah nodded, smiling so brightly that crinkles appeared at the corner of his eyes. However, only a fool wouldn''t be able to tell that the smile wasn''t heartfelt. His green eyes were dark, staring down at the two women like a predator would their prey.

    He was like his master in that aspect; they were both sirens¨D beautiful and alluring, but dangerous once you get close.

    And those women at least knew that the right-hand of the king was not a man to anger.

    "Likewise, but a word of warning: an insult to Queen Daphne is an insult to King Atticus. It''ll do you good to remember that. I bid you a good night."

    With that, Sir Jonah stretched out a hand to escort Daphne away, leaving the shell-shocked and embarrassed women behind.

    "Like I said, you''re truly a knight in shining armor. My favorite man in the kingdom," Daphne said cheerfully as she continued to help herself to the food.

    "Don''t let your husband hear you say that," Jonah said, trying not tough at his new queen''s cheeks stuffed with food. "I like having my head attached to my neck."

    Daphne simply smiled cheekily, happily indulging in the food that Jonah had brought her. All this while, none of the two had noticed the silent pair of footsteps walking behind them, observing their every interaction.

 Chapter 29: Intimate

    <h4>Chapter 29: Intimate</h4>

    The original n was for Jonah to walk Daphne back to her room. Yet, he hadn''t missed the way Daphne would reach up to rub the back of her neck every few seconds.

    "Actually," Jonah said, "I have somewhere else to bring you first."

    Daphne raised an eyebrow in surprise but otherwise obediently followed him. They stopped in front of tworge doors that Daphne had never noticed before.

    "The bath," Jonah exined. "It''s muchrger than the en-suite bathrooms attached to your bed chambers. The water here is also enchanted to always remain warm, perfect for a soak after a long, cold day. No one else is allowed in here, so please rest assured."

    At the mention of a private bath, Daphne''s eyes nearly sparkled. She badly needed a good, warm soak, especially after all the walking and falling that had happened in thest couple of hours. If the water was truly enchanted, it would no doubt be much more healing for the body.

    Jonah took the now-empty tes from her hands, bid her good night, and disappeared down the corridor once he had handed out the instructions.

    "The king will be with you after he is done dealing with matters on hand," Jonah said. "I''ll let him know you''re here."

    Jonah had also warned her, of course, that the king had deployed more than triple the number of guards around the pce, lest she attempted another ''great'' escape. If she was caught again, there would be repercussions.

    Daphne had merely smiled and nodded meekly. She didn''t have the heart to tell him that Atticus''s manpower had been wasted, as her legs were way too sore to even think about escaping tonight.

    Once he was gone, she stepped into the room, her jaw dropping at the sight before her. The room had indeed been enchanted, like Jonah said. She could see steam rising from the water, with the tub ¨D if it could even be called that ¨D spanning nearly the entirety of the room with only a small section portioned out for changing clothes.

    It seemed more like arge pond than anything.

    Daphne wasted no time. She stripped her clothes once she was sure no one else was around, throwing them over the lounge chair that was ced against the wall.

    When her body dipped into the hot water, a soft sigh escaped her lips. Jonah was right. It indeed was the perfect temperature. She could feel a good amount of tension leave her body just within moments. The feeling was too good to be true, and her eyes fell shut in rxation.

    When another moan left her lips, Daphne felt something suddenly p against her mouth.

    Her eyes opened wide instantly, shocked. She struggled to get free, but a familiar voice stilled her.

    "Since when did you learn to make such vulgar noises, sunshine?"

    Daphne wrenched her infuriating husband''s hand away from her mouth, face red with embarrassment and indignation. She sank lower into the water, immediately crossing her arms to hide her chest from his view.

    Atticus snorted. If he wanted to see all of her, her pitiful attempts wouldn''t be enough to conceal herself from him.

    They only seeded in highlighting the curve of her breasts. Atticus wondered if he should mention it.

    "You''re the vulgar one, peeping at women taking baths," Daphne scolded angrily. "How was I vulgar?"

    "Your moans practically belonged to a brothel," Atticus said glibly, and ducked quickly when Daphne half-rose from the water to ssh water at him. Heughed at her outrage.

    "Sunshine, are you sure you want to rise from the bath?"

    Daphne flushed and squeaked, realizing that Atticus could see nearly everything! She immediately sank further until the water reached her chin, all her earlier feelings of rxation evaporated like the steam wafting off the bath water.

    If only she could sink and drown to spare herself the indignity, but knowing Atticus, he would save her just because he was a menace.

    "Don''t be such a prude. You''ve got nothing I haven''t seen before," Atticus said cheerfully tofort her.

    "My apologies for forgetting that you''re a regr patron of brothels." Daphne scoffed, casting him a derisive look.

    "Are you upset, sunshine? You know you have the ability to fix it."

    To fix¡­ oh st him, he wanted her to sleep with him!

    "From that look on your face, I''m guessing I will spend my nights outside," Atticus said melodramatically, a hand on his chest. "Don''t worry, sunshine, there will be no illegitimate children."

    Unbeknownst to Daphne, Atticus never had ns to visit any brothels. It was just too easy to taunt his wife with this topic.

    True enough, Daphne scowled at his flippant response. She felt strangely upset at the thought of Atticus visiting nameless women in brothels at night, and then she felt more upset at the fact that she was upset.

    Who was Atticus to her? Her captor. Why did she care if he visited other women to satisfy his carnal appetites?

    Atticus then continued.

    "I''m not peeping at random women in baths. I''m appreciating my wife. That''s an important distinction."

    Daphne closed her eyes, breathing deeply as though Atticus was just a hallucination brought about by the bathwater. Sadly he was still there when she opened her eyes.

    "What are you doing here?" Daphne demanded, briefly turning her head to re at him. "Jonah said there wouldn''t be anyone else allowed in here. He lied."

    Atticus raised an eyebrow. "Remind me to give Jonah a raise."

    "Why?" Daphne asked, not liking the smug look on his face.

    "This is my personal bath. Why wouldn''t I be here?"

    "You¨D Your bath?" Daphne spluttered.

    Oh, Jonah, that slimy, stinking bastard! To think Daphne had thought the world of him when he had led her to this glorious haven. Turns out, he was merely leading her to the lion''s den.

    "Of course." Atticus had azy grin hanging off his lips. "Jonah informed me that I had a little visitor here and led me to where I can find you. In fact, he just left."

    "Jonah!" Daphne yelled despite not knowing whether he was still within hearing range. "Get Your Grace out of here!"

    "This room is soundproof. That''s the only way the servants wouldn''t have known what sort of colorful noises could escape those lips of yours." Atticus snorted. "And this is my bath!"

    "And I''m using it!" Daphne''s face and neck were flushed red, both from the heat of the water and of their conversation "Out!"

    "Oh?" Atticus chuckled.

    His hands reached for the edges of his shirt, easily pulling it off to reveal his toned, sculpted body. Daphne''s eyes went wide, her gaze instinctively attracted to his abdomen before she forcefully tore away, squeezing her eyes shut as a reminder to not look. Her actions hadn''t gone unnoticed, only causing Atticus''s smile to grow wider.

    He quickly disrobed before stepping into the water of the bath. Even though she wasn''t looking, Daphne could feel the water move when he entered, along with the sound of sshing water.

    When she finally felt someone close in on her, it was toote. Atticus had one hand under her chin, spinning her around gently so that she now faced him. The movement caused a short gasp to slip from Daphne''s lips, her face tilted so that they were now looking right at each other.

    "Make me."

 Chapter 30 Yours

    30 Yours

    Heat rushed through Daphne as she was forced to stare into Atticus'' golden eyes. Atticus'' body heat and the warmth of the bath had an intoxicating effect on her, and she found herself riveted, staring at the handsome contours of his face.

    The touch of his fingers underneath her chin burned.

    "Cat got your tongue, sunshine?" Atticus asked, leaning in even closer. The tiny space between them narrowed even further, and now they were close enough for Daphne to count the eyshes framing his eyes, if she wanted.

    She didn''t want to. But damn was it hard to tear her gaze away from his. The air around them felt electric as though magic was what''s binding Daphne to Atticus.

    But it wasn''t.

    There was no glow on his obsidian ring, no special stone he stored in random pockets of his clothes. Atticus was just about as bare as the day he was born.

    Daphne''s eyes trailed down. From his eyes, her gaze moved almost automatically down to his lips, Adam''s apple, broad chest, sculpted abs, and then¨D

    She quickly pushed him before he could react.

    Not having expected the sudden movement, Atticus''s eyes widened in surprise for only a fraction of a second before he toppled into the water with a loud ssh. Daphne didn''t waste any time, she immediately made a mad dash for the edge of the bath, wincing as her ankle hit a tile.

    But she didn''t stop, looking over her shoulder every few milliseconds to make sure Atticus wasn''t out yet. It didn''t take long for her, in all her desperation, to grab for the towel that was folded neatly and set aside on the surface of a cab nearby.

    Daphne expertly wrapped it around her torso, tucking it under her arms so that it covered wherever mattered most. Even though her long legs were still exposed, at least whatever''s left of her modesty wasn''tpromised.

    "Sneaky, aren''t you?"

    Atticus rose from the water, using a hand to wipe the water from his eyes. When he realized that Daphne had gotten out and was wrapped snugly in a fluffy towel, he pouted.

    "Tease," he muttered petntly, like a child that got his toy snatched away. There was even a small pout that shaped his lips.

    "Didn''t you say that this wasn''t anything you haven''t seen before? I see no reason you should beining," Daphne parroted his earlier words, smiling at the offended expression that crossed Atticus'' face. "Enjoy your bath."

    "Going already?" Atticus asked, leaning against the edge of the bath. The sight of his muscled forearms shifting made her flush, and she tore her eyes away. "You really wound a man, sunshine."

    "Why not? I''ve been here long enough. You can''t stop me from leaving," Daphne said primly, moving to the lounge chair to pick up her clothes.

    "Trust me, darling, I''m definitely not that type of man," Atticus said with a leer. "You can leave if you really want to."

    Daphne rolled her eyes, but just as she was going to change back into her old dress, she stumbled onto another problem.

    There was no way she could take off her towel and slip back into her dress without letting him see either her front or her back. After all, this room was built for the use of one man alone, and he certainly didn''t need to preserve any sense of modesty.

    Bastard. He knew it all along! Daphne scowled at his smug smile.

    "Well? Why have you stopped?" Atticus asked cheerfully. "Weren''t you just about to leave? Go on, sunshine, I''m not stopping you."

    Daphne weighed her options. She could change in front of Atticus¡­ or she could simply walk out in a towel and change into her dress in another room.

    "Fine," Daphne said, scooping up the dress in her arms. "I''ll go and change somewhere else."

    Jonah was waiting outside, and while she would never let another man see her in such a state of undress, circumstances were dire enough. There was a high chance that she could be caught bare as a newborn baby along the corridor by some other knight or maid too, but Daphne would rather risk it than change in front of Atticus.

    Only God knew what this man would do if he saw her that way. Daphne shuddered at the thought despite her whole body feeling a warm blush creep through her skin.

    Atticus squawked in surprise. "You''re going out like this?"

    "It''s fine, Jonah is waiting outside," Daphne said.

    "Definitely not!" Atticus nearly jumped out from the bath, rmed.

    His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were furrowed as he waddled through the water in an attempt to make it to Daphne. While his actions screamed of urgency, the sight of his behavior just made Daphne feelrgely amused.

    Was he¡­?

    "How could you go out like that when there is a man sitting outside?!"

    Daphne smirked. So he was indeed jealous. All of sudden, she felt a surge of pride seep through her.

    "Aren''t you a man yourself?" She quipped, refusing to peep below the water to see proof of his manhood.

    Atticus forced his words out through gritted teeth. "It''s different."

    "All men are equal. How is it different?" Daphne said.

    With a ssh, Atticus was out of the bath water in his full glory. Daphne squeaked, inadvertently taking a step back at the aura he exuded as he stalked towards her.

    "What are you doing? Get back into the bath!"

    But Atticus ignored her words. Daphne retreated again, her face flushed all the way down to her neck. Her hand desperately grasped at the towel wrapped around her, as though she could transform it into a gown for more protection.

    When he got close enough, Atticus held her chin, tilting her head over to look him in the eye. There was a surge of unexinable emotion that rushed through his irises, though they weren''t things Daphne couldprehend.

    "How''s it different?" Daphne repeated, now breathless at the intensity of his gaze. Her throat felt dry and her heart felt weak. She wasn''t sure she could even remember how to breathe normally.

    "I am your husband." Atticus enunciated each word clearly, slowly. "You are mywfully wedded wife. You are mine."

    Daphne gulped, not liking the way he said it. Yet, her words were clogged right in her throat, unable to voice them. Her lips parted, ready to argue. However, all that fight left her when he next spoke again.

    "You are mine, Daphne," he murmured. The gaze in his eyes softened. "As I am yours."

 Chapter 31 Frozen Heart

    31 Frozen Heart

    It was the heat of the bath. It just had to be. There was no other way Daphne could exin the way her cheeks warmed, or how her heart started racing in her chest like they were part of a race. Her face felt like it was about to explode with all the blood rushing to her cheeks.

    What did he just say? Was Atticus out of his mind or was Daphne finally driven insane and started hearing things?

    But the look in Atticus''s eyes was so intense and passionate that Daphne knew for a fact that she hadn''t, in fact, heard wrong. The king had meant every word, none of it a sweet lie just to con something from her. Or if it was, he was a damn good liar.

    "What did you just say?" Daphne breathed, her voice shaky when she spoke.

    "I¨D" Atticus stopped short, suddenly widening his eyes as his cheeks turned into the color of beetroot, matching hers. "You¡­ You heard me."

    "Stop lying through your teeth," Daphne said. "You are not mine." An image of Cordelia shed through her head. "And I am not yours. We are only married just because you kidnapped me here while I was on my way to meet my actual betrothed."

    And just like that, gone were the starry eyes and the dreamy atmosphere. Daphne could almost hear something snap through the air, breaking the tension that was held between them. The look in Atticus''s eyes cooled. Gone was the heated gaze, reced temporarily with something that looked eerily like disappointment. Yet, even that was gone as quickly as it came.

    Atticus coldlyughed. "Daphne Molinero, you are a bitterly cold woman. You make our winters seem warm and weing."

    Daphne bit her lip. She steeled her heart, but she couldn''t control the small ache that had started to overwhelm her chest. His words had struck a blow to her, and she winced, even when she had been the first to strike.

    Ever since they started interacting more and more, Daphne realized a mistake. She had been letting Atticus affect her a little too much. His words shouldn''t have even registered in her mind, but it was toote¨D as much as she tookfort in his words of support, she left herself open to his harsh words.

    She wasn''t going to apologize though.

    Her lips parted, ready to argue when they heard a series of mbering sounds from outside.

    "Your Highness?" It was Jonah, his voice muffled by the huge doors. "Your Highness, are you in there?"

    "Shit." The expletive left both Daphne and Atticus''s lips at the same time. Both of them turned to look each other in the eye at once,pletely forgetting the awkward air that was still hovering around them just now.

    "What are you so worried about?" Daphne asked, keeping her voice lower than before, even though she wasn''t sure why exactly she was whispering and hiding from Jonah.

    "I am not supposed to be here," Atticus confessed sheepishly.

    Daphne blinked in befuddlement. "What do you mean you''re not supposed to be here? Isn''t this your bath? That''s what you so hotly imed just now!"

    "It is my bath!" Atticus whisper-yelled. "But that doesn''t mean Jonah wouldn''t re up if he knew I was in here while you were."

    "But Jonah brought you here, didn''t he?" Daphne asked, confused.

    "Your Highness?" came Jonah''s voice again, this time much closer to the door than before.

    "He may have just mentioned off-handedly that you''re here," Atticus said, edging closer to the bath with each second. "Along with a warning that I shouldn''t be following you in."

    "You¨D!"

    "Pardon me, Your Highness, but I''ming in!"

    "Wait!"

    Daphne barely had the time to react when two things happened at once. Atticus had dived back into the bath with a ssh,pletely submerging himself into the water. At the same time, the doors to the bath opened and in stepped a frazzled-looking Jonah. His eyes scanned around the room haphazardly until they eventuallynded on Daphne.

    At first, he looked relieved, then, his eyes widened and face flushed when he realized that she was dressed in nothing but a thin towel that only covered the essentials¨D not barely enough.

    "Your Highness!" The words left Jonah in a tone much higher than his usual, almost an rmed squeak.

    Jonah instinctively turned away.

    "Hi Jonah," Daphne said, her earlier ire at Jonah now non-existent as she realized that he didn''t invite Atticus into the bath. It was Atticus, sneaking into the bath like a mischievous cat. "Don''t look so panicked. Did something happen outside?"

    "No, no," Jonah stuttered as he nced at his queen from the corner of his eyes, before quickly turning away at the sight of wless skin tinged pink from the bathwater. Even a quick glimpse made him feel like a sinner!

    "I heard some strange noises from outside and got worried," Jonah exined, looking around the bathroom.

    His eyes narrowed at the pile of male clothing at the side of the bath. It looked startlingly familiar to Atticus'' own wardrobe. His eyebrows furrowed.

    "Did Your Highness see anything strange or untoward?" Jonah pointed to the clothes on the floor.

    Daphne flushed, but then a wicked thought began to brew in her mind. "No I didn''t see anything strange, but it''s very dedicated of you to check on me. I''m sure you''ll capture and punish all the intruders."

    She tilted her head to the bath, drawing Jonah''s eyes to a particr spot in the bath, where bubbles were rising to the surface.

    Jonah raised an incredulous eyebrow.

    ''Atticus?'' he asked, his lips moving without making a sound.

    Daphne nodded, equally silent. Jonah put his head in his hands, trying not to groan out loud.

    "I will execute my duty to the best of my ability," Jonah promised, staring pointedly at that bubbling spot. "Whether it''s a peasant or even my own king, anyone who intrudes into a woman''s bath uninvited must be punished."

    Both of them didn''t miss how the bubbles increased rapidly, as though said intruder was panicking.

    Daphne smiled at him and continued.

    "I''m d to know that at least I have someone that cares so much for me. You must be the only man that cares."

    The bubbles stopped forming. Daphne imagined that Atticus must have choked on his tongue in jealousy, and had to suppress a snort.

    Jonah rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, suddenly feeling like he was caught between a lover''s spat. "The king cares for you too."

    "I''m sure," Daphne said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. If Atticus was wiser, he would stop caring.

    She frowned, watching as the water''s surface remained free of bubbles. Was Atticus holding his breath because he was sulking? Surely he couldn''t be that childish, right?

    "Atticus, I know you''re in the water!" Jonah eximed, his voice echoing across the cavernous bathroom. "Stop hiding ande out."

    The bathwater remained suspiciously still. Worry began to grow in Daphne''s mind.

    "Atticus?" Daphne called out.

    There was only silence.

    "Atticus? You cane out now. I''m sorry for my earlier words." Daphne tried again, but the bathwater remained suspiciously still.

    There was no response.

    Daphne''s heart stopped for a second as a terrifying scenario came to mind.

    "Atticus!"

 Chapter 32 In Sickness & In Health

    32 In Sickness & In Health

    Jonah immediately leaped into action, jumping into the water to pull Atticus out.

    "Your Grace! Atticus! This isn''t funny!" Jonah yelled as he tried to pull Atticus up from the water. However, Atticus was heavier, and he seemed to slip out of Jonah''s hands. He slid further under the water, as though he was a puppet with his strings cut.

    Seeing this, Daphne panicked further and leaped into the bath. She grabbed Atticus''s body to steady him, desperately trying to shake him awake while Jonah kept his head above the water.

    "Atticus! Wake up!" Daphne shrieked.

    To her horror, Atticus''s pupils rolled backward, revealing the white of his eyes.

    "Atticus!"

    Together, Jonah and Daphne managed to drag Atticus''s body from the tub.

    "He''s not breathing!" Jonah could only look on helplessly as his king, his best friendy motionless on the tiled floor. He didn''t know any magic that could draw water out of his lungs.

    "I''ll look for Princess Cordelia!" Jonah leaped up. She was skilled with water magic, she would be able to save him. "Your Highness, please wait here¨D what are you doing?"

    Jonah''s eyes widened when he saw his queen pry open Atticus''s mouth with her hands. Then she leaned over him and kissed him straight on the lips! This wasn''t the time or ce for that! Did the sight of the king''s drowning body cause her to take leave of her senses?

    "With any luck, saving him," Daphne said grimly. She tried to recall the teachings given to her by her servants, family, and royal tutors alike. Herck of magical ability meant that everyone was wary of her identally dying, so she had to learn all sorts of mundane skills.

    One of which was to save a person from drowning.

    Daphne had never practiced it on a real person, but she had no time to hesitate. She enveloped his lips with her own as she thumped at his chest.

    "You''re saving him¡­ by kissing him?"

    Jonah wanted to pull her away, but he was struck dumb, transfixed at the sight of Princess Daphne leaning over Atticus, kissing him fervently as she was still d in a towel.

    And Atticus was still naked too!

    Come to think of it, if anything could bring Atticus back to life, it would be the sight of his scantily-d wife kissing him. Perhaps Princess Daphne had the right idea after all!

    "Come on¡­ wake up¡­ you stupid man¡­ wake up¡­" Daphne pleaded as she continued her attempts to save him. Her lips touched his repeatedly, with none of the hesitance she disyed in the past.

    In her desperation, she didn''t see the pleased sh of amber. However, Jonah was sharp-eyed and spotted this tiny movement. He narrowed his eyes. Surely his king wouldn''t be so¡­

    There was only one way to find out.

    "Your Highness, I am sure you''re tired," Jonah said. Daphne''s movements were bing more uncoordinated and sloppy, her thumps barely making an impact. "Let me help you instead. I''ll take over."

    "Really?" Daphne asked hopefully. "Alright,e here. Take a deep breath and open his mouth¨D"

    But before Jonah''s lips touched Atticus''s, the man choked, spewing bathwater into Jonah''s face. Jonah coughed and moved away, wiping his face clean with his sleeve, muttering how disgusting it was under his breath.

    "You''re alive!" Daphne cried out, slumping over Atticus'' body in relief. "How could you nearly drown in your own bathtub? What kind of idiotic king are you?"

    "One that you married, sunshine." Atticus wheezed, but there was a slight smile on his face as he gazed up at his wife, who was worried about him. If a near-death experience was what it took to get her care, Atticus didn''t mind trying again.

    After all, he and her had made practically no progress. Every time Atticus thought their rtionship had gotten better, it would revert back to its original ce.

    He wasn''t dumb. Atticus knew fairly well that she was trying to put distance between them, and he, too, was doing the same. Nevertheless, the sight of her leaning over him as hey there ''dying'' made Atticus think for a moment that perhaps he had, in fact, died and gone to heaven.

    It was hard to resist peeking through hisshes, admiring the sight of his beautiful wife. Her face had been so flushed that it resembled apples, her eyes doe and filled with worry. And sweet lord, Daphne''s lips were as soft as what Atticus imagined clouds would be like.

    If it meant he had to be tethering between the edges of life and death in order to be met with the face of an angel, Atticus would be willing to do it all over again.

    "Good to see that you are awake and alive!" Jonah said, looking at him suspiciously.

    Atticus tried to look as innocent as possible, but judging from Jonah''s unimpressed expression, clearly, he was onto him. Good for Jonah. Atticus never thought he would be able to fool the man but it certainly couldn''t hurt to try.

    "Would take more than that to kill me," Atticus said with a cheeky smile. Then, an idea darted through his mind.

    Jonah caught the light in Atticus''s eyes as quickly as it came and went. The man furrowed his brows, watching his liege make aplete, utter fool of himself once more as he strung Daphne along in his games. Yet, Jonah didn''t say anything. He even put in extra effort to not roll his eyes in front of Daphne.

    True enough, Atticus didn''t disappoint. He began to cough, cupping his hands over his lips. When he removed his hand, there was a red stain on his palm.

    Inwardly, Jonah groaned. ''Where did he even get that much fake blood?'' he wondered.

    On the other hand, Daphne waspletely clueless about Atticus''s ploy. Her eyes widened in horror as she eyed the small pool of blood cupped on Atticus''s palm.

    "Atticus!" she eximed in horror. "You''re bleeding!"

    "I¡­" Atticus looked down, his face paling several shades. Jonah would''ve believed him if he hadn''t known Atticus for so long. "I¡­" He trailed off again.

    This time, Atticus''s eyes rolled back and closed, his body quickly falling limp into Daphne''s arms.

 Chapter 33 A Great Actor

    33 A Great Actor

    "Atticus! Don''t die!" Daphnemented as her hands tenderly cradled his face, willing him to open his eyes, but he remained unconscious. She cursed herself for not treating him more kindly when she had the chance. Now it could be toote for her to make amends. Why was she so stubborn and cold to him?

    "What happened? Why is he suddenly coughing up blood?"

    ''Because he''s a dramatic little shithead,'' Jonah thought, internally rolling his eyes at Atticus''s performance. If Daphne knew that Atticus was faking it, those fingers that were gently stroking his cheek would be wrapped around his neck.

    The morally right thing to do would be to let Daphne know Atticus was faking it, but what was life without a little risk? Jonah was morbidly curious to see how far Atticus was willing to go.

    More importantly, if the queen found out about this, Atticus would be first in her line of fire. Not Jonah. It wouldn''t hurt him to watch the show.

    "Your Highness, please change into your dress," Jonah said. "I''ll ensure the king is decent and we''ll get help from the healers."

    "Why can''t the healers see him like¡­ oh." Daphne flushed as she realized that her husband waspletely nude. It would bepletely undignified for Atticus to be surrounded by healers while he was naked and wet.

    "You should get dressed too."

    Daphne looked down at herself, suddenly realizing her state of undress in front of another man. She squeaked and let go of Atticus''s head, causing it to bump on to the tiles.

    "Oh no!" Daphne wailed in panic. "Now I''ve gone and killed him!"

    Jonah squashed the smile that was threatening to appear on his face.

    "Nonsense. Atticus''s head is made out of tiger bones and bear fat. He is so dense even a hammer wouldn''t hurt him. Just get dressed. With me here, nothing will happen to him," he promised, looking every inch a loyal knight.

    Daphne nodded and hurriedly ran towards her dress, turning around to put it on once she realized that Jonah was too preupied with helping Atticus put on his pants to even peek at her. As she struggled with her dress, Daphne failed to see Atticus''s mouth silently mouth words as he tugged his shirt on for him.

    ''I heard that. I''m not dense,'' Atticus mouthed.

    Jonah rolled his eyes and discreetly whispered in his ear, "When your wife finds out, I''m not saving you."

    Atticus gave him a small wink, and mouthed the words ''y along''. Jonah gave him an incredulous look, but of course, Atticus then decided it was time to y dead, so he didn''t react.

    Damn him.

    "I''m ready!" Daphne called out.

    "The king is decent enough. Let us go. Your Highness, can you run ahead and call for the healers?" he asked, carrying Atticus in his arms as though he was a bride. Atticus would hate being hauled around like this, which was exactly why Jonah was doing it.

    If Atticus was making him take part in this charade, he was going to have his fun.

    Daphne nodded, not sensing anything amiss. Her mind was filled with worry for Atticus as she sprinted for the door, yelling for a healer. The sight of the new queen looking bedraggled with wet hair and a creased gown immediately attracted the attention of servants, and her words spurred them into a frenzy.

    "The king needs a healer!"

    Behind her, Sir Jonah was carrying their king, who was unconscious.

    "A healer!"

    "Bring the Chief Healer!"

    In no time at all, Atticus was brought into his chambers. As hey on the bed, Daphne took his hand and squeezed. It was too cold for her liking, and she blinked back tears.

    "What do you mean the king drowned in a bath? Is this your idea of a joke, Sir Jonah?"

    A woman''s voice echoed from the corridor. Daphne saw a slightly older woman with long ck hair enter the room, huffing and puffing as she lugged a heavy bag of tools. Behind her were two servants lugging huge boxes, and beside them was Sir Jonah, looking incredibly apologetic.

    "Oh dear, you weren''t joking." The woman shook her head and tutted disapprovingly as she stared down at Atticus. She rolled up the sleeves of her dark oversized dress to reveal an array of purple crystal bangles that were glowing. Strangely enough, they were the same shade of purple as her eyes.

    There was no way it could be natural. Was this woman a witch?

    "Healer Sirona, please treat him! He nearly drowned!" Jonah eximed.

    "He also coughed up blood," Daphne added, in case Jonah forgot that very important detail.

    "Really? But I don''t sense any irregrities¡­" Healer Sirona said dubiously.

    "Look at his lips!" Daphne burst out, pointing at the reddish stain on Atticus'' lips, the only spot of color on his paling face. "There''s definitely something wrong with him! He could be poisoned!"

    "Please take a closer look, Healer Sirona. Touch his hands and you will know," Jonah said, his eyes twitching as he tried to tell the healer to y along. Sirona narrowed her eyes and grabbed Atticus''s hands, trying to feel for irregrities in his pulse.

    He was perfectly fine!

    Sirona shot Jonah an incredulous look and only got a begging expression in reply. It was simr to the look Jonah used to give her when he and Atticus were younger when they needed her to help to fake contagious illnesses so they could be left alone.

    What a troublesome king! But he was still her king, so she put on her best act.

    "Ah yes! I see it now," Sirona said, nodding sagely. "You are right, the king is suffering from signs of poisoning. But His Highness has a strong constitution, so he will make a full recovery."

    "Thank goodness!" Daphne sank into her chair, relieved. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

    "Come to think of it¡­" Sirona''s eyes lit up. If these men wanted to waste their time, she was going to teach them a lesson. "There is something that you can do when His Majesty wakes up. It will only deplete his energy and weaken him further."

    "What is it?" Daphne asked, her eyes practically sparkling with tears.

    Sirona had to resist the wicked smile that was threatening to spread across her face. She could feel Atticus tensing up beneath her death grip and she loved it. From the corner of her eye, she could see that even Jonah was trying not tough. It was almost as if they already knew what she was going to

    say.

    "My Queen," Sirona said humbly, "make sure to refrain from intercourse until the king fully recovers."

 Chapter 34 Sironaâ€™s Schemes

    34 Sirona¡¯s Schemes

    "I-Intercourse?!" Daphne echoed in shock. Instantly, the color of her face changed to that of a beetroot¨D so red that it was borderline purple.

    "Yes," Sirona breezily replied. "Magic fatigue paired with physical exertion would harm most people. And that''s the case with His Majesty."

    "Physical exertion?"

    "A problemmonly found in newlyweds," the doctor said impishly, watching as Atticus seemed to twitch on the bed. Queen Daphne''s face had gotten even worse, if that was even possible. "Perhaps you should take it easy this month. I''ll prescribe the King with a series of tonics."

    "Actually¡­ Atticus and I¡­ His Majesty and I¡­ Well¡­"

    Sirona had to fight so hard against her instincts to maintain the act. Watching the queen stumble and trip over her own words was so entertaining that she had nearly cooed out loud.

    So innocent, so untainted by the evils ¨D Atticus ¨D of the world. It was practically a miracle!

    "There''s no need to be bashful," Sirona teased. Then, she winked. "I get it."

    Daphne''s lips were pursed so quickly and tightly that her teeth pressed down on them. She wanted to burst,bust, wither away into a pile of ashes and smoke and never to be seen by anyone ever again. If only someone from her family could set her alight there and then. Surely dying would be less embarrassing than having her non-existent sex life discussed so openly.

    "When will he wake up?" Jonah asked.

    His one simple question made Daphne feel as though he truly was a knight in shining armor, valiantly riding on his white stallion to save her from eternal damnation. A tear nearly formed in her eye, touched beyond belief.

    ''Oh Jonah,'' she solemnly swore in her heart, ''I will definitely repay you one day for this!''

    Sirona''s lips twitched, visibly disappointed that the suggestive conversation had been cut short so quickly. Nevertheless, she wasn''t interested in making the queen too ufortable.

    "Give it a couple of hours," she said, waving it off. She then followed up with a softer tone, careful to only let Jonah hear her. "Or seconds."

    "Thank you, Healer Sirona."

    The earnest look of gratitude in Daphne''s eyes almost made Sirona feel bad for agreeing to y along. Almost. She really looked like a little rabbit, wide-eyed and small, so fragile that she''s basically an easy prey to everyone in this castle.

    Sirona''s heart clenched a little, though she was careful not to let it show. The king had better guard his little wife well, lest she be swallowed whole by the beasts within these walls.

    She took the notepad from her briefcase and pulled a pen out as well, quickly scribbling down some things before handing the slip of paper over to Jonah. Jonah reached out, but Sirona hadn''t waited for him to properly grasp onto the paper before letting go. Jonah swiped at the air, identally grabbing Sirona''s hand along with the prescription.

    "My apologies!" Jonah said, and Daphne didn''t miss the slight flush of his cheeks. On the other hand, Healer Sirona lookedpletely unfazed, merely wiping her fingers on her dress.

    "It''s fine. Do take care not to crush it."

    Jonah nodded, ncing at the paper. His left eyebrow rose, and his eyes darted up to cast a pointed look at the healer, as though he was questioning her expertise.

    "It will be good to brew that for the king," Sirona said with a bright smile. "Could help him recuperate much faster than without."

    Jonah said nothing. Yet, the look he gave Sirona was enough for Daphne to know that whatever prescription she had written there was definitely not something enjoyable to consume, if any medicine was at all.

    "Is there anything wrong, Jonah?" Daphne asked, curious. She stepped a little closer to peep at whatever could be written on the slip of paper, but Jonah quickly darted away, holding it out of view.

    "Never mind, Your Highness," he said. He was about to crush the prescription, but then a quick look at Sirona stilled his hand, and he proceeded to fold it properly before stuffing it into the pocket of his trousers. "It''s just a prescription, like Healer Sirona said."

    "Alright¡­" she trailed off, still staring suspiciously at the two. Later, she would grill Jonah about his strange behavior.

    However, with regards to the prescription, she had no right to butt in. After all, Daphne wasn''t too familiar with tonics and brews, and thus wouldn''t know better than Sirona on what would be of help to her husband. She could only trust her, since Sirona was the most experienced in the castle.

    "If that''s all, I will be taking my leave. Pardon me, Your Highness." Leaning down, Sirona gathered her belongings, casually swinging the bag over her shoulder as she made her way to the door.

    "I''ll escort you." Jonah offered, but he was easily rebuffed.

    "Sir Jonah, that''s not necessary. Prepare his medicine instead."

    Right before she left, she turned back and smiled. "Oh, just a quick reminder, do make sure the brew is piping hot when it''s served to His Majesty! It mustn''t be consumed cold."

    With her final instructions, Sirona slipped out of the room, whistling a jolly tune under her breath as she left. Her servants followed, exiting the room with a lot less fanfare.

    "Well then," Jonah sighed, "I''ll be in the kitchens should you require my assistance, Your Highness. Healer Sirona''s instructions were to brew this three times a day for the next week for His Majesty. Mustn''t miss a dose."

    The poor knight had a hand pinching the skin in between his brows, rubbing away at the oing headache.

    Daphne grimaced. "That bad?"

    Jonah could only fake a smile. "I will return shortly."

    Once Jonah, too, left the room, all that was left behind was silence.

    Daphne stared at the unconscious man on the bed. He was calm, almost too calm. In his sleep, King Atticus looked nothing like the bloodthirsty monster of the North, as rumors had made him out to be.

    All of a sudden, the princess gained a stroke of courage. She stepped forward, carefully sitting at the edge of the bed, just far enough not to identally crush Atticus.

    Daphne hadn''t even noticed that she had been so enraptured by his appearance that she had been leaning forward. Her hand had reached out without conscious thought, her fingers just a hair''s breadth away from grazing the skin of his cheeks. She was so close that she could clearly count each strand of his eysh, see every minute scar on a face that she thought was perfect from a distance away.

    Everything about the king was mesmerizing. It was unfair. Crystals and magic stones had always been the most powerful artifacts to ever exist across the kingdoms. To be able to control them would be to have the power to beckon hurricanes and move mountains.

    Yet, Daphne understood that King Atticus, with all his power and might, had something else that defied all mortals. He was like a siren that lured sailors into the dark, unknown waters¨D a monster that was threatening to consume her whole.

    Just before her fingers could graze him, fingers suddenly wrapped around Daphne''s wrist in a strong grip. She jolted, stunned, and was snapped out of her reverie.

    When her vision shifted to her wrist, Daphne finally put together the puzzle pieces to who that hand belonged to.

    "Touchy, aren''t we, sunshine?"

 Chapter 35 My Husband

    35 My Husband

    "You''re awake!"

    A flood of emotions suddenly overwhelmed Daphne at the sound of Atticus''s voice. She wasn''t quite too sure why either, but knew only that there was a tinge of relief that seeped through her veins, followed by utter joy, andstly, immense guilt. When everything hit Daphne all at once, the waterworks erupted.

    There was just something about that cocky, smooth-as-butter voice that Atticus had. To think that just a while ago, it was everything that infuriated Daphne.

    To think she could have never heard his voice again.

    "You''re awake¡­"

    Daphne''s shoulders began to uncontrobly tremble. It shook up and down as her breathing got more haggard, choking on her tears as the small sobs loudened into a cry.

    "Sunshine, what''s wrong?"

    The grip on her wrist loosened and she was quickly pulled into a warm embrace. She still couldn''t stop, knowing fully well that her snot and tears were probably already stained on Atticus''s clothing.

    How udylike, her parents would''ve scolded her for herck of decorum if they caught sight of her crying. Princesses were meant to cry demurely and silently, not bawl like hungry infants.

    Nheless, Daphne couldn''t even be arsed to care. Atticus was alive. She hadn''t identally killed him. While Daphne wasn''t sure why, she wouldn''t have been able to forgive herself if thest conversation they had was a fight.

    This man, as rude and callous as he could be, had managed to worm his way into her heart like a parasite.

    Arge hand gently pressed against the back of Daphne''s head, slowly smoothening her curls. Atticus was patient, not saying a word as Daphne cried her heart out. Instead, he sat there quietly with her in his arms, calming her down as a good husband would.

    Like a good <nulli>lover would.

    When Daphne finally calmed down, she was the first to pull away. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose most likely equally so, and she was still sniffling like crazy to force her nose to stop running.

    "Look at you," Atticus murmured softly, humor in his voice. His thumb gently ran across the skin under Daphne''s eye, wiping away the leftover tears. "If people don''t know better, they''ll think I''m bullying you. But I''m actually the injured one. Why are you the one crying?"

    Daphne managed a huff. "Well, forgive me for caring."

    Atticus knew his wife meant for her words to be sarcastic and snide, but tears and snot made it seem more petnt and cute to him.

    Daphne''s voice came out in a warble. "Next time you end up injured, I''ll throw a parade for you instead."

    Atticus cooed at her while patting her cheek, and she scowled in response, swatting his hand away.

    "Don''t cry over me, sweetheart. As you can see, I''m perfectly fine." Atticus tried to sit up straighter, only for Daphne to shove him back down with surprising force, looming over him with a watchful eye.

    Her long hair brushed the sides of his face. So close, Atticus inhaled her sweet scent.

    "No, you''re not." Daphne sniffled as she stared down at Atticus. "I told you the wine was poisoned. But no¡­ you didn''t want to listen to me! Stupid man!"

    "Ah. Poisoned. Right. You are right and I was wrong," Atticus said, nodding easily. Sirona had imed he was poisoned. Atticus reminded himself to get her something nicer for her birthday. That woman finally did one thing right.

    "Viscount Attonson will pay for his actions," Daphne dered, sitting back down on her chair.

    She wiped thest of her tears away, and now there was a light in her eyes that promised retribution. The very sight took Atticus''s breath away.

    Daphne then took his hand in hers and squeezed. "I''ll make sure he never receives an invite in polite society again. He cannot get away with poisoning my husband. You could have died! The nerve of that man¡­ death is too good for him."

    While his heart warmed at the knowledge that Daphne had finally acknowledged him as her husband and was ready to fight for his sake, he remembered that he was technically lying.

    Atticus didn''t care enough about Viscount Attonson''s reputation, but he didn''t want Daphne to cause trouble for herself because she wanted to defend his honor.

    "It''s fine, you don''t need to do anything." Atticus smiled winningly and tried to look extremely unharmed. He flexed an arm muscle, trying to portray the very image of vitality.

    Daphne looked remarkably unimpressed, even if he caught her ncing at his arm muscles from the corner of her eyes.

    "As you can see, I''m feeling a lot better. Especially since I woke up next to a beautiful woman crying over me."

    His wife wanted to defend his honor! The very thought made him giddy with joy. But he didn''t want Daphne anywhere near Eugene Attonson and his slimy ways.

    "Don''t change the subject!" Daphne''s face reddened as she registered his words. "You can''t mean to let him go like that! He tried to kill you!"

    "Many people have tried to kill me. None have seeded. If I retaliated against every single person, I wouldn''t have a kingdom to run." Atticus shrugged. Daphne was less than impressed with his s¨¦ attitude, and it showed on her face. "Besides, he did something good for me."

    "What is it?"

    Atticus then looked at her so warmly that made Daphne feel as though she had spent too long sitting by a fire.

    "He made you ept me as your husband. What''s a little bit of poisonpared to it? If anything, I''m the one that owes him a debt."

    "Nonsense!" Daphne protested, her cheeks now ming red. "I didn''t¨D What on earth¨D Don''t put words in my mouth!"

    "You said it yourself."

    "No, I didn''t." Daphne instinctively disagreed, shaking her head. Atticus looked at her smugly and raised their sped hands. Daphne squeaked.

    "Less than a minute ago, you said ''he cannot get away with poisoning my husband''. I am now your husband. I heard it loud and clear, sunshine."

    The look in his eyes was longing, fiery, and so passionate that Daphne wanted to worm away and hide. It kick-started a fuzzy feeling in her chest that she wasn''t sure was right to feel.

    "There are no take-backs here in my kingdom."

 Chapter 36 Two Steps Back

    36 Two Steps Back

    "The poison¡­ It must be the poison. It affected your hearing," Daphne spluttered, trying to pull her hand away from his. "Go back to bed. I''ll check if Jonah has prepared your medication."

    Atticus beamed. He knew the truth; there was no poison at all. He wanted to pat himself on the back; his n was a resounding sess!

    Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Leaving so soon? I thought we would finally be able to spend time together. Alone. Away from prying eyes."

    "You¨D You''re such an infuriating man," Daphneined. Yet, she made no move to pull her hand out of his. It sat there, connected to his own, palm to palm, skin to skin. Whatever warmth she felt was shared with him, and him with her.

    "I''m <nulli>your infuriating man," Atticus corrected her. His expression then turned serious. "I meant what I said just now, Daphne."

    He didn''t need to state specifically what exactly he was talking about but Daphne knew. Yet, it was too soon. It was all happening too quickly. As best as she could, she suppressed the fluttering that was threatening to explode from her ribcage, calmed down her thundering heart, and kept her expression controlled. Daphne wasn''t going to re up as she did in the bath, but she wasn''t going to turn into a mushy pile of lovesick mess too.

    "I''ll go check on Jonah," she said softly, gently slipping her hands out of Atticus''s grip.

    Before Atticus could say anything else, Daphne escaped from the room with her tail between her legs, scuttling down the corridor until she was sure she was out of Atticus''s hearing range. She allowed herself a second to stop and breathe, holding her hand over her chest where her heart was.

    ''Stop it,'' she scolded herself. ''Have you forgotten who he is? Have you forgotten what he has done?''

    That was the thing. She couldn''t. No amount of sweet talk and happy moments could erase the fact that Atticus had kidnapped her on the day she was to be wedded to another man. With how the events are headed, this was basically her being conditioned into loving him!

    She would never deny it though¨D Atticus was a much better person than the rumors had made him out to be. He had shown her morepassion than menace. What''s more, this time, it was truly her fault that he ended up ill.

    Having learned her lesson, Daphne asked around for directions and quickly found her way to the kitchens. She was just about to step in when she heard a familiar voice talking, followed by a strong, pungent scent that made her skin crawl in disgust. It smelled as though someone had boiled rotten eggs with pickled vegetables in water taken from the sewers.

    "You''re absolutely brutal." It was Jonah. "Atticus will surely throw up a storm after."

    "He wouldn''t dare," another familiar voice ¨D which Daphne recognized as Healer Sirona''s ¨D replied. "If he does, indeed, dish out punishments, it wouldn''t be too hard to stamp it down once we remind him why he is being served this tonic in the first ce."

    "You could''ve given him something more ptable," Jonahmented. Daphne didn''t dare step into the kitchen to look, lest they noticed her, but from the way he spoke, she guessed he was pinching his nose. "This is absolutely vile. Really? Aedrove vine and waybread seeds? This is basically regicide."

    "You''ll get used to it eventually." Inparison, Sirona''s voice was much calmer. Perhaps this was the behavior of someone that consistently and routinely worked with various herbs and brews. "It''s much better to give him something that could benefit his body than taste good but harm him. He''s fit as a fiddle, anyway. I most certainly do not wish to do more harm than good."

    "At least the queen didn''t catch on." Jonah sighed. There was a slight sizzling sound before the brew started smelling even more horrendous¨D if that was even possible. "If not, the king will be sleeping on the couch for sure."

    "He really is going to the extremes, isn''t he?" Sironamented, "I''ve never seen him so¡­ so¡­"

    "Dedicated?"

    "Smitten," Sirona said. "It''s like he''spletely head over heels for the girl. But wasn''t she kidnapped here as a pawn? He definitely didn''t act as though he was in love with her when he had first given out the orders of bringing her here to Vramid."

    "I didn''t think it would happen too," Jonah confessed. "He had a much clearer mind before she was brought here. Now he''s like a lovesick puppy. Don''t get me wrong, the queen is indeed a wonderful woman and it''s hard not to like her. I just didn''t think Atticus was capable of loving anybody."

    "Do you reckon it''s ck magic?"

    "Impossible." The slight clinking of wood against metal resounded, most likely from the action of stirring. "Her Highness is incapable of magic, or so multiple sources im."

    "Are the Reawethen royalties not highly gifted in pyromancy?"

    "Not their princess."

    Jonah''s firm answer felt like an arrow was shot straight through Daphne''s heart. Even though he was right, it didn''t mean it wouldn''t hurt.

    "Maybe he does need a tonic for his brain after all." Sirona''sughter was light. "Not for an imaginary poison, but for his sudden bout of lovesickness."

    Daphne had heard enough. She had actually believed for a second that she had nearly caused the death of the king of Vramid¨D her own husband. And yet, it hadn''t even been hours before she found out everything was just an act and both Sirona and Jonah were both in on it.

    How long more were they going to keep it a secret from her? Did they feel no guilt at all watching her panic over his well-being?

    And Atticus. Did he think it was all a joke? Was it fun watching her spill tears over his ''poisoning''?

    Anger flooded Daphne''s veins the more she thought about it. Whatever good feelings and fuzzy emotions she had felt for him immediately dissipated into the air, gone with nothing left. All she could see was red, her hands clenched into fists by her side.

    Stepping into the kitchen, two heads whirled around to look at her, shocked to see her entrance. Both Sirona and Jonah looked rmed with eyes widened and lips slightly parted as they sucked in a bout of air through their teeth.

    Fury tainted Daphne''s words as she spoke.

    "Let''s poison him."

 Chapter 37 Taste of Your Own Medicine

    37 Taste of Your Own Medicine

    "My Queen!" Jonah squeaked in shock.

    The mini cauldron ced on the stovetop behind the two people suddenly let out a soft pop. Green fumes started to rise and Sirona was the first to snap back to attention. She quickly grabbed the wooden spoon from Jonah''s hands, stirring the contents inside the pot to stop it from bubbling over.

    "Oh my," Sironaughed cheerfully, a contrast to Jonah''s shamed surprise. "It seems like we have been found out, Sir Jonah."

    She casually leaned over, grabbing a handful of a green fern-like ingredient before dropping it into the mixture. That caused the fumes to immediately stop rising.

    "Your Highness," Jonah started, "we can''t possibly¨D"

    "I don''t mean kill him." Daphne swiftly cut in, stomping over to where they stood in front of the stove. She took a look at the ingredientsid out. Close up, the smell of the prescribed tonic was even more disgusting than from where she was prior. She turned to Sirona. "Is the tonic ready?"

    The smile on Sirona''s face was easygoing. "Almost, Your Highness. It just needs to simmer for a while more."

    "What''s this tonic for?" Daphne shot Jonah a stinky re. "Since it''s not meant to serve as an antidote after all."

    "Oh, many things," Sirona said. "Support overall health, boost his immune system¨D" she paused and smiled cunningly, "and strengthen his vitality in the bedroom."

    Daphne ignored her yful jab.

    "What else can you add inside to make it even more vile?" she asked.

    Jonah furrowed his brows, speaking as though he was a small animal afraid of being crushed by a boot. "Your Highness¡­"

    "Quiet, you."

    He obediently listened, his head hanging low.

    Sirona chuckled heartily. "Well, there are many things. Perhaps you would like to add briscusberries? When mixed with aedrove vines, it would make the bitterness much more pronounced and could be a very effective¨D"

    "Do you have any here?" Daphne frantically looked around. When she noticed a couple sitting on the counter a short distance away, she went and grabbed some. "Is this it?"

    "Yes," Sirona nodded, "but Your Highness, this could¨D"

    "It''s not life-threatening, is it?"

    "Well, no," Sirona instantly answered. "The king will not die from it, if that''s what you mean."

    "We''ll add this, then."

    Sirona sighed. Yet, she didn''t bother trying to warn Daphne again, since thetter was obviously not receptive to her words.

    Instead, she dutifully prepared the ingredient before adding it to the broth. While the berries had a mildly sweet fragrance on their own, when mixed with the rest of the ingredients, the oue was something so repulsive that Daphne instinctively reached up to pinch her nose.

    Jonah was one step ahead. He had even grabbed a clothespin to pinch his nose shut.

    The healer calmly portioned out the boiling hot tonic before cing it on a tray with a small wooden spoon left on the side.

    "Be careful," she warned. "It can be hot. He needs to consume this before it cools down too much for the best effect."

    Daphne nodded, picking up the tray before making her way back to Atticus''s room. She was gone quickly, even the echo of her footsteps did not linger for long.

    "You were trying to warn her about something just now," Jonah said. "The tonic is still safe to drink, yes?"

    "Of course," Sirona responded. "I would never suggest anything that might be harmful to His Majesty."

    Jonah''s head tilted a little to a side in confusion. "Then what is it that you wanted to say?"

    A slow, mischievous smile started to stretch Sirona''s lips. It was almost sinister.

    "Briscusberries and aedrove vines can be mixed together to form a very powerful aphrodisiac. You did a smart thing, using the clothespin, because even the smell of it can be infectious if you''re not immune to it."

    ***

    Daphne returned to Atticus''s room with the tonic still piping hot. Before she even stepped into the room, she could hear muffled conversations from behind the door.

    For the second time that day, Daphne peeped in to eavesdrop on the people inside. She carefully opened the door quietly, allowing just a small crack for the sound to channel out a little louder and for her to peek in. She saw a sh of pastel blue hair and pale, thin hands that belonged to none other than the princess of Nedour.

    The sour feeling in Daphne''s heart worsened.

    This evil man. She had barely even left for a few minutes and he already found a new person to keep himpany. What happened to all the sweet words he had whispered about him being hers?

    "Are you sure you are alright, Your Majesty?" Princess Cordelia asked, her voice soft as though she was a delicate flower.

    "Perfectly so, Princess Cordelia." Atticus''s voice was polite, almost curt, even. That tone of his eased the ache of Daphne''s heart a little. Just a little.

    "Perhaps you would like a Nedish doctor to look over your condition?" Cordelia pressed. "I heard that you had nearly drowned as well. Other than poisons, the healers from Nedour are extremely skilled in water-rted injuries."

    Daphne''s eyes narrowed when she noticed Cordelia inching forward in her seat. Her hand moved over and hovered above Atticus''s, nearly touching his. Lucky for him, he was smart enough to shift his hand away before she could touch him. If not, it would be one more stain added to his list of crimes in Daphne''s records.

    That was enough spying.

    Daphne pushed the door open and cleared her throat, standing there with squinted eyes at the way Cordelia was leaning a little too closely to Atticus on the bed. Her chest ¨D or at least whatever there was ¨D was basically spilling out into his face, almost in a sad attempt to push him into her cleavage. Such low-handed ways of seduction had already been tried by Cordelia more than once tonight, and Daphne had grown immune.

    On the other hand, once Atticus noticed his wife standing there, he nearly jumped out of his bed. It also didn''t take long for the putrid smell to waft through the room to where they were. Immediately, his face scrunched up as though he had just bitten into a lemon.

    "Hello again, Princess Cordelia," Daphne greeted with a smile so fake that even her family would apud her for it. She then turned her attention to her husband. The poor man visibly gulped. "My darling husband, it''s time to take your medicine!"

 Chapter 38 You Are The Cure

    38 You Are The Cure

    "What is that god-awful smell?" The skin between Princess Cordelia''s eyebrows was knitted tightly together, her fingers blocking her nostrils as she red hard at the bowl of bubbling, unknown liquid in Daphne''s hands. "Are you trying to kill the king with this foul concoction?"

    "Excuse me, I take umbrage with that statement." Daphne sniffed haughtily, purposely walking closer so that she was in between her lying husband and this interloper. Cordelia scooted back, nearly retching at the smell, and Atticus had all but stered himself against the headboard of the bed, as though this would allow him to escape.

    Foolish man. Daphne would rather down the entire tonic herself than to let Atticus off the hook. If she had to kill off her own sense of smell to get even, then so be it!

    "That''s my husband''s tonic," Daphne said, taking special care to emphasize the word ''husband''. She fluttered her eyshes innocently at Atticus, before turning to Cordelia. "Thank you for paying him a visit. Would you like a bowl of his tonic?"

    "I would never dream of ingesting a tonic meant for the king." Daphne had to give Cordelia points for herposure; despite her disgust at the smell, she could still give Atticus a simpering nce.

    Meanwhile, Atticus was torn between joy at being acknowledged as Daphne''s husband, and terror at the contents of the bowl. Suddenly he was having second thoughts about his scheme.

    He would rather fight an army barehanded than to drink this!

    "My sunshine, I''m feeling a lot better than before. I hardly think this is necessary¨D"

    Daphne scoffed internally. Of course he was feeling a lot better. Since the poison in his body didn''t exist.

    "No no, my dear husband, I insist," Daphne said, purposely making her eyes look bigger and more watery as her lips wobbled. Her husband wasn''t the only liar in the room.

    "Please? I made this specially for you." Daphne added pleadingly. "I want you to be well. You frightened me today."

    "But I¡­"

    Whatever rebuttal Atticus had fell t when he saw the heartbroken look on Daphne''s face. His wife was worried about him, so much so that she personally carried a piping hot bowl of what must be the most pungent tonic in the entire world for him to drink. She could have left the job to a servant or Jonah, but here she was, still staring hopefully at him.

    Maybe there really was something wrong with him. He could feel his body getting warmer by the weight of her gaze.

    "Only if you feed me then, my dear," Atticus said weakly. If he was going to suffer, he might as well get the most out of it.

    "If you insist." Daphne sighed, sounding mightily reluctant, but she still scooped up a spoonful for him to drink. She even blew on it gently to cool it slightly, acting every inch the devoted wife.

    "Here, husband," she said sweetly. Inside, Daphne was steaming with anger.

    ''Atticus, I''ll make you drink every single drop of this tonic, even if I have to shove this entire bowl down your gullet. That''s the least you owe me after all the tears I wasted on you!''

    "Thank you, darling." Atticus croaked out and swallowed the spoonful reluctantly. Daphne watched him gag at the smell and taste and felt brief happiness at his self-made misfortune.

    She prepared another spoon.

    Atticus opened his mouth and swallowed yet another mouthful. As he swallowed more of the tonic, he could feel his body growing increasingly feverish. His throat felt dry no matter how much tonic he drank.

    There was a slow, insistent pounding in his head, and it seemed like liquid heat was coursing through his veins. At first, he thought that it was due to how hot the liquid was but his rational mind knew that it wasn''t the only reason.

    His heart began to race. His clothes felt like they were suddenly too small for him. He needed to tear them off¨D He needed someone¨D He needed¨D

    Atticus shook himself out of it. He stared at the tonic. Could Daphne have poisoned him?

    No, impossible.

    He sucked in a breath, trying to calm down. If he was poisoned, he didn''t need it racing through his body.

    Unknown to him, Daphne was also feeling simr sensations. The smell from the tonic barely bothered her now, but every breath felt like it was setting her skin on fire. She shifted; the smooth silk of her dress had rubbed deliciously against the more sensitive parts of her body, causing her to gasp.

    Atticus stared at her intensely, his pupils wide and dark with want. She couldn''t tear her eyes away. Atticus licked at the corner of his lips and to Daphne''s horror, a whimper escaped unbidden from her lips. Her mind couldn''t help but think of other things Atticus could do with his tongue, things maidens and princesses were not supposed to even know.

    What was happening to her?

    "The both of you aren''t looking well." Cordelia''s voice cut through the tension like a knife. Atticus and Daphne were both startled with surprise. "Queen Daphne, didn''t you im that this was medicine? How does King Atticus look worse after ingesting it?"

    True enough, there were beads of sweat forming on Atticus''s forehead and his eyes were getting unfocused.

    "No, this is medicine!" Daphne protested.

    "And how would you know this? I doubt you have any experience with herbs." Cordelia smirked.

    This was too easy¨D this new queen was an idiot. Cordelia had figured out that the tonic was actually a powerful aphrodisiac after Atticus had taken the first mouthful, and she was simply waiting for it to take effect. She simply needed the queen to panic and leave, so that Cordelia could offer to soothe the king''s lust with her own body.

    With any luck, she''ll get a royal heir before the night is over!

    "If I were you, I''d run straight to the healers and demand an exnation. Better hurry up, or else you might be hanged for murder," Cordelia added.

    "I won''t leave." Daphne steeled her gaze. "I don''t know what you''re nning, but you must think me a bigger fool if you expect me to leave my husband alone in a room with you."

    Cordelia''s face purpled. "You''re such a¨D"

    "And might I remind you that you''re speaking to my wife. I would never charge her for murder," Atticus said hoarsely.

    He gathered all his remaining strength and pushed himself out of bed, surprising both women.

    "Now get out before I get the guards to throw you out," Atticus said to Cordelia, his voice carrying a bit of warning.

    "I can help! Wait! How dare you treat me like this!" Cordelia protested, but Atticus refused to hear anything more.

    He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door. Daphne being the loving spouse she was, eagerly helped him. Cordelia struggled harder, but she was no match for the both of them.

    Atticus mmed the door shut in her face. He theny against the door, panting in exhaustion.

    "Atticus, you''re ill," Daphne whispered. There was no denying it. Atticus who could normally take down a party of assassins was now winded after pushing a woman out of his room. Once again she began to feel guilty, and then angry at herself and at Sirona.

    Didn''t she say that this wouldn''t harm him? What was this then?

    "I''ll go get a cure from Sirona. Please wait."

    But before she could open the door, Atticus grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her soft skin. She cried out in surprise.

    "No need. You¨D" Atticus panted, his face flushed and eyes hooded. He could barely look straight. His entire body felt weak, burned by an itch that wouldn''t go away. Even breathing became difficult for him. "You are the cure."

 Chapter 39 Unforeseen Desires

    39 Unforeseen Desires

    "How¡­ what do you mean?"

    There was a whirlwind inside Daphne''s head. She didn''t have any knowledge about antidotes to help Atticus. Princess Cordelia had been right about one thing and that was that Daphne did not have much knowledge about the various medicinal herbs and their properties. The basics were easy enough and she recognized the moremon nts, but that was just about it.

    Never had she cursed her ownck of knowledge more than the present.

    How could Daphne possibly be the cure?

    Atticus let out a weak chuckle, though there was no joy in it. He swayed on his feet. All his blood was flowing downwards, and theck of skin contact hurt felt like a physical wound. His wife needed to understand.

    "Sunshine, you fed me a powerful aphrodisiac. I''m burning from within."

    "No!" Daphne flushed and shook off his arm, ignoring the intive whine Atticus let out, as though she struck him in the face. She took several steps back in shock as the realization hit her.

    "There''s no way¡­ Sirona said it wasn''t¡­ it didn''t¡­"

    Daphne remembered that Sirona had wanted to tell her something about adding thatst ingredient, but in her anger she had shut her down. She wanted to smack herself¨D how could she have been so foolish? In her need for revenge, she had created an unprecedented disaster!

    "You''ve really poisoned me now," Atticus wheezed out as if in great pain, "in body, mind, and soul."

    His hand traversed down his body, gripping his tunic hard enough to tear it away.

    Daphne gulped and protested. "I didn''t mean to¨D"

    "It isn''t necessarily a bad thing," Atticus swiftly cut in.

    He got up with much difficulty,ing over to where Daphne stood. Only, vertigo had hit him at a very bad time and they were soon toppled across the bed. Daphne struggled, but she didn''t have the strength to push him away.

    In the end, she was pinned under him, his knee wedged between her thighs, keeping them slightly parted.

    With the position they were in, Daphne felt as though her heart was in her throat. This was a bad idea. She knew, without a doubt, that this was a dangerous position to be in. None of them had a clear mind right now, with Atticus affected by the aphrodisiac. And with how her own body was feeling feverish, she guessed that she wasn''t safe from it either.

    "Daphne¡­"

    The way her name left his lips was almost sinful. Her chest heaved up and down heavily, in tune with her haggard breathing. Second by second, she could feel her own control start to slip from her. If she hadn''t even had a drop of the aphrodisiac but was already feeling like this, she didn''t want to imagine what Atticus was going through.

    She wanted to help. This time, it really was her fault. But the only way to help him was not something she could afford.

    ''Think, Daphne!'' She squeezed her eyes shut. ''There has to be another way.''

    "Sunshine¡­"

    Atticus''s voice caused Daphne''s eyes to snap open. Her eyes met his, their gazes colliding in a flurry of sparks and light. The gold of his irises had darkened almost to a bronze,den heavily with pools of swirling lust and desire.

    When his tongue darted out just slightly to dampen his bottom lip, Daphne gulped. This man was too skilled at seduction for his own good. Either that or the aphrodisiac was ying one too many tricks on Daphne.

    "One kiss," he said, his voice barely even above a murmur. "Just one."

    Daphne breathed in sharply at his words.

    "I''ll stop after, I promise."

    Daphne said nothing but she had one moment of weakness.

    Just one.

    That small nod of her head was enough of a sign for Atticus. He leaned down and connected their lips without a moment''s hesitation. When they touched, the heat that spread through their bodies felt different from what was caused by the aphrodisiac. It was like a weed fire that began to spread across their bodies.

    Daphne had never locked lips with anyone before, much less a man. So at first, her actions were stiff. She kissed him back, or at least, she tried to, but she could not keep up with a man who seemed to have all the experience in the world.

    While Atticus was considerate and took it slow, she did not miss the urgency of his movements. It was just barely restrained. The air crackled with tension, and when Atticus''s fingers grazed the skin of her cheek to pull her closer, Daphne shivered in response.

    Her eyes fluttered close and they kissed as if time had ceased to exist, lost in the intoxicating spell woven by the aphrodisiac and their newfound ¨D possibly artificial, possibly genuine ¨D connection. Every touch, every brush of lips, told a story of longing and a shared awakening. The walls between them crumbled, reced by an unspoken understanding and a raw vulnerability.

    When they finally broke the kiss, their breaths mingled, creating a shared space between them. Atticus looked at Daphne¨D in his eyes Daphne found wonder and a newfound tenderness. Her lips still tingled deliciously from the moment they had just shared. She had even forgotten to berate herself for enjoying that kiss.

    His eyes darted down to look at her rosy, swollen lips before meeting her gaze again. She did the same, her lips slowly turning into a soft smile.

    "You said just one," she said breathily.

    "Sunshine," he replied, his voice equally as out of breath as hers, "do you know that you are basically asking the world of me?"

    "You promised."

    "Another, please," he whispered, his nose brushing against her neck.

    Daphne gasped, moving her body slightly up as she did so, nearly pressing her chest against Atticus''s. The sensation of his warm breath fanning against her skin sent bolts of lightning through her body from the point of contact.

    "I''ll do anything." Atticus began to pepper small kisses down her neck. His kisses were intoxicating. "I will do anything for you, Daphne."

 Chapter 40 Nearly

    40 Nearly

    Daphne tried to stifle a moan as she felt his lips tickle the sensitive skin on her neck, pressing kisses over every inch of her exposed skin.

    "Please¡­ Atticus¡­please¡­" Daphne didn''t know what she was pleading for. For Atticus to stop, or for him to continue?

    Her body made the decision for her. Her hands instinctively wrapped around Atticus''s broad shoulders to pull him closer, her head tilting to give him better ess.

    "Sunshine¡­ you''re killing me¡­" Atticus groaned out, his eyes hazy with lust as he saw the exquisite picture his wife was painting beneath him.

    Her fingers were slim, but they felt like hot irons even through his tunic, his back forever branded by her touch. Rational thought had all but left his mind, and he leaned back down to kiss her lips, already swollen from his earlier kiss.

    Daphne arched her back as she pulled him closer. She knew she should stop him, but every breath she took spurred her on. She wanted¨D no, she needed more of him.

    ''Dear God, if you want us to stop, you should send me a sign!''

    Maybe the heavens finally took pity on Daphne. Maybe her guardian angel had given up on her and finally decided to seek help from higher powers. Whatever it was, her prayers had indeed been answered.

    "Oh my god!"

    "Stop!"

    SPLASH!

    Without warning, cold water sshed over both their heads, causing Daphne to scream in surprise. She had been so immersed in this little bubble she and Atticus had built that she hadn''t even noticed the door to the room had opened and someone had stepped in.

    Atticus took the brunt of it all since his body was hovering over hers. Even still, she did not entirely escape from the sudden cold shower. The chill prated the bones of her arms that were wrapped around Atticus''s body, creating a tingling feeling.

    The intensity of the cold provoked an involuntary gasp, her breath catching in her throat as the cold liquid met the warmth of her skin.

    It effectively snapped her out of her trance. The heavens could not have made things clearer; they were meant to stop! Daphne felt relieved, but there was a tiny, yet very vocal part of her that wanted things to continue.

    Meanwhile, Atticus was feeling more anger than disappointment or relief.

    "What the fuck! Who dares to interrupt?" Atticus cursed, the shock loosening his tongue. He immediately turned to re at the intruder, his magical aura ring up at the unforeseen interruption¨D only to quail as he was met with Jonah''s unimpressed face and a bucket of iced water.

    Jonah even decided to empty thest of the water on his head! Atticus''s eyes squeezed shut for a second as the final droplets trickled from his hair down the sides of his face. When he was sure there was no more, he finally opened his eyes and red hard.

    "I apologize for my tardiness, Your Majesties," came Jonah''s familiar voice. "But I''m afraid it''s time to wake up before you do something you might regret."

    "You ass!" Atticus was a king, so he did not shriek like a maiden. But he came quite close to it. "That was cold!"

    His body felt like it was pierced by a thousand frozen needles. Time seemed to stand still as Atticus felt the cold water drip down his body, the icy sensation traversing from his scalp to the soles of his feet.

    Every nerve ending in his body was awakened, and they were all screaming at him.

    "That''s the point," Jonah said, sounding incredibly non-apologetic. "ording to Sirona, the fastest way to counteract the aphrodisiac is a sharp shock to the body. It was either ice water or I hit you on the head with a battering ram."

    "Should I say thank you for not giving me a possibly-fatal concussion?" Atticus grumbled.

    "No need, your skull is so thick, no hit will register," Jonah replied impishly, to which Atticus''s re only worsened. "Hence, only the freshest iced water for you, freshly gathered and cooled down from the snow on thewn."

    "Gee. I feel so honored." Atticus grumbled, but the sudden ssh of iced water had done its job. The heated haze he found himself wrapped in suddenly dissipated, leaving him fairly more clear-headed.

    It was as though the fog had finally parted so he could see the sun.

    Then he remembered what happened, what he was about to do.

    What <nulli>they were about to do. They were so close to¡­

    He stared down at Daphne, who could only blink wordlessly up at him, her face red with embarrassment as she realized thepromising position she and Atticus were in. To make matters worse, they had an audience!

    Not only was Jonah there, Healer Sirona and Maisie were also present! Daphne was so embarrassed, she wished the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

    Instead, she could only close her eyes and cover her face with her hands, trying her best not to scream.

    ''This is a dream, this is a dream,'' Daphne chanted to herself. ''When I open my eyes, all this will be over¡­''

    Atticus saw this and wanted tough. It was incredibly cute! Maybe the aphrodisiac hadn''tpletely disappeared. After all, those lips of hers still looked very inviting.

    "Might I suggest getting the Queen off the soaked sheets?" Sirona suggested. "It wouldn''t do for her to catch a cold."

    "I''m not included?" Atticusined. "Isn''t this bias a little too much?"

    "It''s what you deserve," Sirona said with a severe arch of her eyebrow.

    Atticus remembered she was helping him lie to his wife, and so he meekly kept his mouth shut and moved away as Maisie helped a blushing Daphne up.

    "Use this to keep warm, Your Highness," Maisie said, cing a warm towel across her shoulders.

    Daphne immediately grabbed the fabric, tightening it around herself as she shivered from the cold. With Maisie''s help, she quickly got to her feet. Even though she wasn''t soaked through like Atticus was, there was still a fair amount of water that clung onto her dress, making it heavier than before.

    "Wait, let me¨D" Atticus instinctively reached for his pocket only to find nothing there. He had forgotten that through the award-winning act that he had put up for the night, the sunstone that he usually kept in his pocket had been thrown to who knew where.

    Jonah scoffed, rolling his eyes.

    "Maisie, please take care of Her Highness."

    "Of course." The bubbly maid nodded, this time, with much worry etched on her face.

    Daphne was then promptly led out of the room. As the door of the room slowly closed behind her, she turned around just onest time. Her eyes found Atticus''s and they locked gazes for a second. A rush of emotions burst forth from his expression, but they weren''t anything that Daphne could immediately recognize.

    When she looked again, the door had mmed shut.

 Chapter 41 The Show Must Go On

    Chapter 41 The Show Must Go On

    "Do you even know what you could''ve done?!" Jonah all but shrieked at Atticus, who onlyzily sat at the edge of the bed, squeezing thest drops of water out of his trousers. Once he was done, he stuck his pinkie into his ear and began to dig, looking at the nonexistent dirt on the tip of his finger.

    "I knew when to stop¡­" Atticus murmured, appearing as nonchnt as ever when in truth, his heart was slowly starting to pick up its pace again.

    The bout of cold water had only calmed him down for a brief moment. Now that he was starting to warm up, the feeling was returning slowly but surely. It was just that the only person he desired was long gone.

    Away. Safe from him.

    "He isn''t fully to me, Jonah," Sirona said. She walked over to Atticus, holding out a ss of water followed by a handkerchief. Once Atticus took the ss, she unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small, round pill inside. "The antidote," she exined.

    Atticus took the pill and swallowed it without another word. As he gulped down the water, he could feel the liquid cool his throat with each mouthful. The burning ache in his body subsided quickly. He hadn''t thought the antidote would be this effective, though he surely wasn''tining.

    "Maybe that would finally teach you not to bite off more than you can chew," Jonah grumbled. He stuck his hand into his pocket before pulling out a familiar peach-colored stone. It was nicely polished and had a slight sheen to it, no bigger than half of Atticus''s palm.

    "Yours," he said before tossing the sunstone over to Atticus. "Better not lose it again."

    Thetter caught it easily, quickly using it to dry his damp clothing followed by the sheets. A spark of brilliant orange danced across the room, causing heat to quickly spread across the furniture¨D enough to dry but not enough to cause great difort. The leftover warmth on the sheets after Atticus was done was soothing to the touch, almost as though it was the imprint of their body heat and not magic.

    "I can''t believe you two didn''t stop her from feeding me an aphrodisiac." Atticus scoffed, slowly getting to his feet. "Or was that your initial idea with the ''prescription''? I love how you''re trying to spice up my marriage." He threw thatst part at Sirona, who only raised an eyebrow.

    "The original tonic was meant to energize you," Sirona dully said. "It wasn''t supposed to send you into heat like some rabid animal."

    "Then what happened?"

    "The original recipe called for aedrove vines," Sirona exined. "The queen asked what else could be added to worsen its vor. And if you''d asked me, I would say you deserved it. Briscusberries then came into the equation."

    "Ugh¡­" Atticus grumbled, running his hand down his face. Having once worked with Sirona temporarily during his younger days, Atticus was more or less well-versed in herbology. It didn''t take long for him to piece two and two together.

    "And you didn''t stop her?" he asked, ring incredulously at his old friend. "Aedrove vines and briscusberries could prove to be disastrous. I thought you two of all people would know that!"

    Sirona''s face turned cold. "She tried," Jonah offered, "we both did. But you should have seen the queen''s face when she heard us talking about your fake illness. You could have put her in a dungeon full of hardened criminals and she would fit right in."

    Atticus wrinkled the bridge of his nose. How would the sweet, angelic Daphne look so murderous? She was basically a bunny wrapped up in a wolf''s hide. That woman had more bark than bite and it was heartwarming to watch her bare her fangs. Was it sadistic? Maybe. But Atticus couldn''t help himself. He had long seen too many bad people pretending to be innocent that it was refreshing to see the opposite end of things. As far as Atticus knew, Daphne Molinero could not do anything bad. "Yes," said Sirona. "Which is why you should just stop while you''re ahead. Continue ying this game, and I won''t be able to save you from her."

    A mischievous glint danced in Atticus''s eyes. Jonah recognized it quickly, immediately frowning. Yet, he didn''t stop Atticus from spewing further nonsense. His best friend had already made such a fool of himself, what''s another?

    "But does she know that I know that she knows?"

    Both Jonah and Sirona looked stupefied for a second there.

    "Excuse me, what?" Jonah asked, confused. "Why would that matter?"

    "Of course she doesn''t." Sirona scoffed. "We just told you! She''s not here now, is she?"

    "Then I don''t see what''s the issue," Atticus said brattily, flopping on the bed with his hands crossed behind his head. His legs were crossed one over the other, his bodypletely rxed. "She knows that I am acting and is probably now just waiting to see how far I would take it."

    "And that''s a good thing because¡­?" Jonah prompted, failing to resist the urge of rolling his eyes.

    Atticus decided to turn a blind eye to his actions. "Because she is now invested in ying along with the act. She wants to see me make a fool of myself, and put on a show I shall."

    Sirona and Jonah simply looked at each other, both stunned speechless. Jonah shook his head slowly, frowning at Sirona. At that moment, the same thing dashed across his head.

    ''That''s it,'' they thought, ''the king has gone insane.''

    "Basically, you''re now turning to mind games," Sirona said in a deadpan.

    "That''s right." Atticus nodded. "Victory is mine and soon enough, our time shared together will have her falling head over heels in love with me."

    "And, pray tell," Jonah sighed, pinching the skin between his eyebrows, "why do you want the queen to fall so madly in love with you?"

    "Because¨D"

    Because?

    That was a good question. Atticus had never thought about it. Why did it matter so much that Daphne was in love with him when she was just a pawn and he was just her captor?

    Out of nowhere, Sirona smirked. Then, her smile broadened until it was eventually apanied by a light chortle.

    "My my, Your Majesty," she cooed. "Don''t tell me. Have you fallen in love with her?"

    "Fallen?" Atticus echoed with a guffaw. "In love?" He fell into a full fit ofughter, clutching his belly as he toppled back. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

    He was Vramid''s king. Cold-hearted, callous, and cruel. He could not be in love with his wife. "You''re an idiot that''s willing to fake illness so that your wife will fall in love with you," Sirona said unflinchingly.

    "That does seem very damning. The Atticus I know from before would have simply ignored his wife if he didn''t love her," Jonah added.

    "Look at the two of you, scolding me in tandem." Atticus taunted. "One might think you are a couple lecturing their wayward son."

    "You¨D" Jonah''s ears burned because of course Atticus would bring up his old feelings for Sirona at the worst possible time. He nced at Sirona from the corner of his eyes, but she simply rolled her eyes, more exasperated at the teasing. That hurt him more than any words Atticus could say. "Please, if you were my son I would have you over my knee and spanked you. What a brat!" Sirona scolded.

    "Ooooh, how scious. Is there something you wish to tell me?" Atticus waggled his eyebrows. "Have you been spanking the stableboys? Jonah is going to be so disappointed because he¨D"

    "Atticus!" Jonah immediately leaped onto Atticus, pping his hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking. "Shut it!" Atticus tried to pry him off, only for Jonah to knee him in the gut. He wheezed.

    "You like¨D"

    "Not as much as you¨D"

    They began brawling like children at the schoolyard instead of solving conflicts like mature adults.

    Meanwhile, Sirona frowned in confusion. There was no reason why Jonah would be disappointed that he wasn''t getting spanked; he was a full-grown man, not a disobedient child. Clearly, Atticus was talking nonsense again. Her king had the tendency of running his mouth to distract people from asking questions he didn''t want to answer.

    Sirona then scoffed, watching the both of them tussle in bed, letting out suspicious groaning noises and messing up the bedsheets. The servants'' rumor mill will be hard at work tomorrow. "If the both of you injure each other, I''m going to heal you the old-fashioned way." By throwing a roll of bandages at them and getting them to dress their own wounds.

    "That''s cold of you," Atticus said as he pinned Jonah down. Jonah retaliated by biting his arm, causing him to return the favor.

    These are two of the most talented men in Vramid. Sirona sighed and shook her head. "The both of you are raised by wolves. I''ll be going now. A word of warning, Atticus¨D when your wife decides to stab you in your bed, I''ll only say ''I told you so''."

 Chapter 42 The Morning After

    Chapter 42 The Morning After

    ''Peaceful'' wasn''t a term Daphne could use to describe the next few days of her life in the castle. For one thing, Atticus hadn''t fully ''recovered'' from his imaginary illness. He had sent Sirona and Jonah running about the pce looking for her, and when she couldn''t be found, Maisie.

    In the end, not only was Daphne hiding from Atticus and his fellow goons, she had dragged Maisie along with her as well to prevent her closest confidant from being bribed over to the dark side.

    "You can''t avoid His Majesty forever," Maisie chided. "Maybe it''s time to sit down and talk it through."

    Sweet innocent Maisie. She still thought that the reason why Daphne was avoiding Atticus was because of the aphrodisiac incident. While she wasn''t exactly wrong, that wasn''t the only reason. There were multiple emotions jostling for center stage in her heart.

    As Daphne found herself reluctantly spending more time with Atticus, a curious shift began to take ce within her. At first, her heart remained guarded, hardened by the circumstances that had brought them together. The initial fear and resentment lingered, reminding her of the way he had disrupted her life and stolen her freedom.

    But as the days turned into nights, and their forcedpanionship evolved into something resembling a fragile connection, Daphne discovered herself

    experiencing a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Beneath fragile connection, Daphne discovered herself experiencing a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Beneath her initial disdain, she noticed glimpses of Atticus that contradicted the rumors and assumptions she had heard.

    In the quiet moments shared between them, Daphne observed Atticus with newfound rity. She saw the way his eyes softened when he thought she wasn''t looking, revealing a vulnerability she hadn''t anticipated. Hisughter, once foreign and grating to her ears, now had the power to send a warmth cascading through her veins.

    It was in the simple acts of kindness, the stolen nces, and the unexpected moments of understanding that Daphne''s heart began to thaw. Atticus, with all his ws andplexities, was slowly chipping away at the walls she had erected around herself. This funny feeling that had started to brew in Daphne''s heart had only heightened after the passionate kiss they had shared while under the influence of the aphrodisiac. That was the tipping point and this all scared her.

    Then she remembered that he was pretending to be ill. Even if Daphne was the one that fed him the tonic, this whole mess was his fault to begin with!

    Daphne had no clue what was happening. She had only known Atticus for a short while, definitely not enough to convert whatever hatred she bore for him into entirely positive feelings. But she knew that if she were to stand in front of the king right this instant, Daphne would be reduced to a blushing mess.

    She refused to let it happen. He didn''t deserve it. A knock on the door interrupted Daphne''s thoughts, preventing her from the chance to reply to Maisie.

    "Your Highness?" A familiar voice could be heard behind the door that separated them. Instantly, Daphne winced, recognizing it as Jonah. "I know you''re in there. His Majesty has been asking for you."

    "Tell him I won''t being to his room," Daphne answered, her tone a little harsher than she intended it. There was a pause. "His Majesty is requesting your presence." Another pause. "He hasn''t eaten properly thest couple of days without you around."

    A slight crack formed in the walls Daphne had constructed to keep Atticus out, but she reminded herself to hold firm. She wasn''t responsible for hisck of appetite!

    He''s not even actually sick!

    "Am I his wet nurse? The king is perfectly capable of eating on his own."Daphne replied, crossing her arms irritably. Beside her, Maisie''s mouth fell open in disappointment. "But Your Highness, the king might get sicker!" Maisie protested.

    Daphne narrowed her eyes. The king was at the peak of physical health. Instead, it was she who was left feeling breathless and dizzy, her body burning hot as though she had a fever whenever she thought about him. It was driving her mad, especially since thoughts of him often cropped up during the middle of the night. "Nonsense, Maisie, I have full faith in the king''s abilities," Daphne said. Then she directed her words to the man behind the door. "Jonah, you can force him to eat. I''m giving you nket permission to shove food down his throat."

    "Your Highness, no one can force King Atticus to do anything. And me shoving food down his throat might lead to me losing my own," Jonah said with a heavy sigh. She can almost picture his beleaguered face. "Can you take pity on this poor knight and just eat a meal with him? Just one meal. I''ll promise to not bother you about this again. I''ll beg outside if I have to."

    "Please, Your Highness!" Maisie added, her eyes big and shiny, like a puppy begging for a treat. Daphne caught her before she sank to her knees to beg for Atticus, who definitely did not deserve Maisie''s innocentpassion. Daphne felt her heart waver; more cracks were forming in the walls. "I''ll go with you," Jonah said, sensing Daphne''s hesitation. "If he tries anything you''re ufortable with, I''ll dump the pitcher of milk over his head."

    Imagining the sight, both Daphne and Maisie caught each other''s eyes and giggled. "Fine," Daphne said, "I''ll go. But as promised, I''m only doing this for one meal only."

    And possibly to see Atticus dunked in milk. Daphne nodded to herself as she was escorted to the dining hall. While Maisie was humming a cheerful tune behind her, Daphne quickly patched up the cracks in the wall, reminding herself to be as cool and imprable as a fortress wall.

    ''He lied to me,'' Daphne reminded herself. ''You''re just a joke to him. A novelty. A fun toy. If he loved or respected you, he would never have decided to fake illness. And even now, he still refuses toe clean, manipting you so that you''ll eat a meal with him. If you give an inch he''ll take a mile without blinking. He is a scoundrel of the highest order!'' So effective was her internal monologue that when they finally reached the doors leading to Atticus''s temporary bedchambers, her eyes were colder than Vramid''s winters. Jonah identally caught a glimpse of her expression and winced; Atticus was going to do a lot of groveling to salvage the situation, but of course, he was an idiot, so he wouldn''t.

    "Your Majesty," Jonah called whilst knocking on the door. "The Queen has arrived."

    His idiotic best friend''s merry voice soon came from within the room, "Well, hurry in, then."

    The slight tick of Daphne''s jaw had Jonah silently reciting prayers in his heart. Vramid might be without a king soon at this rate, with his liege''s pure idiocy and ipetence in reading a woman''s mind. With the door pushed open, Daphne and Jonah stepped in. Past the sitting area was the familiar four-poster bed that Daphne was all too familiar with. Atticus sat there on the bed, a broad smile on his face as he cheerily beamed at Daphne. An armchair had been ced right beside the bed, with the side table cleared out. Two trays of breakfast were already ced in the room, one on the bed right in front of Atticus and one on the side table, most likely Daphne''s portion. "Sunshine!" Atticus''s smile was radiant but even so, it wasn''t warm enough to melt the iciness of Daphne''s expression. "You''re finally here. I almost thought you weren''t willing to see me any longer."

    "So he does have a brain," Daphne muttered under her breath. It wasn''t loud enough for Atticus to hear from across the room, but Jonah, who was standing right next to Daphne, heard it clear as day. However, she said nothing more than that and simply walked to the side of the bed where the armchair and the extra set of breakfast were ced. Elegantly as ever, she sat down, tucking her skirt under her. "You seem perfectly fine to me," Daphnemented coldly, barely even looking at Atticus as she picked up her fork and knife, slicing into the sausage with a little more force than what was needed. "Definitely well enough and grown enough to eat breakfast on your own."

    "Healer Sirona''s¡­" Atticus hesitated, "tonic has worked well. But even so, I am not entirely at my best."

    The mention of the disastrous concoction had warning bells ring in Daphne''s mind. A sh of the raunchy things that had happened a few nights ago took flight, a vivid reminder of the unwavering heat she had felt. Her gaze turned sharply to Atticus. She could see the images of themselves pressed up against each other on the bed, lips connected, limbs tangled, and chests heaving up and down heavily from the kisses shared. Just the thought was infuriating and Daphne couldn''t even pinpoint why. Clearly, Atticus had a death wish for bringing up the events of that fateful night again!Jonah discreetly caught his eye and signaled to him to ''tread carefully''.

    Atticus nodded and opened his mouth.

    "Were the nights cold without me?" Jonah sighed.

    What a waste of good milk.

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