Chapter 70

MAGNOLIA AND DANIEL SAT ACROSS EACH OTHER SILENTLY, both avoiding each other's eyes. They had not seen each other for a few days–since the funeral–and they had not spoken since the day they received Geoffrey's body.

They sat there for what felt like hours as the heavy rain outside tapped against the windows and the blazing flames in the fireplace crackled.

"How have you been?" Daniel finally broke the silence, but he was still unable to meet his wife's gaze.

"Horrible, as I am sure you can imagine." Her voice was low and cold.

"Right."

Magnolia looked at him, and as soon as she did, her eyes softened. Daniel looked as exhausted as she did.

His dark circles and red eyes suggested that he could not sleep and probably cried a lot, just like her. He was disheveled and it appeared he had not shaved in days.

There was not even a hint of the confident and proud Duke of Salicera, the man sitting in front of her was defeated and heartbroken. She felt a pricking behind her eyes, but she quickly blinked it away.

'I did not come here to grieve.'

"Daniel, I am angry." The duke finally met her eyes. "They have robbed us of our baby, he was five years-old."

She paused to swallow the lump in her throat. Even though it was hard not to, she did not want to cry.

"I cannot stay idle. I cannot forgive them. I need to draw blood, I need to avenge our Geoffrey." She could only whisper his name. She paused again, longer this time. "I will burn them all, Daniel, every single one of them. I will not be satisfied until I hear them all scream in agony, before they die."

A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek, until she wiped it.

"Magnolia, revenge will not bring him back," Daniel said with a sorrowful voice. "It is too late."

She frowned. "I think you misunderstood me, Daniel." Magnolia's tone was stripped from any emotion now. "I am not discussing whether I will avenge Geoffrey or not, because I will. I am asking whether you will stand by me, or will you keep being loyal to the people who killed our son?"

"What do you mean?"

"The royal family."

"Magnolia–"

"Do not even try to lie and say that they were not involved." Daniel could not argue with that. "Lord Saknas is basically the queen's errand boy, and I doubt the king doesn't know about his wife's schemes. He has spies in your own house, Daniel, do you really believe that he doesn't know what the queen is up to?"

Daniel had his doubts, but he could not tell Magnolia. In fact, he could not tell anyone because that would be treason. He had to get concrete proof in order to be able to take action. Without it, his words would just be considered blasphemous.

Magnolia sighed. "I will be working with my brother and the Phoenix."

"The Phoenix, have you lost your mind?"

"I have not, I need them and we share the same goal." She shrugged.

"Do you, now?"

"I am not here to argue with you, Daniel."

Her eyes were nervous, she hoped Daniel would join her, but she also knew the kind of man he was.

"Just give me your answer, will you join me, or will you side with my enemies?"

"It's not that simple, Magnolia."

"It is, me or them?"

"Magnolia…I–"

"Then, you have made your decision." She pushed to her feet.

"You cannot expect me to answer you in minutes." He also stood up. "I cannot just make this decision on a whim. I need time to investigate and plan."

"I guess we have different ways of doing things." Magnolia gave him a desolate smile. "Goodbye, Daniel." She took a few steps toward the door, but Daniel grabbed her wrist.

"Magnolia, wait." His eyes were wide, confused. "What are you talking about? What do you mean goodbye?"

"I will be joining the Phoenix."

"Are you leaving me?" Daniel felt betrayed. When Magnolia did not answer, he shook his head. "You cannot leave me, you cannot leave me too, Magnolia."

"And I cannot just sit around and watch the people who killed Geoffrey live happily while my son's burned body is rotting under the ground."

"I just need some time." Daniel shook her. "We are still grieving his death for Gods' sake."

"The time for grief is over, Daniel, the time for blood is upon us."

"Magnolia, don't be stubborn, please."

"I love you, Dan." Magnolia cupped his face and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Magnolia, please."

Daniel grasped her hand tightly, but she unclenched his finger and slipped it away. Then she rushed out of the office with tears blurring her vision.

Daniel collapsed to his knees, defeated. He was not sure how long he was on the floor, just kneeling and staring with empty eyes.

"Daniel," Henry yelled as soon as he entered the office. He rushed to the duke immediately to help him stand. "Are you alright?" He walked him to the nearby chair. "What happened?"

"Magnolia left."

"What do you mean, left?"

"She is joining the Phoenix, to avenge Geoffrey." Daniel's eyes were glazed, as if he could not see anything before him. "I tried to stop her, but she still left."

"I'm sure she will come back."

"She is going after the king, Henry." Daniel shook his head. "A Van Konigl, this will start a war." Henry was silent. The situation was too complicated at this point. "This is all my fault."

"Daniel, stop."

"If I had not been greedy, this would have never happened." He scoffed. "I should have kept the promise I made to myself years ago. I should have never wanted a family again." Henry's heart twisted while listening to his friend. "I must be cursed," he laughed. "The King's Dog is cursed. He can't keep his loved ones alive. Beware and stay away from him."

"Daniel, please. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I'm not, the Gods think that I am unworthy to have a family. Maybe I'm just paying for all the lives I have taken during the war, the Gods are punishing me."

"I think you should rest."

Henry pulled him up and helped him to the settee he had been sleeping on for the past few days.

Daniel did not resist, he lay down and allowed Henry to cover him with a blanket.

"I'm sure you will have a clear mind after you rest." He left the office and closed the door behind him.

"I have never seen him like this." Laya said. She was leaning on the wall, she heard the whole conversation.

"Me neither, even when his parents died, it wasn't this bad."

"We need to do something, Little Henry."

"For once, I agree with you."