Chapter 1002: Is This Raphael?

Rowena was so surprised when she heard his voice. Was she also missing Raphael so badly that she imagined him?

"Honey..." Raphael walked closer and hugged Rowena tightly as soon as he reached her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

He searched all over Cretea, worried that she ran away in distraught and ended up getting lost. He didn't find her anywhere. Only after he returned to the palace and heard from one of the guards that one pegasus was missing, did he realize Rowena must have taken the animal with her.

Since Pegasus was a special creature with the ability to bring the rider anywhere their hearts desired, Raphael immediately went to the human realm and searched for Rowena in the valley where she shared a hut with Julian. He knew that was her favorite place on earth. He assumed the pegasus would take her there.

However, he was utterly disappointed when he didn't find her in the valley. So, where did she go? Was there any other place she loved that Raphael didn't know about?

She couldn't possibly be going back to the royal palace of Ashland, could she?

He doubted it but had no choice but to go there and check for himself. When Raphael arrived at the palace, he felt disappointed again because he couldn't find Rowena.

Fortunately, he overheard some knights talking about a certain ice cave that they had to keep guard and he immediately suspected it was a special place for King Draco to have knights protecting it.

He went to the ice cave following them in his phoenix form and was so lucky to see the girl right before she went inside the cave. This must be fate, he thought to himself. His heart led her right to her after searching for her everywhere to no avail.

Seeing Rowena in such a state broke his heart. He wanted to immediately transform and hug her, and asked her if she was okay. However, he canceled the intention when he realized Rowena came to the ice cave to see Julian.

So... this was the place where her heart desired the most. The place where Julian was. Suddenly, Draco Roseland's words before he took his last breath came back to his mind.

Rowena planned everything. She seduced Raphael to get the immortality potion to revive Julian because she foolishly thought she could bring him back from the dead. 

Julian was her boyfriend. The man that she loved. 

She only took advantage of Raphael's feelings for her.

Wasn't this proof that she immediately came to Julian's side as soon as she left Cretea? Raphael was filled with doubt and jealousy. He wanted to leave and forget about her. He had endured jealousy toward Julian for a long time but he always scolded himself for having that feeling in the first place. Julian was dead, he told himself.

He thought Rowena only thought of Julian as her best friend. She loved him. And someday, Raphael would get over that feeling. Everything would be fine, and they could become happy together.

However, it was so hard now since his mind was filled with poisonous thoughts planted by Draco Roseland. He was an immortal, a god as humans called him, but he had his heart and his feelings. Even gods were not immune from sadness, anger, and other dark feelings.

The thought that Rowena didn't actually love him and only used him to get the immortality potion broke his heart. If she truly did that... he forgave her, but that didn't mean he would be able to stay here and act as if nothing happened.

Raphael's mind told him to leave. There was nothing here for you. You have seen with your own eyes that Draco was right. Rowena loved Julian. He was the first thing she was looking for when she left Cretea. Even the pegasus took her here, where he was.

Raphael was ready to fly back to Cretea as soon as Rowena got off the pegasus and entered the cave. However...

The heart wants what it wants. And at that moment, Raphael's heart led him to Rowena. He shoot down from the sky and went into the cave and after her.

He saw her talking to herself, but it seemed like she was talking to someone, yet Raphael couldn't see anyone, just Julian's lifeless body on the stone slab which, to his shock, still looked like he was sleeping. He remembered using his ice magic to keep Julian's body from decomposing temporarily for Rowena's sake. 

It shouldn't have meant to last this long. So... was it the ice cave?

Now, Raphael understood why Draco Roseland accused Rowena of trying to revive Julian with the immortality potion. Julian looked like he was just sleeping. So, perhaps the potion would give him immortality and he would be woken up from his long sleep.

But it was not true. Julian was dead and no amount of immortality potion would bring him back from the dead. 

Rowena should know that all her efforts were futile. He must tell her to stop. 

Before he knew it, Raphael had transformed back to his original form. He called Rowena's name and came to hug her tightly. He was so surprised when Rowena hugged him back, just as tightly.

"Oh, Raphael..." she cried in disbelief. "I must be missing you so much that I hallucinate about you too."

Her words made Raphael furrow his brows. Hallucinate about him TOO? Was she hallucinating about Julian and aware of it? What did actually happen to his Rowena?

He moved back a little and looked at her face worriedly. "No, I am real. I am here because I am worried about you. I looked for you everywhere I could think of. I finally found you here."

Rowena looked up and stared at Raphael's handsome face with disbelief. She could hug him. She could hear his gentle voice clearly, she could smell his scent. So... was this person hugging her truly Raphael?

Raphael saw her disbelief and decided to prove to her that he was real.

He tilted his face and kissed her deeply.