Ileus: The Dark Prince

Ileus was feeling emotional to the extent that he wanted to become corporeal and embrace his sister. She looked like she was walking out of hell, but it didn't matter. He and his parents had gone crazy to find her all these years, and yet here she was… wanting to kill his mate. A tear ran down his eyes. 

Anastasia walked up to him and rested her head on his back that materialized just for her, sensing her mate's mental state. She didn't know what to do other than that. All she wanted was to comfort her husband. She knew the kind of shock he was going through. 

Iona extended her hand to him. "Come, let us join forces and we will rule this world—you and I are going to be forces no one can stop!" Her lips curled back revealing her pointy teeth and long fangs. "Let us sacrifice her," she said in a voice that wasn't hers. "I have waited for so many years to get her in my hands. Come Brother, let us finish what we started. It will bring a new era. The world will belong to us, our darkness." She closed her eyes and tipped her head back to the rays of the moon. "Ohhh! It's so comforting…" She turned towards the chaos happening behind her. Lights, swords, axes clanking against each other and the stone. They could hear the thunder and the shattering of the stone. 

Yet another tear fell from his eyes and he knew that she was now beyond repair. But he had to try. "Iona, I don't know what circumstances led you to this, but come back to me Sister…" His voice choked. "Mother and Father miss you dearly, madly. We all love you." 

Iona whipped her head like an owl to look at him with her black eyes that now flickered a dull yellow and Ileus flinched. "Loved me, missed me!" She turned her body to face him and let out a cackle that made him want to press his ears hard. "You didn't do any of that. You all left me… left me to be tortured by souls, by those who hated you. They took it out on me. I will never forgive you." 

"We never left you. Trust me Iona, we didn't leave a place uncovered. We tried—" 

"Then you should have tried harder!" she screamed. "You should have tried harder!" she spat on the ground and the grass where she spat turned into ashes. She pointed her cuspated claw at him as her breath became ragged. "You didn't try enough. You didn't check properly. You let me slip into darkness!" 

"That's absurd!" Ileus retorted. "Who tortured you, tell me! I will rip that person and make it so bad that they would beg me to kill them!" 

"Shutttt uppppp!" she screamed like a maniac. 

Suddenly Adrianna appeared right beside him. She growled, "Take Anastasia to safety while I manage this witch!" 

Iona looked at her mother with wide eyes. "Name is Iona," she said in a cold, disembodied voice. "Mother." 

Adrianna gasped. Her stomach plummeted to the ground as her insides churned. "Iona…" she eyes became wide as her mind refused to believe what she saw while her heart knew that it was her daughter. The black witch was her daughter. She pressed her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god!" She took a step closer. "Iona!" She took another step closer. "My daughter!" Her eyes became blurry with tears that she had held for so long and when she finally found her daughter all she could think of was to embrace her. 

Iona stepped back. "Are you not afraid of me?" she said, waving to herself. 

Adrianna shook her head. "No Iona, my child," she was barely able to speak. She pushed down the lump in her throat. "My child is my child, no matter fair or dark. A part of my soul, my heart belongs to you and lives in you. Why will I be scared of you?" She took another step closer. It was not difficult for her to realize that Iona had gone too far but as a mother she was going to bring her back. So, she went to step closer to her and extended her hand to her cheek. She placed her hand on her cheek and poured all her love into her. "Iona, my child, you have my support always and I will guide you back to this world. I am going to walk into the gates of hell to keep you safe and if you will give me a chance, I will be honored." 

Iona's black façade melted slowly as it rippled down like water till her neck, exposing a beautiful girl with black hair, golden eyes and rosy lips. She bore acute resemblance to her brother. "Mother," she whispered as she leaned in her touch. "Where were you… all this time…" Tears ran down her eyes. "I waited and waited…"

Adrianna couldn't stop her tears at all because it was the first time she was seeing her daughter's face in so many years. "I was— I was—" she stuttered and couldn't complete her sentence. "You are lovely."

"They have taken over me," Iona cried. The blackness started to ripple back on her neck. "I feel compelled…" 

"You have to resist them, Iona. Only you can do it. Come back to us. You can," Adrianna urged. "I have been waiting for you, trying to find you…" 

The blackness rippled and covered her face again. Her icy demeanor was back. "You tried to find me?" She pushed Adrianna away. "You liar!" Iona started conjuring a black orb of darkness in her hands. "You are the biggest traitor. You didn't protect me when they were kidnapping me! I hate youuuuu!" she roared and threw the orb towards her. "You should dieeee! I suffered because of you and now I will make you suffer to no end!" She conjured another orb as Adrianna stumbled back. 

"Noooo!" Ileus shouted and held his mother. 

"Iona! What are you doing?" he asked, aghast.

She threw another orb at her, but Ileus caught it and directed it to the left. "Don't! She is our mother!" He knew that it was of no use to bring emotions up because Iona now belonged to a part of the world, which only recognized blood and gore. 

"Mothers are hateful!" she screamed in a voice that could make ears bleed. "She couldn't protect me. And she is going to suffer for that!" She threw more deathly orbs at her. 

Ileus dodged them all as Adrianna's mind had become numb from the shock. Her limbs felt like lead. She couldn't lift them or process what Iona just said and did. 

"I will kill her!" Iona shrieked and then summoned a massive bolt of dagger-shaped beam in her hands. She rushed to stab it in Adrianna's heart, but before she could do it, a bolt of lightning hit her chest. A hole formed in her Iona's chest. She looked down at it and then when her gaze went up, she saw her mother standing in front of Ileus and his mate with magic crackling in her hands. 

Adrianna's defense weakened by what Iona said next.