Ileus: The Dark Prince

Her body shuddered. "If that is the case, how did they defeat my parents? It wasn't easy. My father's magic is potent as hell and so is my mother's."

Ileus lowered his head. "I think Etaya poisoned your parents too in ways they didn't recognize."

"Oh gods!" Anastasia rasped. Suddenly everything started making sense. Her parents were such powerful faes that they were ruling over the entire fae kingdom. How was it possible that Aed Ruad and Maple could easily defeat them and then even throw them in the prison. It just didn't make sense. "You are right, Ileus," she said with a shaky breath. "Etaya must be poisoning them all the while and my father or mother never noticed. But if she was doing it, then there must be someone in Vilinski who was helping her out. And who could that be?" 

"That could be a possibility or she might be doing it alone," he said wondering who could actually help her. 

Anastasia shook her head. "Nyles was working for Maple, and along with my cousins were working with their mother. I am sure that there were people around them… very close, who knew what to do and who are still a part of the plan." She got out of the bed and began pacing the room. "I know for sure that Ráild, Iskra's son, is one of the men who is Aed Ruad's close confidante. So, he is definitely with them." 

"What about Nyles' family?" Ileus asked as he leaned on the headrest of the bed. 

"I don't think they were with her. Nyles had come to me when I was ten. She was kind of 'forcefully' donated by her family to stay with me. Her parents never wanted her to come to the palace, but Maple forced her parents to give her to serve me. After that Nyles was always sticking with me. I don't remember her going back to her parents." Anastasia tried to recollect any instance whereby Nyles had left her side. There weren't any. She was always with her, in front of her eyes. 

"It is difficult to say who all were with Aed Ruad or against him. From what I heard while staying there was that he had a close coterie of friends and they were very loyal to him. It included his military general and some people who were looking after the treasury. Do you know any of those?"

"Maple, rarely let me meet those people," said Anastasia. "She would ridicule me in front of them and say that I was an absolute moron when it came to the matters of the kingdom." Her gaze went beyond the window, towards the wildflowers that were in full bloom. At first, she used to feel angry and extremely frustrated when Maple made a joke of her, but right now when she was recalling it, she felt sad. Sadness lingered beneath her disposition. 

"Are you feeling sad, sweetheart?" he asked. 

"No," she paused. "Sort of…"

"Why?"

"I don't know." She walked towards the window and crossed her elbows on the ledge to lean on them. "I hate Maple for being so cruel, so—" she choked and her voice trailed off. There were not enough words to express it. A moment of silence later, she felt his arms around her shoulders. 

"Don't waste your energy in thinking about her, Anastasia," he said softly as he curled his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her face up. "She is not worth it. Instead you must try and recall people who are close to Aed Ruad. Those are the people we have to deal with."

"Why not Aed Ruad directly?" she asked with curiosity.

"We have to weaken the structure he has built around him. And at the same time understand what Etaya is doing. The mother and son have developed something very strong around them. While Etaya has the force of dark powers with her, Aed Ruad has the backing of some strong nobles. We know who is with Etaya, but we don't know who is with Aed Ruad."

Anastasia sighed. "I wish Iona was not tortured by Etaya. I feel so bad for her. Poor one… she broke." 

"You were also tortured by them. You did not break. You were poisoned by them, but you didn't break." He pulled her into a tight embrace. He stroked her head and back with his long fingers as if savoring every moment, he lived with her. "But Iona—she had the dark powers, and they consumed her."

She craned her neck up and said, "I feel there is much more to all of this, Aly. I really want to see those paintings again." 

"No, I will not allow you to go there even for a minute!" he growled and pressed her harder into his chest as if trying to merge her in his body. When she didn't say anything, he curled his fingers below her chin to draw her gaze to him. "What is it that you are thinking sweetheart? That look of yours—it means that you are planning something, cooking some mischief in that little head of yours and you won't tell me about it." 

"And what is that characteristic that makes you think like that?" she asked with a smile. 

"You stop speaking and your eyes twitch slightly." 

"No, that doesn't happen!" 

"It happens." 

"I was listening to you." She was partially listening to him.

He brushed her cheeks with his knuckles and said, "You are a bad liar, sweetheart. So tell me what you were thinking." His warm golden eyes bore into hers as if trying to peek into her soul. "I was wondering—" 

Suddenly an explosion was heard and her heart leapt out of her ribcage. The explosion followed a commotion accompanied with noises. "What is happening?" she asked, pulling herself away from him. 

"I don't know," he said, hoping that what he was thinking was untrue. "You better stay here, Anastasia. I am going and finding out."

He started to leave, but she held his hand. Her heart was pounding like a blacksmith's hammer on hot iron. Blood drained from her face. "I want to come with you. Please." 

"Do you have your dagger with you?" he asked in a low tone.

She nodded. 

"Then wait for my signal," he said and strode out of the room.

Though feeling nervous, Anastasia was comforted that Ileus wouldn't leave her alone here. She changed into her clothes and discarded the white robes of the temple. Beneath her tunic, she tied her baldric and sheathed her sword. And then she waited. 

She felt the tension and heard the intensity of noise on the outside. Her anxiety rose a notch higher, but she knew that if she became nervous, she would lose comprehension and so something like what she did a few hours back. She would let her magic explode and that would again kill more people. She closed her eyes and focused on the fact that her husband was the dark wizard. He could also unleash his magic in order to kill people, but he exercised a lot of control. She calmed herself and restrained her magic in her chest. She stopped it from flowing out, and the control—it was heady. She felt she could will her magic. It was just the beginning.