The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 268: Have It All II

The bright light grew so intense that even with their eyelids closed, all they could see was a blinding blanket of white. It was as though someone had placed the sun right before them, blasting its rays right into their sockets.

Soleia felt the last bit of her power rush through her and into King Recaldo’s arms. She squeezed, her nails drawing his blood as well, and she could feel his body swell and puff up even without needing to look.

King Recaldo’s screams were nothing more than background noise amidst the sound of howling wind and crumbling stones around them.

Then, his screams suddenly ceased, and the white light stopped. It compacted into its origin point — Soleia’s body — before suddenly spreading out again in a condensed shockwave.

Soleia was sent flying back, her back knocking against the pillar as a ringing blasted through her ears.

On the other hand, Rafael cracked open his eyes just in time to see a splash of red shoot towards him. He held out his hands just in time, forming a shield from the first drops of blood, and used that to protect himself from the next bits.

When the wind stopped and everything had grown quiet, he finally lowered his shield. His eyes widened as he realized the spot his father had been standing was now empty, lest for a pile of shattered bones, odd pieces of flesh, and a huge bucket of crimson blood that was trickling down the steps.

The blobs of flesh leftover were still smoking, and when Rafael took a couple of steps closer to look, it still shimmered in a slight red iridescence before fading entirely. Rafael made a face before he turned, frantically searching the rubble for a sign of Soleia.

He eventually spotted her leaning against a half-broken pillar, her head limp at one side and her lips slightly parted.

"Soleia!" Rafael howled, his arms immediately reaching out for her.

Soleia’s body was limp, as though it were nothing more than a rag doll for anyone to manhandle. He could easily pull her into his lap, but Rafael didn’t dare to move her too much for fear that it might worsen the condition she was in. If it weren’t for the subtle movement of her chest, he might’ve even thought she hadn’t survived that ordeal.

"Soleia, please, don’t die, don’t die," Rafael chanted furiously under his breath, trying his best to stem the flow of blood from her stomach, but it was a futile attempt. His hands were wet and sticky, and he despaired.

He could heal the wound, but she had lost so much blood that he wasn’t sure whether it would be of any help.

"Fuck!" Rafael cursed out loud, desperately gripping onto Soleia’s hands. They were so clammy, so cold. "Soleia, can you hear me?"

But Soleia did not respond. Rafael wanted to curse his own actions. It was his own ambition that had resulted in Soleia’s suffering. If only he had not brought Soleia to Raxuvia, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point. If he had just killed his father anytime before today, Soleia would not be lying in his arms, a breath away from death.

"Soleia..." Rafael pleaded, desperately placing his hand on her wound.

The carnelian stone that was dangling in front of his chest lit up, pulsing with energy as he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to concentrate. He couldn’t focus when he was staring at Soleia’s near-lifeless body.

He needed to heal her. But the image of her, so close to the brink of death, had seared itself permanently to his eyelids. Whether he opened them or not, it would not matter.

But he could never live with himself if he kept his eyes shut, out of his own cowardice. It was his fault that Soleia was in such a state― how could he not have the courage to witness her fate with his own eyes?

He focused on the huge gash in her belly, willing it to stitch itself back into place.

"Please..." he muttered under his breath, his own breathing ragged and in disarray. "Please... wake up... Soleia, you can’t die. You can’t leave me. No― you can leave me, you can go anywhere you want, you can marry Orion, you can marry twenty Orions and castrate me personally, you can do anything you want, just please... live..." Rafael’s voice cracked at the end.

But Soleia’s body refused to cooperate. There was simply not enough blood in her body to heed his commands. There was only one more method Rafael could use, and that was to transfer his own blood to her body.

Normally, he would never think of doing such a risky thing. His experiments with blood had shown him that somehow, transferring one person’s or one creature’s blood from one being to the next had a chance to cause immediate death to the one receiving it.

Yet, circumstances were so dire, he had no choice. If he continued, Soleia would die anyway. He had to try all ways and means to save her. In one quick motion, he slit his own wrist to make sure Soleia would get a huge influx of his blood. The moment the red liquid gushed into her wound, he focused, using it to slowly heal her.

"Please..." he muttered as a single drop of his tear landed on the apple of her cheek. It trickled down, weighed by gravity, as though that tear belonged to Soleia instead, and she was the one mourning.

His power ebbed and flowed, the red carnelian pulsing on and off with a bright glow, along with Rafael’s hands. His fingers had a cloud of red mist gathering at the tips, and even though he could see Soleia’s wound visibly stitch itself back together, she remained unmoving.

Rafael wasn’t sure if she could be saved even though her body was mended, or if his blood would result in a fatal end for her.

He could only hold her, his heart in his throat, magic at his fingertips as he waited.

And waited.

Until Soleia’s eyelids finally twitched and a groan left her lips.