Alessandro pressed harder on Narrei’s ribs, making him scream in pain. Alessandro asked again, “Answer me. Is King Venobich behind the attacks on merchant ships and the taking of slaves?”
“I won’t tell you anything.”
“Then I’ll make you talk.”
Alessandro used his magic to stop the air around Narrei and began extracting the air from his lungs, a slow and painful torture that made Narrei beg for mercy. Alessandro stopped and asked the same question for the third time.
“Answer me. Is King Venobich behind the attacks on merchant ships and the taking of slaves?”
Narrei couldn’t take it any longer. He was gasping like a fish out of water, struggling to breathe.
“Are you going to answer, or should I leave your lungs completely empty? You’re turning purple; I don’t think you can resist much longer without breathing.”
“Alright.”
“I can’t hear you, Say it again.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you what you want to know,”
Alessandro allowed him to breathe. Narrei took several gasps of air. Annoyed that he wasn’t speaking, Alessandro said, “Talk now, or you won’t breathe again.”
“Yes,” Narrei responded between gasps. “Venob?ch ordered us to take slaves and attack the merchant ships. He said that when you came, we had to hide until you used all your power to find us. When that happened, we were to capture you and bring him your head.”
“Did you do anything to my wife?”
“No, I swear, I didn’t touch a hair on her head since she’s the king’s daughter.”
Alessandro crouched down, grabbed Narrei by the neck, and squeezed hard. “I’m going to kill you with my own hands. Feel honored.”
“I told you what you wanted to know.”
“This is for kidnapping my wife, for making her suffer.”
Alessandro squeezed Narrei’s neck, preventing him from breathing. Narrei struggled to break free, but it was futile. Alessandro tightened his grip until the light in Narrei’s eyes completely faded. Once dead, he used his wind magic to cut off Narrei’s hands and feet. Then he returned to the dungeon where Abril, Cassian, the other knights, and the pirates were.
Cassian and the knights had already finished off all the pirates. Cassian was covering Abril’s eyes so she wouldn’t see the bloody scene. Alessandro approached them, told Abril to close her eyes, and took her in his arms. Before leaving the ship, he instructed them to search the rest of the ship, ensure there were no more pirates, and rescue the slaves locked in the hold. He had heard them with his wind magic when he used it.
Alessandro carried Abril to the captain’s cabin. Once there, he sat her on the bed, but she didn’t let go. She clung to his neck with all her strength. He hugged her and said, “It’s all over now. You’re safe; you’re with me.”
Abril clung to Alessandro for a long while, shedding tears of relief. When she finally calmed down enough to speak, she said, “Thank you for coming to rescue me, for not abandoning me.”
Alessandro took Abril’s face in his hands, wiped away her tears, and said, “You are my wife. I will always come to save you. Never doubt that.”
She wanted to thank him with more than just words, so she kissed him and said again, “Thank you.”
Alessandro hugged her tightly, breathing in the scent of her hair, feeling the warmth of her body, and the strong beating of her heart. He thanked God for being able to save her, for arriving on time. In those moments, his desire to protect her grew even more, along with his wish to always be by her side. Alessandro wondered when he had become so possessive, when he had started to worry so much about her.
As Alessandro embraced Abril, she said, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“For everything. If I had stayed home, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Alessandro stroked her hair and said, “You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”
“But if I hadn’t…”
“No, they were really just trying to get to me. If anyone should apologize, it’s me, not you.”
“What happened to that terrifying man?”
“You don’t have to worry about him. He will never harm you again.”
The ship began to move, and Abril got scared, thinking it was the pirates. Alessandro reassured her, “It’s okay, nothing’s wrong. We’re going home.”
Alessandro remembered that Abril had wounds on her wrists and ankles from the bindings. He released his embrace, looked at her wrists, which were bloodied, and searched for bandages to cover the wounds. As he wrapped her wrists, he said, “I’m sorry. I should have arrived sooner.”
Abril shook her head. “You arrived just in time.”
When they reached the port, Alessandro said, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right back.”
Abril was afraid to be alone. She clung to Alessandro’s clothes and said, “Don’t go, please.
Don’t leave me alone.”
Even though the danger had passed, Abril was still very affected by what had happened. He took her in his arms and said, “It’s okay, now close your eyes.”
Alessandro left the captain’s cabin. Cassian was leading the other knights. Alessandro approached his brother and said, “Can you handle this?”
“Yes, don’t worry. You can go back. I will take care of everything.”
“Thank you, brother.”
Alessandro used his wind magic to lift into the sky and created a creature with his magic. It took the form of a giant bird. As they moved away from the town, Alessandro told Abril to open her eyes. When she did, she was frightened by how high they were above the ground. He said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall. I promise.”
Alessandro’s words calmed Abril. He pointed with his finger and said, “Look.”
Abril looked where he was pointing and was very surprised to see the moon reflected on the sea. It looked so close that she felt she could touch it if she reached out a little more.
“I would have liked to show you this at another time.”
“It doesn’t matter, I love it anyway.”
Alessandro kissed her forehead and said, “I can’t promise you that you will never be in danger in the future, but I promise to show you the beauty of the world and take care of you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Abril hugged Alessandro tighter. Those words seemed sincere, and she kept them in her heart and said, “Thank you.”
She continued to look at the horizon, the seemingly endless sea, and the beautiful moon reflected in the water, with thousands of stars shining above her head. Despite everything that had happened, Abril wished that moment could last forever.
When they arrived at the mansion, Alessandro noticed that Abril had fallen asleep. He carried her to the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. He applied ointment to Abril’s wounds and re-wrapped the bandages. He covered her with the sheet and adjusted her hair. That day had been long, with many events, and he was happy that it had ended well.
Alessandro was surprised by Abril’s powers, which were even greater than he had imagined. He couldn’t allow anyone else to know about them, especially not King Venobich, who had given Abril to him only because he thought she was useless, a discard he would never need.
But she was a diamond in the rough, beautiful, stunning, and Incredibly valuable if polished.
If she stayed by his side, she could make the difference between winning or losing the war. It was no longer just about using her to heal Cassian’s wound, she could do much more.
Alessandro watched over her sleep for a long time until he heard footsteps passing by his room. It must be Cassian. He went out and asked him, “How did everything go?”
“Well, we killed all the pirates.”
“And the slaves?”
“We set them free. There were more than I had imagined.”
“I’m glad everything went well.”
“How is Abril?”
“She’s fine, just a few wounds from the ropes.”
“This was my fault, I’m sorry, Lessan.”
“It’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you what was happening.”
“No, it really is my fault, Lessan. Since I injured my leg, I’ve ignored everything, stopped doing my job, and shut myself off. I’ve stopped being your support and have become a burden. I’ve turned into a useless person. Even if I can’t fight like I used to, I could have helped you with other things, but I didn’t. I let you carry everything alone. Now I realize that.”
“You’re not a burden or useless, Cas. You’ve given a lot for this kingdom.”
“And I will continue to do so. That is my duty as the prince of the kingdom of Cosset.”
The next day, Abril woke up in the middle of a nightmare, screaming and crying. Alessandro took her by the shoulders and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.
“Calm down, you’re safe, you’re with me.”
Abril hugged Alessandro, clinging to him tightly, trembling. Alessandro patted her back until she managed to calm down.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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