Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1689 - 131 : The Magic of a Name

*Kryzen*

I was barely even breathing as I watched Briella attempt to connect with the forest. Her hands were still over the grass, her eyes closed as she concentrated. I could tell she was anxious at first. Her muscles were tight, and a little wrinkle formed between her eyebrows.

I waited quietly, praying to the Goddess that this would work and that Briella would be healed. She had a rough time over the past year. It was a fast year, but I couldn’t even believe how much had happened in that short amount of time.

Not only were we adjusting to leading an entire kingdom, but we were now parents as well. Little Emberly was the light of our entire existence, but she was still a handful. I was grateful for the amount of help we had with her, thanks to all of the maids and my sister, but everything was still wearing on Briella with her continuing nightmares.

Briella was still the bravest and strongest of us all. She insisted on taking care of Emberly and continuing with her queenly duties despite the great stresses being put on her body lately.

One of the newest and greatest joys in my life was watching Briella with our daughter. I knew intuitively that Briella would be an amazing mother, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

The way Briella held Emberly was very tender. It made my chest constrict with happiness each time I watched them together.

I clenched my jaw at the thought of Briella suffering all this time when she should have been able to just enjoy time with our baby.

I was going to do everything in my power to help her through this.

My head shot up when I heard Briella shift. Her wide green eyes were empty as she murmured something low in her throat, barely above a whisper.

“Briella?” I asked cautiously, reaching a hand out to her.

She didn’t answer me. With unfocused eyes, I turned to look into the pool behind her. I scooted toward her in concern. She seemed to be having some kind of vision, so I didn’t want to disturb her. She gazed into the water for a while.

I watched her face, wishing that I could see whatever she saw. All I could see was the water reflected in her eyes. The ripples made it look like her green orbs were glimmering. I peered into the water but saw nothing but those same tiny waves.

I longed to reach out and touch her but held back, knowing that any connection that Briella might be holding with the land could be delicate and disturbed by something as simple as me touching her.

I could no longer hold back when I watched my mate’s eyes widen in horror. Her jaw dropped as she stared transfixed.

“Briella!” I called, gripping her shoulders.

There was no reaction. It was like I hadn’t even touched her. She inhaled sharply as if she’d been struck. I bent my head to look into her eyes and thought I saw a figure form in her orbs, but it was gone before I could be sure it had even been there.

I looked back at the pond to find that a shadow had formed in it. Once again, I blinked, and the shadow disappeared.

I gripped Briella’s shoulders tightly and shook her, trying to get her attention. She just kept staring at the water with wide eyes. I held her for another long moment, trying to calm myself and tell myself that she might need to see whatever she was seeing. It might lead to the answer we needed to save her.

I could no longer stand it when I saw Briella’s face twist up in fear and heard her let out a small sob. That was the final straw. I gripped her shoulders more firmly and pulled her away from the pond. I held her to my chest protectively, stroking her hair and shushing her as her cries got louder and louder.

“You’re okay,” I murmured. “I’m here. You’re alright, Briella. Shh...” I continued to soothe her. I eventually pulled away so I could look into her face.

I was relieved to see that her bright green eyes were no longer empty. They were focused on me now, but she still seemed a bit dazed. I pushed some tears off of her cheeks with my thumbs. Her green eyes were still wide and haunted.

Her lower lip quivered as if she was trying to speak, but then she started to sob again. I needed to know what she saw, but I had to be patient. Taking care of Briella was the most important thing at that moment.

I shifted our bodies so that I was leaning my back against the trunk of a tree and pulled Briella into my lap. I frowned at how easily I was able to do so. She must have lost weight. She was much too light.

Once she was settled on my lap, I started to rock her gently, needing her to feel my warmth and support. She was shaking violently as she cried. I tightened my arms around her and pressed her to my chest. I couldn’t tell if she could hear me above her sobs, but I continued to speak soothingly to her anyway.

My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest as Briella continued to cry. I debated if I should be rushing her back to a healer, but I didn’t think they would be able to do anything. I could tell she wasn’t in physical pain. She was frightened and possibly sad as well.

It seemed like an entire lifetime had passed before Briella’s sobs started to slow and she was able to take some calming breaths. I didn’t loosen my hold on her, even though she seemed to be calming down slightly.

“Kryzen?”

I looked down at Briella, relieved she had calmed down enough to speak. I brushed some hair away from her forehead, my concerned frown deepening when I felt how clammy her skin was.

“Are you alright?” I asked gently, cupping her face in my hands and staring deep into her eyes. I was searching for that shadow of a figure I had seen. I wondered if it really was Tian as we had feared.

Briella started to nod, a habit she developed to comfort me, but she couldn’t even bring herself to do it. Her eyes filled with tears again. She bit her lip so hard that I feared she would cause it to bleed. She let her abused lip go a couple of seconds later. “It’s Malphas.”

It felt like my heart had stopped beating as my brain tried hard to process the impossible words she had just uttered. I laughed once, a hard laugh that was completely devoid of humor. “What?”

“Malphas,” Briella repeated, her lower lip quivering hard as she stared up at me with wide green eyes. “It was Malphas behind all of this the whole time.”

I just stared down at her, my mind reeling as I tried to make sense of what she was saying. It was impossible. “How is that possible?” I asked no one in particular. “Malphas is dead.”

The demon lord who had kidnapped Briella’s grandmother, then her mother, and Briella herself had been a ruthless tyrant. He was power-hungry and wanted to use Briella’s powerful grandmother to make himself stronger. When that failed, he kidnapped Briella and her mother. Thankfully, Luna Zara had been steadfast and brave and was able to save them both.

Briella shook her head. “I don’t know how, but he is,” she said, unable to suppress a violent shudder that shot through her. “I can feel it. My mother had always said she defeated him for good, but somehow he’s back. He’s the one who had been controlling Tian.”

The blood in my veins felt like it was freezing as the gravity of what Briella was saying started to sink in. The demon lord Malphas was the figure I saw in Briella’s eyes and the pond. I wanted so badly not to believe that it could be true, but there was no denying Briella’s abilities.

Since that was true, it meant we were all in danger.

I felt some real fear settle in at that moment, not just for my kingdom and people but specifically for my family and Briella. I held Briella close, feeling anger causing my whole body to tremble. This demon had already kidnapped Briella once in the past when she was just a helpless infant. There was no question that he was after her again.

He would get to her over my dead, lifeless body.

Briella was gripping my arms tightly in her hands, nearly cutting off circulation in my arms, but I barely noticed as I held her close to me, wishing I could shield her from the entire world. She pulled away slightly so she could look up at me with panicked eyes. “Kryzen,” she breathed. “What are we going to do?”

I looked down at my mate, my wife, and my reason for existing and my resolve to protect her and our daughter only solidified even more as I stared down into her wide, frightened eyes. I cradled her face in my hands again. “Briella,” I said, my jaw clenching hard as more anger coursed through me. “That bastard won’t go anywhere near you. I promise.”

I said it with such conviction that Briella actually relaxed slightly but not enough for my liking. “He’s ruthless, Kryzen,” she murmured helplessly. “Even more so than Tian. I was just a baby when we were kidnapped, but I think I can still remember it. Sometimes I feel the darkness from that castle he dragged my mother and me to. It still exists in my memories.”

“Your days of being abducted are over,” I told Briella firmly, lowering my hands to her shoulders so I could grip them firmly. “He won’t touch you, Briella. Not while I’m here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I will protect you and Emberly with my life.”

Briella relaxed a little bit more, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her face into my chest. She shivered delicately. “But he can already reach me, Kryzen,” she said brokenly against the front of my shirt. “He’s been speaking to me through my dreams. He must know where I am. He might even know right now.” Her voice rose rapidly, and she trembled hard.

I cursed under my breath, realizing that she was right. Malphas possessed a great dark magic that was probably more than capable of such sorcery. He had been able to capture the great Priestess Amaya. We would all have to be vigilant to keep him at bay.

I was going to find a way to keep my family safe, but first, I had to take care of my mate.

“Shh, don’t think about that now,” I ordered Briella, standing to my feet and tugging her up to do the same. “Right now, we need to get you home. I’m sure Emberly is impatiently waiting for us to get back.”

The name of our daughter was like an incantation to Briella. She looked up at me bravely and nodded her head. She even offered me a weak smile. “She’s just like her father.”

I gritted my teeth together when Briella stood up and immediately stumbled again. She was still shaking and barely able to walk after her fright. Anger boiled within me again as I thought about the bastard who had been haunting her family for generations now.

He was going to pay dearly. I was going to make absolutely sure of that fact.