The Grand Duke's Soulmate-Chapter 564: A Brother’s Fury

"Please! Let me see her! Just once!" Rafe begged, tears streaming uncontrollably from his already swollen, grief-darkened eyes.

He had been waiting since yesterday, desperate to see Callis, yet every attempt had been forbidden.

When Kiev arrived at the plains where he and the knights had gathered, waiting for aid, the Mederian Prince had seized her from Rafe’s arms without hesitation.

Even after pouring his mana into her and healing her battered body, Kiev had not returned Callis to him. Instead, he entrusted Garin with the task, with a cold warning that no one else was to touch her.

"No!" Kiev’s refusal was sharp and final.

The Mederian Prince didn’t even look at the healer while answering.

His rage had not diminished. It simmered beneath the surface, waiting for the next spark to ignite. The haunting image of his sister, bloodied and unmoving, remained vividly in his mind.

Kiev had sworn he would have struck Rafe as he did to Derek, but one thought stopped him: Callis’s love.

Hurting the healer would have been hurting her too, and to see her suffer more would have pierced his heart anew.

"Please, Kiev! Callis needs me!" Rafe pleaded again.

This time, Kiev turned around, neither out of pity nor to show mercy. His unflinching gaze conveyed the look of a man who had lost all trust in his brother-in-law.

It was cold, but burning with despair and disappointment, thrusting Rafe more deeply than any blade could be.

The Mederian Prince took a step forward, unyielding.

"Where were you when she needed you?"

"You already knew what happened!" Rafe protested, yet retreated a step. "I didn’t mean to leave her!"

Of course, by now, Kiev had known everything... from the assaulted tribesmen, to the explosion, fire, and the kidnapping, as well as the attempt to save Anna and Helen by the knights and his sister.

"You should have been with her!" Another step forward from Kiev.

"I was! I was with her after I found her!" Another step backwards from Rafe.

"Not after! Before! Before any of this happened!" The Mederian Prince shouted and stepped forward again.

The healer stumbled back another step.

"I didn’t know she left with the knights!" he cried.

"You let her be! When you should have been shielding her... guiding her from making such a terrible mistake... where were you?" Kiev’s shout exploded through the hallway, louder and harsher than before.

"Kiev..." Rafe’s lips trembled. A lump clogged his throat, choking every word that came from his lips. "I swear... I never wanted any of this to happen."

Kiev lunged. His hand fisted the front of Rafe’s surcoat and slammed him into the wall with such force that the healer’s spine struck the stone with a brutal thud. Pain bolted up Rafe’s back, but it was nothing compared to the agony hollowing out his heart.

At that moment, Adam and Alex, who were drawn by the raised voices echoing down the hallway, hurried toward them.

"Your Highness! Please stop! Don’t hurt Mr Amares! He’s innocent!" the admiral cried in alarm, faltering at the blaze burning in the Mederian Prince’s eyes.

"Don’t tell me what to do!" Kiev roared as he turned his gaze to the admiral, seething with restrained rage. "I healed you to the point where not a single scar remains! If you have even an ounce of gratitude, you will not dare interfere in my family matters!"

Adam was struck silent by the rebuke. The fury burning in the Mederian Prince’s eyes was not something that could be reasoned with.

Still, Alex stepped forward beside him, forcing himself to speak as he pushed the words through the suffocating tension. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"But, Your Highness, Admiral James is right. This tragedy was never his intention."

"Shut up!" Kiev yelled; His grip tightened on Rafe’s collar as his lethal gaze cut toward the knight, sharp enough to draw blood. "My sister restored your condition on the battlefield! The reason she lies unconscious in there is partly because of you! So, don’t make me regret having spent my power on you, too!"

Silence swallowed the hallway. The only sound that remained was the broken, muffled sobbing of Rafe’s tears.

Alex bowed his head, solemn and rigid. Guilt weighed heavily on him.

Kiev was right. He should feel grateful. If not for the Mederian Prince’s prompt arrival, the consequences could have been much worse.

Anna had lost a frightening amount of blood due to the miscarriage. His quick healing rescued her just in time, but unfortunately, the child she carried was already gone.

He had also bought Damon time—nothing more than borrowed moments in a fragile struggle against the verge, with no certainty that the knight would survive.

Two women he treasured suffered devastating injuries within the same hours: Anna was grievously robbed of her unborn child and suffered from excessive magic use, while Callis lay unconsciously, her life bought at a terrible cost.

All of this had happened while he was gone. It was a failure he could neither forgive nor ignore.

Kiev’s ruby-red eyes turned back to Rafe.

This time, tears glistened in his eyes. His rage trembled under the crushing weight of a storm of emotions—hate, despair, disappointment, failure... and worst of all, betrayal.

"Are you even aware of the impact of what Callis did?" Kiev growled, his voice trembling with barely contained fury as he stared at the healer.

Rafe could not respond. Every breath felt more suffocating than before. His cheeks burned with the heat of rolling tears, yet inside him something collapsed so quietly and irrevocably, as though a part of his spirit was dying too.

"My sister used the restoration spell... not once, but twice on the knights! Twice!!! That’s the very magic I forbade her from learning, and she did it behind my back!" Kiev’s voice rang again.

Pain quivered with each syllable that escaped his lips. He was unable to forget the horrific memories in his mind.

He found his sister barely holding on to life. For a moment of horror, he thought she was lost. His world crumbled in that instant.

Rafe’s frantic explanations had been nothing but meaningless buzzing in his ears; he couldn’t absorb a single word. All that mattered was the faint whisper of breath he found when he pressed her close.

In blind panic, Kiev had drawn his mana recklessly and violently until scorching heat tore through his veins, threatening to burn him alive from the inside. He forced it into her fragile body in a desperate attempt to keep her alive.

Fortunately, his efforts were successful. The mana stabilised her, but the delay had carved a heavy toll. Callis had yet to wake.

"She nearly died!" Kiev’s voice quivered, filled with a furious intensity that bordered on madness as he continued. "You allowed this to happen! You didn’t protect her!"

Kiev’s hand lifted, ready to strike. Adam and Alex were struck by panic.

"Your Highness, please!" Both men shouted, pleading with him to stop.

Rafe could only close his eyes, waiting for the assault to come. But instead of swinging, the Mederian Prince’s fist tightened so hard the knuckles blanched, nearly tearing his own skin.

The raised and trembling fist slowly loosened. Kiev’s hand fell to his side, limp with disappointment.

Tears flowed freely down his cheeks as his shoulders sank. The memories, fear, and grief had exhausted him entirely, more than the magic he had used to rescue everyone.

Forgiving Rafe seemed impossible. Not at this moment... maybe never.

Rafe opened his eyes and was met with a look of deep disappointment. Any attempt to explain that Callis had lied to him about not knowing the restoration spell would have sounded like a desperate excuse unworthy of being spoken.

His gaze fell to the floor in silence.

Shame carved the colour from his face. Words failed to express the chaos inside him. Guilt also clung to his soul like a heavy, rusty chain that was unforgiving.

Rafe knew he had broken the promise he had made to Kiev. He had failed the responsibility entrusted to him, and worse of all, he had made the wrong decision for the woman he truly loved.

And now, standing before the brother who nearly lost her, he felt that failure sear through him like a branding iron.

Kiev turned his face away, shoulders quivering.

"I only asked one thing from you, Rafe..." his voice cracked with heartbreak. "To keep her safe. I didn’t ask for you to fight or move mountains for her, nor to shower her with gold." His breath hitched. "Just that—just keep her safe. But you didn’t. So tell me... what’s the point of you having her if you can’t even protect her? Because I can’t see the reason anymore."

Adam and Alex remained silent. No excuse felt sufficient after the Mederian Prince laid bare his emotions.

The healer, too, chose not to defend himself. He simply stood there, taking in every lashing word and every bit of blame because each word rang painfully true.

Guilt ravaged his face, twisting his features with silent torment. An incapable man like him did not deserve someone like Callis. He had failed as a husband, failed as her shield, and failed to make her happy.

If only he had come back with her instead of sending her ahead... or maybe if he had let her stay by his side as she requested... None of this would have happened.

She made a decision based on her instinct and the circumstances, as everyone hurried to save Anna and Helen, unaware of the Bargesians’ tremendous power until she and the knights confronted them.

Perhaps... if he had been with her, he would have advised her to send the signal without putting herself at risk, and she would have listened. Callis might be stubborn, but she had always yielded to him.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t there.

And because of this, Rafe felt obligated to be accountable.

Kiev blinked slowly. For a brief moment, even he was rendered speechless by the pressure crushing his chest. Everything tangled together until words failed him.

But what had happened could not be undone, and the consequences they now faced were devastating beyond measure.

"Kiev, what is happening?" Elis asked as she hurried over.

She had heard the raised voices the moment she stepped out of Anna’s chamber.

"This is none of your concern," the Mederian Prince replied coldly.

Elis rejected the dismissal and grasped his arm, her hold both steady and tender. She was well aware of his anger and realised it was not only directed at Rafe but also at everyone involved in the disaster, especially the grand duke.

Kyren stayed unconscious and unreachable. With the grand duke unable to be confronted, the Mederian Prince’s fury shifted towards Rafe instead—particularly given Callis’s condition, which made him the most immediate and, to Kiev, justifiable target.

"Please, don’t blame him," the princess consort pleaded softly. "We’ve talked about this... and... Rafe’s still Callis’s husband. At least let him see her."

Kiev scoffed, but he did not shake her off. Slowly, his gaze slid back to the healer.

"You want to see her that badly, don’t you?" he said suddenly.

Hope flickered in Rafe’s eyes as he looked up at the Mederian Prince, serving as enough of an answer.

"Fine," Kiev continued, his voice flat. "I’ll allow it when she asks for you." His stare sharpened. "However, I suggest you make the right decision this time."

Rafe frowned.

"W-what do you mean?"

Kiev held his gaze, eyes red-rimmed and hollow.

"Don’t bite off more than you can chew."

Confusion churned in the healer’s mind as he struggled to grasp the meaning of those words. Before he could reply, footsteps echoed down the hallway towards them.