The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 232: Porthole

"You can have all the women in the world― hell, you can have Elinora Wynsler if you wish. I have seen the way she makes eyes at you all the time," Ricard said with a sneer. "But this―" He reached down and grabbed Soleia’s face by her cheeks, squeezing so tight that she cried out in pain. "This woman is mine."

Ricard harshly let go, causing Soleia’s body to drop to the deck as she yelped. She cradled her jaw while making sure to keep her body away from Ricard and Raziel, constantly watching them from the corner of her eyes.

Her gaze continued to flicker between Raziel and Ricard, watching the way the two brothers interacted with each other.

This was strange. Before, these two had always worked well as a team. Ricard was an offensive force while Raziel worked as his support. They had unrivaled chemistry on the battlefield, and as such, Soleia had no doubt this was the reason why they managed to triumph over all the other princes born to the Raxuvian royal family.

But the cracks and tears were starting to show, and hope fluttered in Soleia’s chest. Yet, she didn’t dare to show too much emotion on her face.

"Lock her in the dungeons," Ricard barked out the order to the crew onboard.

"Forgoing your plans of having her a prisoner in your bed?" Raziel said, mockery in his eyes.

Ricard’s gaze narrowed. "Not until that bastard child is pried out of her womb and onto your work table."

Soleia and Orion were quickly dragged away before she could stay and listen in to more of their conversation. Her eyes briefly met Raziel’s before she lowered her gaze, ever so weak and pitiful, and eventually, they were brought below deck and into a cell.

The moment the guards locked the doors and let them be, Soleia scrambled over to Orion, shaking him.

"Orion," she whispered. When he didn’t reply, she pushed him a little harder. "Orion, wake up!’ she harshly hissed, trying to keep her voice down so that the guards wouldn’t return.

Orion stirred, a groan leaving his lips, but he didn’t open his eyes or say anything further. Soleia took a deep breath, casting a glance at the stairs — the only path that led between the decks — before using her body to shield Orion and her hands from view. Then, she hovered her palm over where he was injured.

Slowly, the carnelian that was set into her ring began to glow. It was a weak shimmer of light, but it maintained a steady pulse as magic flowed from her fingertips and underneath Orion’s skin. Beads of perspiration began to gather across his forehead, and slowly but surely, Orion’s breathing turned a little more even.

And finally, his eyelids cracked open.

"Soleia?" he called out, and Soleia exhaled heavily, slumping onto the floor in exhaustion.

On the other hand, Orion slowly sat up, his energy slowly coming back to him. There were still dull aches spread all across his body, but it was nothing much to a trained, weathered soldier such as himself and easy enough to ignore.

"We’re on Prince Ricard and Prince Raziel’s ship," Soleia explained. "And we’re sailing back to Raxuvia."

"I guessed as much," Orion said, frowning. He stared at his hands before his eyes widened with alarm. Then, he dug into his pockets before he exhaled in relief. The jade chunk that he had stolen from Nedour was still in his possession.

Soleia caught onto what Orion was checking for, and her hands instinctively reached for her earrings as well, even though she knew they were still there. The brothers had been so caught up in their growing tension that they had forgotten such an important detail.

"We need to leave this vessel," Orion said. He then hopped onto his feet and strode to the small window. It was a hole that was slightly smaller than the size of his head, enough to peer out but just that― peer out. "Our boat is still there in the water. But we will have to swim for it."

"Do you think you can blast a hole into the ship and get us out of here?" Soleia asked.

"If I do, we will need to be fast," Orion said. "Or we will all drown."

Soleia pursed her lips and nodded. If going back to Raxuvia meant certain death anyway, she didn’t see why she shouldn’t try to escape now. She would either die here in a watery grave, or she would die in the moldy cells of Raziel’s dungeons, her organs missing and her body cut open.

"Stand back," Orion said, and Soleia dutifully obeyed. She retreated to the furthest edge of the cell as she could, her hands reaching down to shield her stomach as she did so.

Through the other portholes on the ship, she could see the landmass in the distance, slowly turning larger and larger. They were slowly but surely returning to the kingdom that they had been desperately rowing away from. Judging by the distance, it would take less than an hour before they reached land. When that happened, Soleia wasn’t sure how possible would escape be.

"Any time now," she said, her eyes glued to the lush trees and uneven terrain in the distance.

With a grunt, Orion’s fist connected with the wooden boards that formed the ship’s structure. The impact instantly tore a hole through the ship, causing wind to come rushing in. Waves lapped into the ship, and Soleia cowered when she heard the blast echoing.

Footsteps instantly sounded above her head, and her heart thundered in her chest.

"Come on!" Orion yelled, not caring to keep his voice down any longer. Even a deaf person would’ve heard the noise, and if it weren’t for the fact that they were the only vessel out in the open sea, anyone would’ve thought that a cannonball had torn a hole through the ship.

Soleia nodded before making her way forward. The rocky seas only made it all the more difficult for her to balance. The footsteps became louder, and Soleia cast a glance just in time to meet Ricard’s murderous gaze as he descended the stairs and caught sight of what had happened.

She turned away and jumped towards Orion. At the same time, a rope of red whipped through the air, reaching for her.