Chapter 82

DANIEL WAS THE FIRST TO CHARGE AT THE MAGES. With incredible speed, he ran to the closest one to him and brought his sword down on him with everything he got.

The mage had no time to put up a full defense. He flew across the room until he crashed into the wall next to Titus. The king watched with wide eyes.

The shocked mages finally came back to their senses and moved to attack.

Two Mages turned to face Daniel. They were ready to kill him for what he had done to their friend, especially the woman.

The other two men faced Magnolia. One held a staff and the other had bolts dancing in his open palms.

"I should warn you," Magnolia said. "I have been practicing my magic every day for the past month."

The man with the staff scoffed. "We have been doing that for years." He threw his partner a look and the latter grinned.

"Alright then, give it your best shot."

"Enough with the chatting, just kill her already," Titus screamed from the back.

The two mages attacked without holding back. They kept at it, sending lightning bolts at Magnolia. They could not even see her because of all the explosions of magic, but they kept attacking.

The marble floor slowly cracked under their power which finally made them stop. There was no way anyone could survive those attacks.

The mages, along with Titus, squinted their eyes to see through the smoke and make sure the duchess was dead.

"Well, I'm glad you gave it your all."

Her silhouette emerged from the smoke as she walked closer to the mages. There was not even a scratch on her. Her face was beaming.

'There was no reason to worry.' Daniel sighed with a smile.

For a moment, he stopped breathing. His body was moving automatically to block the attacks, but his eyes were on the smoke.

When he finally saw her, his smile grew as his sword crashed against the mage's arm plate.

'Let's focus on these two, Magnolia can handle herself.'

"Is it my turn now?" Magnolia tilted her head to the side.

A chill ran through the mages and the king. Even the queen trembled in her corner.

"I will not kill you, don't fret."

With one motion of her hand, the two mages flew to the wall behind them. They slammed against it, which knocked the air out of them.

Titus' eyes bulged as he watched the wall melt and trap the two men's arms and legs. It looked like they were part of it.

"Now make sure you don't move too much," Magnolia added as a circle of fire appeared around both their necks. It was not close enough to burn them, but they could feel the heat nonetheless.

As soon as Magnolia finished, Daniel took a few steps toward her. His two opponents were passed out on the floor.

Suddenly, the floor's cracks rumbled as they got bigger. He halted and looked at his wife.

Soon enough, the whole marble fissured under their feet and the floor collapsed. They both moved, just in time to avoid falling.

They found themselves on opposite sides of a huge hole in the floor. Daniel and the queen were on one side and Magnolia and Titus on the other.

"Just take her and leave, I can handle him," Magnolia told Daniel.

The duke stared at her for a moment. He knew she could handle Titus. The king was too old to be able to hurt her, especially after the powers she had just displayed. But something inside him told him not to leave her there.

"I promise it will not take long, you should tell everyone out there that it's over, tell them there is no point in fighting anymore." She smiled at him.

"Alright, I will tell them. But I will come back as soon as I do."

Magnolia nodded at Daniel before giving her full attention to Titus.

"Come, Your Majesty."

The duke offered his hand to the queen, she took it while staggering toward him.

Monika looked back to her husband, but he did not spare her a glance. With a dejected expression, she followed Daniel down the stairs and out to the garden that had turned into a battlefield.

"By the Gods' names," Monika whispered at the sight. It was chaotic and quite scary.

"Mages," Daniel yelled as loud as he could, to be heard over the fighting.

He had his hand on Monika's shoulder and his sword pointed at her.

"The king and queen have been captured."

The sounds slowly subdued as everyone's attention turned to him.

"There is no need to fight each other anymore."

The mages looked at each other as some slowly lowered their weapons and the others stopped using their magic.

"I do hope–"

A loud explosion came from the third floor, shattering the glass walls, and sending deadly shards raining down.

Everyone who was standing close to the building rushed away using their shields or weapons to protect themselves from the sharp glass.

Daniel did the same by instinct. He shielded the queen as well while they made their way to safety.

When he looked back at the Crystal Villa, the flames were already high in the sky.

"Magnolia," he screamed.

He started running toward the building, but another explosion sent him back, flying.

"Shite," he cursed.

He was quickly on his feet again. His eyes scanned the house. It was bad, the fire had spread to every corner in seconds.

Daniel's breathing was fast and shallow. He tried to calm himself by thinking that Magnolia's powers are of fire and that she would be safe in a situation like this, but he needed to see her.

He tried to walk to the villa again, but two strong arms stopped him.

"Your Grace, the building will collapse at any moment," Victor told him.

"Then you better let go of me, I need to get my wife out of there quickly." Daniel's glare made the commander release him.

Unfortunately, there was no time for him to even try. The whole building creaked and crackled until it gave in and crumbled to the ground.

Monika shrieked and called the king's name, but Daniel did not hear any of it. It was as if the world had gone silent.

He stared at the destroyed building, unable to fathom what had just happened. His knees gave in as he fell to the ground, his eyes fixated on the blazing fire.

"Magnolia," he breathed.