Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1705 - 147 : Whispered Promises

*Kryzen*

These days, I never knew what conditions I would wake up in. I had no way of knowing if I would be in my own home or some dark, abandoned underground city. It was hard to say if my mate would be at my side or not.

I was actually aware of my body before I opened my eyes. I moved, feeling as if I was floating. It was quiet, and I was comfortable, the bedding surrounding me soft and familiar.

Even before waking completely, I could tell that I was home, which relieved me.

I opened my eyes and found myself not in my own bed like I originally thought but in the royal infirmary that had been built into the palace.

I adjusted my position, trying to assess how badly hurt I was. Everything was sore. I could feel bandages wrapped around my chest and left arm. It felt like there was another one wrapped around my knee as well. I was just thankful that they weren’t casts.

For a brief moment, I couldn’t recall what happened as I stared down at my injuries. It felt as if I was getting hurt fairly often lately.

It only took a few seconds for my last conscious memories to resurface in my mind.

Briella...

It hit me instantly like a tsunami—leaving her and Emberly to investigate the abandoned palace, returning and finding her gone, tracking her down in the land of shadows, and then fighting Malphas to get her back.

Panic struck me when I realized she wasn’t beside me. I leaped out of bed, completely ignoring the pain that shot through the various injuries I had sustained. I was about to throw the door to the room open to search for my wife before I spotted her.

Briella looked so small in the large medical bed she was in. A thin blanket was draped over her up to her chest. Her wavy hair was down and mussed around her pale face.

My heart leaped into my throat as I approached her. She was hooked up to a machine that was keeping track of her vitals. I looked the numbers over quickly and thought that her heart rate seemed a bit slower than average. I was straining to remember all the numbers as I gazed at my wife, just relieved that she was alive and home with me.

Concern quickly completely replaced that relief as I took her hand and felt how cold her skin was. I watched her breathing and thought it was a little bit labored, but it was hard to tell as my own heart beat wildly in my chest.

“Kryzen?”

I looked over my shoulder toward the door to see my brother-in-law standing in the doorway. His green eyes, which were so much like Briella’s, were wide as he stared at me.

I didn’t say anything to Kai. I just turned my head again to stare at my wife, internally pleading with her to wake up.

I heard Kai’s surprisingly soft footsteps coming up behind me. “You really shouldn’t be up right now,” he scolded quietly. “You had a lot of injuries and need your rest. I would advise against moving around too much on your own.”

I just scoffed quietly but didn’t answer. I was a bit sore, but I had experienced much worse in the past. “How is she?” I asked, my voice not as strong as I would have liked.

“You don’t have to worry,” Kai said, his voice light and pleased. I wasn’t looking at him but could imagine his gentle grin in my mind. “Briella is going to be just fine. She just needs rest and purification rituals done, the latter more of a precaution than anything else.”

I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding, my hand tightening over my mate’s. “You’re going to be alright,” I murmured to her. I swallowed hard. “Has she woken up at all?”

Kai shook his head. “No,” he said. It was clear he wasn’t happy about it. “But that is to be expected considering how much of her power she must have used.”

I felt my eyes go wide and was about to ask about a hundred follow-up questions when I felt my wife stir.

Kai and I both leaned forward eagerly as Briella moved in the bed and then slowly opened her eyes. She stared up at us, blinking as her eyes focused on us.

“Hi,” she said weakly, offering us both a tiny smile.

I smiled, brushing some hair away from her pretty eyes. “Hi yourself,” I murmured, my fingers grazing the soft skin of her cheek. “You have no idea how amazing it is to hear your voice.”

Briella giggled, the sound slightly strained from probably several hours of being asleep. “I have a feeling that I’m experiencing something similar,” she said. She gripped my hand that was still tight around hers. “It’s so good to see you.”

Kai kneeled by his sister’s other side. “Don’t scare me like that ever again, Bri,” he said sternly before his face softened. “How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”

Briella’s eyebrows furrowed as she wiggled beneath the covers as if taking inventory of any possible injuries. She shook her head after a moment. “No, just stiff and sore,” she said slowly. Her eyes then widened, and she looked between the two of us. “What happened?”

I shook my head slowly, signaling that I had no idea. We both looked at Kai, whose expression was grave.

“Drius was the one who found you, Bri,” he said. “After he escaped the city of shadows, he returned to the palace for backup. It was apparently difficult for them to break back in. There was strange magic keeping anyone from entering.”

Briella and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

“They gathered magic wielders throughout the kingdom and were finally able to break in to find the two of you,” Kai went on, his jaw clenched with fear, clearly reliving the terrifying time in his mind. “Drius said that when he found you, Malphas was nowhere to be seen and that you collapsed from exertion right when he showed up.”

Briella’s jaw dropped. She looked down at the bed covers for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing further as she recalled the events. She gasped quietly and then looked back up at her younger brother. “So does that mean Malphas...” She trailed off, not daring to speak the words she so hoped would be true.

Kai took her other hand and squeezed it, smiling gently. “After you two were brought safely back to the palace, Drius had Mathias and a whole group of elders scour the whole city. They’ve confirmed that there isn’t a trace of dark magic anywhere. They couldn’t even sense where Malphas had been previously. All traces of him have completely vanished.”

I turned to Briella and moved to sit on the edge of her bed so that I could take her in my arms, squeezing her gently, mindful that she might be harboring some injuries as well. “You did it, Briella. You’ve defeated Malphas.”

Briella seemed to be in shock as she stared down at the blankets in bewilderment. I just chuckled quietly and held her tightly to me, pride swelling up within me. I marveled at the strength of this woman and was thoroughly amazed that she was mine.

“Are you alright, Bri?” Kai asked after a couple of moments.

Briella still seemed to be recovering from her shock. She shook her head hard as if to snap herself out of it and then looked up at the two of us, leaning into me slightly. “I’m sorry,” she said before laughing in amazement. “I just can’t believe that it’s finally over. Malphas haunted our family for literally generations. It’s hard to wrap my mind around him finally being gone.”

Kai nodded in understanding. “You did it,” he said to his sister. “And I’m so proud of you. I know Mother and Father will be as well. Our entire realm is safe now thanks to the two of you.”

I laughed, holding Briella more tightly to me. “I didn’t do much,” I said. “Briella is the true hero.” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“That’s not true,” Briella protested immediately. “You were the one who instructed me on how to harness my powers more potently. Without that, I don’t know if I would have been able to defeat Malphas. I probably would have thought I did, and we would have another run-in with him in the future.”

“Maybe,” I allowed, rolling my eyes affectionately at her humility. “But when it came down to it, you were the one who faced off against him and put an end to him. All I did was pass out.”

Briella blushed, her cheeks coloring beautifully. She was so gorgeous at that moment that it didn’t matter that her brother was right next to us. I placed a finger beneath her chin to tilt her head up toward mine so that I could press my lips softly to hers.

I was only vaguely aware of Kai muttering something about fetching our medication for us before he quickly left the room to give us some privacy.

Briella made a helpless sound in the back of her throat as she clung tightly to me. “I was so scared,” she admitted between kisses. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I didn’t know if we were ever going to see each other again.”

“Shh,” I murmured soothingly. I kissed her lips over and over, needing her warmth and proximity. I had been terrified as well, terrified of losing her. “We’re together now. I won’t ever leave your side again.”

Briella giggled but relaxed in my hold. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she chided gently. “We’re both busy, and we’ll have to be apart from each other every so often.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I said darkly but chuckled and kissed her again, knowing she was right.

A gentle knock had us pull away from each other slightly to look over at the door. My sister poked her head in, grinning widely when she saw us. “I’m so glad you two are awake,” she said, her eyes filled with relief. “How are you feeling?”

“We’re fine,” Briella said, leaning into me. “Great, actually.”

Alyna grimaced. “That’s good because I was wondering if you could address a complaint.”

Briella and I grimaced, not sure about returning to our royal duties while we were still recovering. Due to all that had occurred, we needed to be available to our people in order to assure them that everything was alright. “What complaint?” I asked warily.

Alyna smirked before pushing the door open fully to reveal little Emberly in her arms. Our daughter had on her signature pout and was wiggling impatiently in her aunt’s arms. She beamed when she saw us, her gray eyes lighting up as she reached for us.

Briella gasped in delight and sobbed, moving to get up out of bed, but I held her down with a stern look. “You are not supposed to be getting up on your own yet,” I scolded lightly, not mentioning the fact that I had just been scolded by her brother for doing the same thing.

Briella pouted but obeyed, leaning back against the pillows while I hurried over to meet Alyna so that I could take my daughter in my arms. She babbled happily. I tucked her against my chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“It’s good to see you too,” I murmured to her.

Briella was shaking with anticipation when I sat back on the bed and handed Emberly to her. She covered our daughter’s face with kisses, causing our little girl to giggle happily. She clung to the front of the gown Briella was wearing, clenching the fabric in her chubby fists.

I sighed contentedly and held my girls close.