Chapter 123: Breathe.

No.

No. No.

No. No. No.

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.

Ezra felt dizzy. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, like the world itself was pressing down on him, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

“What do you mean he was taken?!” Kaelis demanded, grabbing Fizzy by the arm and making him wince. “How could you not scream? How was he able—he didn’t even know how to fight!”

Ezra swallowed hard.

There was something rising inside him.

It climbed from his stomach to his throat, thick and choking.

He thought he might throw up.

But it stayed there.

Stuck in place. Not breathing.

“I thought he was looking for Captain Ezra. He…he looked scared. He said he found a way to get his daughters back. I asked why and…” Fizzy choked on his tears.

Ezra’s hands trembled at his sides.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to break.

He wanted to scream until his throat tore.

“…he took out a dagger and attacked me. He threatened Lior to come to him or else he would kill me,” Fizzy cried. “Lior followed him. He said…he said they asked for Lior in exchange for his daughters.”

“They?” Ezra heard Aamon ask. “Who’s they? The kidnappers? Why would they want one kid for two?”

Ezra’s head snapped up.

He had been still. Frozen. His breathing shallow, barely there.

But now he looked at Fizzy.

Really looked at him.

Then he started walking.

Slow at first.

Closer.

Fizzy’s eyes widened as Ezra approached.

“Ezra…” Kaelis said, noticing something was wrong.

But Ezra didn’t stop.

He shoved Kaelis aside and grabbed Fizzy.

Hard, and he squeezed Fizzy’s already injured arm as if subconsciously punishing him.

“C-Captain, I’m so sorry—” Fizzy started, but Ezra cut him off.

“Where?” Ezra whispered. His voice was rough, almost breaking.

“What…?”

“WHERE DID THEY GO?!” Ezra roared loud.

The shout tore out of him.

Every knight turned, even Aamon who had never, ever heard him yell that loud.

But the fight didn’t stop. It couldn’t. Dark Ones were still moving, still closing in.

Ezra didn’t care.

He didn’t even notice one getting too close until someone else cut it down for him.

“They…he…took him that way…” Fizzy pointed, his hand shaking toward the other side of the woods, the side where no Dark Ones were coming from. “But…I think he might not be alone. I think we should call Prince Helios—”

Ezra let go of him and shoved him aside.

“I’m going after him,” he said. His voice dropped, cold and steady. “If anyone tries to stop me, I will kill you.”

And then he ran.

“EZRA!” Aamon shouted after him. “DON’T DO ANYTHING RASH!”

“Captain!”

“We can call for backup!”

Ezra heard them.

But he didn’t listen.

He couldn’t.

’I don’t care.’

Everything else faded.

All that remained was one thought.

Lior.

“I was… I was being taken by a lot of shadows. There was a lot… a lot of shadows.”

Lior’s voice echoed in his head.

The dream.

Ezra had seen it too.

He had been there. Running. Searching.

And still—

He did nothing.

Why?

Why didn’t he think anything of it?

How could he not have known?

What kind of instincts did he have?

How stupid was he?

’Fizzy said they went through here.’

Ezra pushed into the woods.

Branches scraped against him as he moved. The trees loomed overhead, thick and dark, swallowing what little light there was.

It felt wrong.

But it also felt very familiar.

Just like the nightmare.

As if he had been there before.

’No.’

His chest tightened as he ran.

’How could I have left him alone?’

He scanned the ground as he moved, searching for anything. Footprints. Broken twigs. Disturbed soil.

Anything.

There was nothing.

No trail.

No direction.

Nothing to follow.

Ezra slowed for half a second.

Then stopped.

His breath came out uneven.

No left.

No right.

No straight path.

“Fuck…” he whispered.

“No… no…”

His hands clenched into fists.

He was wasting time.

Every second—

Lior was getting farther away.

Ricardo could already be gone.

The cultists—

’They might already have him.’

Ezra’s stomach dropped.

Why Lior?

Why him?

Do they know?

Do they know he’s mine?

But how?

Why?

Why his baby?

Ezra’s vision blurred for a second.

Then his jaw tightened.

’No.’

He forced himself to move again.

Faster.

Deeper into the forest.

Ezra felt his vision blur, as if the dizziness was finally catching up to him.

Or maybe he was about to cry.

Or both.

He wasn’t ready for this.

His heart ached so much it made his body feel weak, like his strength was slipping out of him. Like his knees might give out at any second. Like—

“Ezra—”

An arm grabbed him and spun him around.

“Let me go, Prince Kaelis. I will kill you. I swear to God. I don’t care,” Ezra snapped, already trying to shove Kaelis away. “If you’re here to stop me, it’s a waste–”

“I’m not going to stop you,” Kaelis said quickly, gripping his wrists before he could move. “But I need you to calm down. Look at yourself right now. You’re in no condition. If you want to save Lior, you have to breathe.”

Ezra tried to pull free.

He couldn’t.

His body felt too weak, no matter how hard he struggled.

“How could you possibly expect me to calm down? How?”

Everything spilled out.

It just came out before he could stop it.

Maybe because Kaelis already knew about Ezra being an omega.

Or maybe he just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Tears fell from Ezra’s eyes as he looked up at him.

Kaelis was looking down at him.

There was something in his eyes.

Ezra couldn’t tell what it was.

“Ezra…”

“Your Highness, please, we’re losing time—”

“We’ll find him,” Kaelis said, tightening his grip slightly.

’We?’

“We don’t even know where—”

“We will find him.”

This time, his voice didn’t waver.

Ezra froze.

There was no teasing in his tone. No mockery. No questions.

Just certainty.

’We’re going to find him.’

“He can’t be that far,” Kaelis continued. “They want us to follow. That’s why they targeted Lior.”

He moved one hand from Ezra’s wrist and pressed it lightly against his chest. “Take a deep breath. Follow me.”

Kaelis inhaled slowly.

Ezra didn’t want to stand there any longer, but he knew Kaelis was right.

He forced himself to follow.

He closed his eyes.

“Inhale. Exhale.”

Ezra did as he was told.

His chest eased a little.

The tightness loosened just enough for him to think.

It was working.

“Good,” Kaelis said quietly. “Your color’s coming back. You looked like you were about to drop. And I don’t know Lior that well, but I doubt he’d want to see you like that.”

It was a small joke.

Ezra noticed it.

Kaelis always did that. Even now.

Usually, it irritated him.

Right now, it didn’t.

“Take one more breath,” Kaelis said. “Then we move.”

Ezra inhaled again, steadier this time.

“Okay.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep