Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

As she observed more, Seren was at awe upon realizing how Drayce and Erebus worked together.

‘The power that froze time for the people is coming from Dray and the one that is used to lift this gigantic ship from the sea is coming from Erebus.’

It was a novel experience, equally astounding and mesmerizing. How could a single person be this incredible? Her heart could not help but race at the thought of what he could do with such great powers. If he were to use his powers to dominate people, forget about the Kingdom of Megaris;, all the kingdoms of the entire continent would fall at his feet. He could conquer the lands unimpeded. He could be the sole ruler of the largest empire humanity had ever known…but she knew Drayce was not greedy for such things.

Under Drayce’s impeccable control, the large sea vessel continued to soar in the night sky, avoiding all the dangerous roars of the sea. After some time, Seren noticed that she could no longer hear thunder. The rain had somehow eased, until nothing but a drizzle remained. It seemed that her husband had brought the ship away at an adequate distance from the eye of the storm.

Drayce’s raised arms started to lower to his sides, and slowly, the heavy ship landed back into the relatively calm sea water with a large splash. The impact was greater than expected, and Seren almost missed her balance, but Slayer immediately held her body and kept her upright.

“That was really entertaining,” Yorian commented as he applauded like a satisfied audience appreciating an opera performance.

Drayce didn’t comment and slowly opened the eyes he had closed earlier. They were fiery red in color, the darkness in them was gone. He was back to his normal self.

Along with the release of his magic’s hold on the ship, the frozen time of the people onboard also disappeared, and it was as if everything came back to life. The once quiet deck turned into a chaotic one and some of the crewmen were even flinching, expecting to be hit by the huge tidal wave, only for them to realize a few awkward seconds later that nothing happened to them.

There was no storm, there was no large wave, and they were not in danger. It was as if they woke up and realized what they had experienced was nothing but a nightmare.

As if on cue, Slayer let Seren go and lowered her head in front of her to bow to her. “Apologies for having to touch you without your permission, Your Majesty.”

With the Queen refusing to return to the safety of the cabins, he had no choice but to hold onto Seren to keep her safe. Even the most experienced sailors would have difficulty keeping their bodies upright during that storm. When even these muscular men would roll on the slippery floor despite their skills, what more could be expected of the frail but stubborn young woman.

Seren didn’t mind it as she knew without Slayer she would have been hurt badly. Worse, she would have possibly fallen into the sea if not for him. “Thank you for protecting me, Sir Calhoun.”

“It’s my duty, Your Majesty,” Slayer replied and didn’t leave her side, intending to stay until the King took her back to the cabin.

Drayce announced, “The storm has passed. You all can relax and release the sail.” He then said to Captain Benett, “Take care of everything.”

Captain Benett found the sudden disappearance of the rain strange, but compared to his bewildered crewman, he knew that there was no need to question their king. He regained his composure and began barking orders to the sailors.

Knowing the captain would have no problems dealing with the aftermath, Drayce walked back towards his wife. Slayer then bowed to the royal couple  and excused himself to check on his own men.

At this point, Drayce only had eyes for his wife. He wrapped his arms around her delicate shivering body, pressing his body close to her wet skin to share his warmth with her. “Are you alright, my Queen?”

She nodded while letting her head rest against his firm chest, yet her cold body covered in a drenched robe was telling him otherwise.

The people on the deck pretended not to notice the King and Queen and simply convinced themselves to work faster. It was late in the night, and aside from those on night duty, most of the sailors running around the deck wanted to hurry and return to their own warm quarters to rest. Some crewmen unfurled the sails, some checked on the damaged parts of the ship, while others got rid of the accumulated rainwater onboard.

Amidst the busy men running all over the place, the unmoving figures of the King and Queen of Megaris completely stood out like they were in a world of their own.

“I will take you inside now. Change out of these drenched clothes. I don’t want you getting sick,” he whispered after some time.

This time, Seren agreed without hesitation, a perfect example of an obedient wife. Drayce took her back to the Queen’s cabin where her worried servants were waiting for her. “I have to go back to the deck to take care of things. You will be fine with your servants, right?”

“Don’t worry about me. Go ahead,” she replied and let her servants take care of her once her husband left.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” the servants asked with a worry.

“Yes, I am. Don’t worry,” she assured as her servants helped her change from that drenched clothes to clean and dry ones.

Till then Eva brought the freshly brewed tea for her. “Apologies, Your Majesty. The things in the kitchen are a little messy so it took a time to make tea.”

Seren was sitting in the bed as her servants covered her with thick blanket and even put the copper censer filled with burning coal close to the bed to make her feel warmer.

“It’s alright, Eva. You three have a tea with me as well,” Seren instructed as she made herself comfortable in that warmth. “Do not say no.”

Those three could not disobey their Queen and sat in the chair and Eva brought extra tea cups for them.

As they sipped on tea, Eva said, “It was so dangerous till a while ago and I thought we would be drowned in the sea. I wonder what miracle happened suddenly that everything is calm now and we are fine.”

“That’s true,” Marie added, “Whatever it is, miracle or not, I am happy that we all are safe.”

Seren heard them while sipping that hot tea and a small smile painted on her lips. ‘Miracle?’ she thought, ‘My husband itself is a miracle.’