"Your Majesty!" Rafael automatically cried in outrage. He took a step forward in anger, his eyes widening as his eyebrows furrowed. Even his chest felt a little tight the mont his father spoke of Ricard’s na, and panic flared in his chest.
"With pleasure, Father," Ricard said, bowing his head. When Rafael turned to look, he didn’t miss the growing smirk on Ricard’s lips. "May I request sothing when I return victorious?"
King Recaldo’s eyes narrowed. "You have yet to succeed in your task," he said.
"I have no intention to fail," Ricard replied confidently. He raised his gaze, casting Rafael a challenging glance. Even though his words were addressed to the King, his eyes never broke contact with Rafael. "When Princess Soleia returns, I wish to take her as my wife."
"Over my dead fucking body―"
"Stand down, Rafael!" King Recaldo snapped.
A splash of red soared through the air, and within monts, a red whip was wrapped around Rafael, forcing him to kneel. Rafael barely even had the chance to react in his temporary haze, controlled solely by his anger. He struggled against the binds, but when he tried to reach out to his magic, he found himself powerless against his father.
Drat. Significant ti had already passed, yet the magic that Soleia had nullified from him had yet to return. He clenched and flexed his hands behind his back, but the familiar tingle of magic did not co to him as it always had before.
Seeing him helpless, the King rely gave a cold snort.
"Bested by a re woman," King Recaldo said with a sneer. "Yet you think yourself capable of bringing her back? After letting her slip from your grasp the first ti?"
"I wasn’t present when it happened," Rafael said through gritted teeth. If looks could kill, everyone in this room would be dead.
Scratch that.
If Soleia had not nullified his powers and rendered him without magic, everyone in this room would be dead.
"Then you should’ve better prevented it from happening," King Recaldo snapped back. "Do not forget your place, Prince Rafael. Your duties are to and to the kingdom first and foremost. You have a rebellion to quell in the Northern border and should not be gallivanting off chasing skirts."
’Fuck the kingdom,’ Rafael wanted to say, but his lips remained firmly glued together when he felt the first pricks of magic. The knot between his eyebrows loosened, and slowly but surely, his carnelian pendant began to glow.
Then, as if the dam had been broken, magic ca flooding back into his body. A simple flick of his fingers was all it took for the blood ropes that his father commanded to lt to the floor. The soldiers who stood guard imdiately surrounded Rafael, pointing their weapons at him, but he rely got to his feet, massaging his sore wrists.
"She is my wife," Rafael said, his eyes almost glowing predatorily under the dim lighting of the room. "Have soone else deal with the rebellion. Otherwise, it will have to wait until I return."
Then, before his father and brothers could say anything, Rafael swiped his hands across the air. His father’s blood rose, forming a whip in Rafael’s hands that sent the soldiers flying back, toppling like dominos. He wasted no ti, nor did he bother to continue using his father’s blood as a weapon; after all, King Recaldo could control it as much as Rafael could, and he wanted to waste no ti here.
He needed to reach Soleia quickly. If Ricard’s n got to her before Rafael could, Soleia’s life would be in danger. Ricard wouldn’t take Soleia as his bride― even if he did, she would not live longer than a day as his wife, knowing Ricard’s history with won.
With his path cleared, Rafael imdiately turned and ran straight for the door.
"Abandoning your mission will be tantamount to abandoning your right to the throne!" King Recaldo scread after him, but Rafael took no heed.
The door slamd shut behind him, with King Recaldo’s shoulders rising and falling as he heaved in fury. Ricard, on the other hand, had a smirk curving his lips, while Raziel’s eyes shimred with vague interest.
"Oh dear," Ricard said in pretense, holding his hand over his lips. "Should I retrieve him, Father? Rafael had always been rather... impulsive."
"No," King Recaldo curtly said, the bridge of his nose wrinkled in anger. "Let him go after her. He will lead you to her."
In a louder voice, he continued, "And let it be known that from this day forth, Prince Rafael Biroumand has been stripped of his position as crown prince and as a royal mber of Raxuvia. If found, he is to be captured, dead or alive."
"Understood, Your Majesty!" Prince Ricard and Prince Raziel chorused with the soldiers present, kneeling.
"As for that Princess Soleia," King Recaldo said. "She is too dangerous an entity and too wild to control. She has betrayed the trust of the kingdom, and as such, will be killed on sight. Anyone who houses or helps them will imdiately be branded a traitor, sentenced to death!"
***
"I’ve found a boat who is willing to take us," Orion said the mont he closed the door behind him. "But it will have to pass through Santok first." He shrugged off the hood of his coat before coming over to Soleia. "How is the mask?"
"I am still working on it," Soleia said, squinting her eyes as she checked on a small detail. "It should be done soon."
Then, she stiffened and turned her attention to Orion.
"Wait, Santok?" she asked. "Why the detour?"
"The royal family of Raxuvia and Vramid are both looking for you," Orion said. "The route with the highest possibility you will take is the direct sea route to Nedour. We will be easily caught."
"Right..." Soleia said, shakily releasing a breath. "In that case, just let finalize the masks and then we should be able to test it out."
They had not escaped for long, and imdiately after they managed to find an inn that was willing to spare them a room, Soleia began to tinker on the appearance-altering mask she had drafted with Rafael a long ti ago. With all the crystals she would ever need, paired with Rafael’s helpful notes, it was coming along much smoother than Soleia could ever hope for.
Orion crossed the room and peered out of the window. His expression darkened as he pulled up his hood and drew the curtains, carefully stepping away from the window.
"You might want to hurry," he said.
Soleia t his eyes, and, noticing the grim expression on his face, she bit her bottom lip.
"How much longer?" she asked.
"They’ve started to put up search warrants," Orion said. "For you, , and..." he paused, exhaling, "for Rafael Biroumand."
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