The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 229: The Hunt

A blanket of scarlet quickly dyed the night. Right at the center of it was the silhouette of a man, carefreely standing right at the edge of the ship. He held onto the thick rope for balance but otherwise dangled dangerously as though he had no care whether or not the wind would thrust him into the waters below.

Behind him, standing safely on the deck, was another man. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the railing lazily. His carnelian was not glowing, unlike the first man, but Soleia still felt his beady gaze rested upon her like a snake eyeing its prey in the dark.

Soleia’s throat ran dry. Noticing her silence, Orion’s eyes followed where she was looking. He hadn’t missed the shadow but also hadn’t thought to look up into the night sky until he noticed her ashen expression.

"What are you―" He cut himself short when he noticed the sloop-of-war that easily outsized their smaller boat. Similarly to Soleia, his eyes quickly found the two men who had their sights on them, and Orion’s eyes narrowed.

"Looks like we didn’t sail fast enough," Soleia muttered under her breath, with no intention to push the blame onto Orion. It was simply a misfortune, but it was also something well within her expectations. She had just hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

A crackle fizzled in the air, and Soleia’s hair stood on its ends when she felt the magic thrum around her. Soon enough, she heard the clear, distinct voice of Prince Ricard echoing into the night.

"Princess Soleia," he said. "Surrender yourself to the Raxuvian royal navy at once, and you and Orion Elsher’s lives will be spared."

"He thinks we’re idiots," Orion muttered under his breath, and Soleia couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

"He really does," Soleia said. "Just ignore him and keep on rowing. We need to get into international waters as quickly as possible."

At least once they were there, they would have the right to defend themselves without being dubbed as criminals just for trying to defend themselves. King Recaldo had no command over those waters, and as such, had no right to arrest anyone there.

Orion nodded, quickly returning to his position by the oars. He inhaled deeply as the jade in his pocket began to glow brighter and brighter, and soon enough, their small little boat was speeding away as if it was carried by hydromancy.

In the meantime, Soleia rummaged through her pockets before digging out a clear quartz. She tapped it a few times before it began to glow softly with a silvery white light. She brought it to her lips and waited, keeping her eyes oscillating between the horizon ahead of them and Ricard’s ship.

Surprisingly, Orion’s rowing managed to put a substantial distance between them despite the size of their vessels.

On the sloop-of-war, Ricard chuckled, his laughter carried by the wind as he swung from one rope to another.

"Would you look at that?" he mused. "Did they really think they could escape on that small little dinghy?"

"Orion Elsher’s tenacity is what bagged him that victory against a fully grown dragon," Raziel said, casually peering over his shoulder to look at the ship that was sailing into the distance. "Best not to underestimate him. Once they get into international waters, it will be a little more complicated to bring them back to Raxuvia."

"Underestimate him?" Ricard echoed with a scoff of laughter. "He’s on a rowboat, dear brother. How does he expect to outsail a ship that’s a hundred times its size?"

A thump echoed through the night as he dropped from the railing back down onto the ship’s deck, dusting his hands clean after touching the ropes of the ship.

"Superhuman or not, Orion Elsher cannot outrow us," he said. "Tell the men to increase the speed. We have a runaway to catch. As for international waters..." he trailed off with a smirk. "Where’s the fun in following the law?"

At his command, the sloop-of-war quickly gained speed. It followed steadily behind the small rowboat Soleia and Orion were on, and within moments, the distance that Orion had put between them was quickly shortened.

"I hate to be pessimistic, but it doesn’t seem like this would work out as wonderfully as we thought," Orion said, frowning as he eyed the ship.

He wasn’t getting tired yet, but even with his powers, his stamina couldn’t last forever. It was only a matter of time before Prince Ricard’s vessel would catch up to their tiny one.

"And I highly doubt he would care much about international law," Orion added.

Ricard’s voice came again. "Best surrender now, Princess!" he said. "I promise the punishment will be lenient. But if my father gets upset, it might be a whole other story to make him wait!"

His voice was awfully sing-song, and Soleia’s eyelids twitched in irritation.

She finally inhaled, allowing the crystal to carry her voice over to the princes on board the bigger ship.

"Over my dead fucking body!" she yelled. Even Orion’s eyes widened a slight fraction as the expletive spilled from Soleia’s lips, though his hands did not stop moving.

"How cute," Ricard purred, speaking away from the clear quartz. His remark was mainly only heard by Raziel, who raised an eyebrow. "She truly looks like a kitten who has just grown its claws. Makes you really want to declaw her, don’t you think?"

"I see you’ve thoroughly lost your interest in Elinora Wynsler," Raziel commented.

"Elinora Wynsler is a useful pawn," Ricard said, waving it off. "But what is a Wynsler compared to a Rosev? What is nobility compared to royalty? And more importantly," the glint in Ricard’s eyes turned dark, "What is a charmer compared to a nullifier?"

The corner of Raziel’s lips quirked up to form a slight smile. He unsheathed his sword to check the blade, the sharp screech of metal resounding.

"In that case, shall we hunt?"

"Oh," Ricard said with a slight moan. His eyes glittered with excitement, his carnelian glowing vibrantly scarlet as bloodlust danced in his eyes. "I was waiting for you to say that."