Xavi held Josephine all night.
He never left her—not even once.
Josephine was asleep in his arms when Xavi sighed softly. Carefully, he laid her down, kissed her forehead, and vanished with speed.
He arrived at Piere and Raden's castle.
"Hello, King Xavi. What brings you here at this time?" Raden asked, holding his little sleeping princess.
"Please call your husband. I need to ask him something very important," Xavi said.
Raden nodded and sent a maid to call him.
Piere soon arrived, yawning. "Xavi… what's wrong?"
"It's about Josephine. I want to know her past," Xavi said.
"Huh…?" Piere frowned. "Why?"
Xavi told him about the ambush.
"That bastard is back, huh?" Piere said darkly.
"Mhm," Xavi replied. "Why is he after her? How many of them are there?"
"It's only him left," Piere said.
Then he began.
"Jojo used to sneak into the village school to secretly learn, just to have some knowledge. The school chased her away. They insulted her and told her she didn't belong there."
Xavi clenched his fists tightly.
"One day, Jojo was in the bakery. She made pies and cupcakes. That was when a prince entered the shop—the Prince of the Wraithbound Kingdom. He heard the men and boys talking about Josephine's beauty and decided to see for himself. He was 20… Josephine was just 15."
"Nana told Jojo to serve the guests, and Jojo always obeyed Nana. His eyes never left Josephine—not even once. He asked who made the pies. The people said it was Josephine. He nodded and left."
"He kept coming to the bakery for seven months. Nana got a bad feeling about him—the way his eyes followed Jojo's every movement. Prince Aroven, the son of King Noctis… people feared him greatly."
"After the King of Ravenglade took Jojo, Aroven got extremely mad and burned half of his own castle for Josephine. He came to ask for Jojo's hand, but Nana refused. King Hendrick had ordered that nobody would marry his daughter or take advantage of his child."
"That made Aroven even angrier. He looked at us and said—She will be mine—and left."
Piere finished, holding Raden's hand.
Xavi stood there silently, absorbing everything.
"That bastard will find a way to get you out of his way and take Jojo by force," Piere said. "Callum and Tess will tell you the rest."
Xavi nodded. "Thank you."
He vanished at full speed.
Xavi arrived at Noah's castle and knocked on Callum's door. He entered to find chaos—Noah was furious. He and Tess had just had a massive fight.
"What happened? Is Jojo okay?" Tess asked immediately.
"You two fought, but that's not why I'm here," Xavi said calmly, sitting down.
Noah and Tess looked at each other.
Xavi snapped his fingers at Noah. Noah's eyes glowed—and then cleared.
"A separation spell," Xavi said. "Someone cast it on you to make you leave her. You fought over the smallest things. It was a sea witch maid. She wants you—and she wants to be Queen."
Tess grabbed Noah.
"That slut!"
Noah roared orders to the guards. "Kill her. Burn her."
He hugged Tess tightly.
"What did King Aroven do to Josephine in her childhood?" Xavi asked.
Tess's eyes glowed dark yellow. Callum's magic flared.
"Where did you see that bloody bastard?" Tess hissed.
"He attacked my castle," Xavi replied calmly, though rage boiled inside him. "Threatened to take Josephine from our family."
"Is she okay?" Callum asked softly.
"She's scared, right?" Tess added.
Xavi nodded. "It was hard putting her to sleep."
Before Jojo returned to her family, she was in Aroven's captivity for four years.
"He was worse than King Valen Draegor," Tess said through tears. "He stripped her naked. Beat her. Left bite marks. He touched her… sexually assaulted her. She pushed him away every time he tried to sleep with her."
"His sister was his weakness. She and his father got Jojo out of the kingdom."
"We found her in a—" Tess broke down.
"Where?" Xavi asked coldly.
"Naked. Bleeding," Callum said, tears falling. "Her body covered in blood. Bones broken. He showed her no mercy. He didn't feed her."
"When we gave her food…" Callum sniffed as Nyx held him. "She ate like it was her last meal. Her hands were shaking. She grabbed the pot and ate everything."
"She ate nine pots of food."
"That bloody monster showed her hell."
Xavi nodded slowly.
"Please don't let her go," Callum said. "Triple the guards. Track her location. Lockdown if possible."
"Yes," Xavi replied. "Lockdown."
"In the morning, we'll be there," Tess said.
"Thank you," Xavi said before vanishing again.
He returned home to find his family peacefully asleep.
In the morning, Xavi didn't wake Josephine. He carried the kids instead. Adris was bathing.
Xavi cooked for everyone—and prepared Josephine's food separately, placing it gently beside her.
Josephine woke to the smell and smiled. Xavi kissed her softly.
Novara was still asleep. They both kissed her cheeks.
Josephine and Xavi ate together.
"For today, you're on lockdown, love," Xavi said gently. "Tess and the others agreed."
"I've placed guards from both kingdoms—seventy million, well-paid. Any betrayal means instant death."
Josephine tried to use sign language.
"No," Xavi cut her off firmly. "No signs. Final."
She nodded.
Xavi made sure everyone and everything was secure.
Four days later
They were in Zephyria.
Xavi gave Josephine her scroll. She read and handled her duties as Queen. Later, they walked together, bathed in the river, wrapped around each other, kissing.
Josephine giggled silently.
I love you so much, she signed.
"I love you very much too," Xavi replied.
They changed clothes.
Someone was watching.
"HEY!" a guard shouted.
Intruders attacked. Xavi threw dark magic orbs.
Then Aroven stepped forward.
"Josephine… I am very proud of you. Queen of two kingdoms," he said mockingly.
Josephine held Xavi's hand tightly.
Adris arrived instantly. "HEY, BASTARD!"
He grabbed Josephine's hand—but Xavi kissed her deeply.
"I'll be back. I promise," Xavi whispered. "Take care of the kids. Be strong."
Josephine shook her head.
Adris teleported her away.
Xavi and Aroven locked eyes.
They fought.
Xavi stabbed him. All of Aroven's men dropped dead instantly.
Aroven was bleeding when his mother appeared.
"KING XAVI, PLEASE STOP!" Queen Ella cried.
Before Xavi could react—
Aroven stabbed him.
Xavi screamed.
Adris stabbed Aroven back.
"DAD!!!" Adris screamed, catching Xavi.
Josephine felt it.
Xavi…
She sped back.
She saw her husband lying in a pool of blood—smiling at her, teeth stained red.
Josephine collapsed beside him as power burst from her body.
Xavi held her hand. "B–baby… don't…"
He kissed her hand.
Adris cried.
Xoni felt it and screamed in agony. Anesthesia held her.
Xavi was rushed to the healing room.
Josephine held his hand the entire time—never letting go—as he underwent critical treatment.