Ileus: The Dark Prince

Haldir left the room to manage the devotees, which also consisted of the people who were against Anastasia. 

Anastasia ate her food soon enough. She was too hungry and needed a lot of rest because she was still feeling weak. Seeing how frail she still was, he said, "You are going to rest Anastasia. We will go to meet the Shaman after an hour." 

"But—" 

"Ileus is right, princess," said Kaizan. "While you rest, Darla and I are guarding at the door." Saying that the two vokudlaks walked out of the room. 

Ileus removed the plate from the bed and lay down beside his wife. He put his forearm beneath her head to cradle it. She turned on her side to face him and snuggled in his chest. She closed her eyes and asked, "Where did you go this morning, Aly?" She had missed his warmth and this rock-hard chest. 

He wrapped his arm around her. "I went to look around the temple. Was just checking on the places to see if there were any intrusions." 

"Did you see any?" she asked, stifling a yawn. Why was it that with him, she always felt this comfort? 

"None. Except for some people walking up the path to reach the temple, there were absolutely no disturbances." 

"Then who could have opened the gates of the temple before time?" she asked.

"Beats me, Anastasia," he said as he took a deep breath. 

They both became quiet for a long moment. Then softly Anastasia asked, "Does Kaizan know the High Priestess?" 

Ileus' brow creased. "I don't think so. Why?" 

She pursed her lips. "I think there's something…" 

Ileus started laughing. He kissed her temple and said, "My dear little wary wife, you are imagining a lot of things. The High Priestess is out of bounds, which means she can't be touched. She is a witch and the Shaman is a werewolf. She is just next to the Shaman in position. They both know everyone in the court and are powerful religious figures outside the temple. Though Shaman is a neutral person who has his allegiance to the throne, Tamara is important in the noble circles. She often presides over the various ceremonies. She is people's favorite and they consider her Selene's handmaiden to show them the way out of despair. To sum it up, she is a popular political figure. No one suspects her and has no reason to!" Ileus tapped her nose. "Sleep Ana. You need it. Your brain needs it." He kissed the crown of her head. 

She chuckled and snuggled closer. "You are right. I need proper sleep." But sleep was nowhere near. Thousands of questions bounced around her head. "I wanted to ask a question," she said after a few minutes of silence. 

"Shoot," he said patiently. 

"All vokudlaks can communicate so easily with each other through mind link. Why can't I?" 

"In time sweetheart, in time…" he said. "Now sleep." 

But how could Anastasia sleep?

An hour later with only one question answered out of the thousands she had they all went to the sanctum of the moon goddess. Anastasia noticed that the courtyard was absolutely clean. There was not a sign of what occurred there just an hour back. As they climbed up the stairs of the sanctum, the High Priestess joined them. She greeted them with a sweet smile. "The Shaman is waiting for you," she said and led them inside the sanctum. 

The sanctum was small with a pristine marble floor. It had a lattice framework of white stone all around over which vines of red roses grew. All of them were neatly trimmed in a way that ample light entered the place. Fragrance from flowers and incense wafted.

The Shaman was offering his last prayers to the moon goddess. Made from pure white marble, Selene's statue looked as if a live person was sitting over there. She was looking up towards the sky in the direction where the moon rose in the sky. 

The Shaman offered his last prayers and got up to welcome his guests. He waved at all of them to sit on the floor. Anastasia sat next to her husband with her legs folded and tucked beneath her thighs. While Kaizan and Darla sat behind Ileus and Anastasia, Tamara sat next to the Shaman, opposite Kaizan. She glanced at him and then averted her gaze. 

Without wasting time, the Shaman said, "Anastasia, I have called you to make you understand what happened a few hours back. It will help you in crafting your future strategy." 

Anastasia jerked her head back in surprise but didn't say anything. 

The Shaman continued, "You are a very special person, a special child of gods who has the blood of the ancient. It means that you have the blood of the creator of the Lore. And that in turn signifies that you are a goddess." 

She gasped. Even as surprise shuttled through her, a small part of her was satiated that one of the questions was answered. But goddess? That was awkward as hell.

"Since you are here, more people are going to come and look for you." 

"Just because my parents are faes, I don't become a goddess," she argued. "Everybody in Vilinski is a fae." 

"Yes, that is true," he said. "But all of them do not have the same bloodline as you. They can be called as angels because they belong to the families that are not a part of the ancient bloodline but must be half-gods. I am aware of the concept of fallen angels. Those are the faes who have been banished from the kingdom or have willingly stepped out of it. But the point to note here is that none of them had this kind of an effect on people." 

Breath lodged in her throat as her eyes became wide. "I have so many questions in my mind at the moment!" 

"And I am shocked," said Kaizan in a low deadpan voice. 

She shot a dark glare at him. 

The Shaman said, "Whenever you eat the offerings of the devotees, they start worshipping you." 

"But those offerings are meant for Selene, the moon goddess," she pointed exasperatedly. 

The Shaman laughed. "Yes, my child, they are for the moon goddess and she is a deity just like you. She is thousands of years old and you are new. Offerings are offered to deities out of devotion. If you eat them, it's not that you are stealing. Would the moon goddess feel that you have stolen her offerings? Would you feel like that if someone else ate these?"

"No, never!" she said immediately. All at once she recalled that they all followed a tradition in which the workers at the temple shared a plate of offerings. She felt relieved. 

"Have you ever noticed this phenomenon before?" 

She nodded. "Back in Yelgra, I saw some pixies offering me berries and pearls and coins. I found it funny at that time, but they were very serious about it. They have followed me to Draoidh too."

"What? They have followed you here too? Why shouldn't I be surprised?" He smiled and his expressions covered an understanding. "Who brought the offerings to you?"