Raphael

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I was walking down the corridor, accompanied by my faithful servant Dexter, who was a skilled master of disguise.

- Is there any news? - I asked matter–of-factly.

- The Queen often leaves her chambers using the portal, but I have not been able to establish contact with the place. The magic is too strong.

- Strong you say? What about your last report to me? - There was annoyance in my voice.

- The magic is actually weakening, but not hers. And it’s weird. As if it doesn’t concern her at all.

- Really strange. After all, she is the legal spouse Horel, which means their magic must be connected. – I was thinking. – What about the others?

- Princesses pose no danger, useless pawns, but the crown prince has already disappeared several times, just evaporated in the air, I could not feel him anywhere. He trains a lot physically and it seems that the problem of magic does not bother him at all.

- He’s worried about his missing sister. He looks obsessed with her. – I was thinking about it again.

- What about the dungeon?

- No trace. Are you sure it even exists? We have explored the castle up and down many times, no dungeons. You know that yourself.

- Thea is a bad liar, so keep looking. It’s definitely there.

Voices came to my ears, interspersed, creating an unintelligible mass. After exchanging glances with Dexter, we approached the open window arch, which opened a view of the spacious hall below.

Indignation made my fists clench to white knuckles. Oh, you’re looking for trouble, little girl.

Thanks to my good eyesight, I could clearly see the girl standing proudly in front of the guards who had caught her.

And I remembered Tethys’ words about Thea. That she’s a powerful witch. Does it look like her gift is beginning to manifest itself, or has she just been leading me by the nose all this time?

My receptors immediately picked up her aura, despite the different appearance. What had she gotten herself into again, attracting the increased attention of the guards?

Dexter grabbed my shoulder, urging me not to make stupid gestures and just watch for now. He knew how hot-tempered and erratic I can be, so his cold, reasonable mind was to help me.

- Put that down. - the cold stern voice of the guard sounded, but the girl persistently continued to hold the defense with a poker in her hands.

The guards were whispering among themselves, laughing and confusing her, but I heard it so clearly, as if they were talking into my ears. Things weren’t going well for her. She was careless and could not quickly figure out an alibi for herself, so the guards suspected her of penetration. But she did not seem to be going to surrender into their hands, and the head of the guard ordered to seize her, even if she was harmed.

This girl is just a solid lump of misfortune. How can you be so unlucky?

-They won’t kill her. We’ll get her out later, it’s too dangerous to interfere now, there are a lot of prying eyes around. – Dex stopped my attempt to run to her aid.

The guards pushed her closer to the wall with their swords, blocking her, while two magicians aimed magic arrows at her, and one was about to cast a binding spell.

I felt a vibration in my hand, cramping muscles and breaking bones, separating a part from me...

Thea

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I was determined not to fall into their hands, but with every second this determination was melting before my eyes. I had a ring, but I could hardly resist three experienced magicians.

Closing my eyes, I dropped the heavy poker I had grabbed near the fireplace and turned away, hugging myself with my arms. It was so ridiculous to get caught.

- Skars... help me. - I whispered desperately.

When I uttered these words, I did not expect any effect, I just fleetingly remembered how he said that he would always protect me on Raphael’s orders. I do not know what I was counting on, just the words came out of my mouth by themselves.

The next moment I jerked to the side and one of the magicians released a magic arrow. I heard this whistling sound that made me shiver. But there was no collision.

Like a warm blanket, someone’s hands surrounded me, carefully shielding me from my pursuers. I raised my head and opened my eyes, meeting Skars’ good-natured gaze.

It’s not enough to say that I was stunned, I was speechless at that moment.

- Are you okay? – he asked sympathetically, clearing his throat hoarsely, and at that moment I noticed a bleeding wound in his shoulder.

He never flinched, covering me with his body. And I... I framed him for my own safety. It’s my fault that he was injured.

- This is not the time to shed tears. – he poked me with his index finger at the tip of my nose and the next moment we fell into the portal that opened behind us.

Everything happened so quickly that the guards didn’t have time to do anything.

We ended up in my room, which surprised me even more. My head was already swollen from the countless questions I wanted to ask, but this was a secondary task. I understood that I needed to give him first aid as soon as possible. Moreover, because of this incident, the whole castle will soon be searched to find us.

I helped him sit on a chair and ran into the bathroom to wet a towel, but when I returned, there were a couple more people in the room.

Raphael looked very angry, his eyes were like lightning throwing in my direction. And Dexter stood listlessly on the sidelines.

- What are you doing anyway? - his caustic voice sounded. – Did you want to die?

Crossing the room, he approached Skars, stretched out his hand to him and the next second the man disappeared from the chair, turning into a dark, viscous haze that merged with Raphael’s hand.

I froze in place, not fully understanding what I had just seen. I’ve seen a lot of unusual things lately, but it was out of the ordinary. How can one person absorb another? Shaking my head in disbelief, I threw a wet towel on the floor with a thud and backed away.

Raphael was standing with his back to me when his head slowly turned, frightening even more with this gesture and his gloomy appearance.

- What were you even thinking about? – he hissed.

- Where did he disappear to? What did you do to him? – I returned him a counter question full of anxiety and panic.

He rubbed his eyes irritably and turned his whole body towards me, forcing me to run even further away. This movement of mine did not go unnoticed and the atmosphere in the room became even more suffocating.

- Come to me. - he held out his hand to me. - You don’t have to be afraid of me. Didn’t I tell you that I wouldn’t hurt you?

I shook my head, I had no confidence in his words at all, after what I had just seen. I still couldn’t figure out where a strong adult man had disappeared. Is he all right?

- He was just protecting me. Did you have to do something with him? You monster, bring him back immediately. – he patiently listened to my hysterical screams, laced with tears, and then in a second he was in front of me, hugging me tightly without being able to escape.

- You could have been hurt. No, you could have died! Do you understand it? - I could feel him trying to contain his anger.

- But I didn’t die! - I pushed him away and something warm and wet touched my palm.

I looked at the hand covered with fresh blood and looked up in fright. Why am I always so distracted? It was only now that I noticed that Raphael’s entire shoulder was covered in blood. The jacket and vest partially concealed it, but the shirt was soaked with blood too much.

I, having discarded all decency, quickly took off his jacket, vest and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing a smooth torso, which now looked very depressing. There was a deep gash in the left shoulder, from which thick scarlet blood continued to ooze.

I frowned even harder, drawing analogies between the wounds of Skars and Raphael. Are such coincidences possible?

-What... - pursing my lips, I asked him carefully. – What did you get hurt with? Who?..