Ileus: The Dark Prince

Siora had waited there for so long that the moment she pulled the curtains aside, her magic hissed off her skin into smoky tendrils. 

Everyone on the table turned to look at the woman whose horns were straightening and had become black. "Mother!" Rolfe got up. Shock and utter disbelief surged through his body. "What— how— what the hell are you doing here?" Goosebumps lined his skin when he saw that she was staring at Iona. Disbelief got replaced with rage so sharp that his hands curled into fists so tight that his knuckles became white. He tasted bitterness. "Get out of here, now!" 

Siora chuckled. The raw magic that had pooled inside her veins was slithering out like thousands of asps. Flames swirled around her fingers as the endless abyss of her magic opened. Her eyes became a fiery orange. "You will not get out alive from here," Siora growled in a voice she didn't recognize was her own. It was as if her feral beast had taken over. 

Ileus got up and burst into shadows and smoke as Anastasia's wings bristled. Haldir took hold of Inyanga and his child and then made a dash out. The guests screamed and shrieked and rushed outside. 

"What the hell is going on?" said Ookashi. Nate simply pulled her out of the chair and hauled her out of the banquet. Lea pulled Paige out because she was ready to attack. Paige was in fact, calling her names and hurling curses.

Kaizan had to shut her up as he stood. He roared and shifted and stood next to Anastasia.

"What you think you are doing is complete madness, Mother!" Rolfe's brows furrowed and fury hummed in his chest. "And how did you manage to come here?" 

Iona was dumbfounded. She was so shocked that she couldn't move from her place. 

Siora rallied her magic, and willed it to obey her the way she wanted. She summoned the fire. Every flame burning on the candle got whooshed in one swift motions as sir gushed over them and came to Siora. She took a step closer and glared at Iona. "Because of you, I was dethroned. I am a queen, but not a queen. You, an eighteen-year-old, have snatched everything that belonged to me. You thought I would sit quiet? For the last three months, I have worked on getting out of the fortress that Anastasia had so nicely trapped me in. Did you think that your magic could kill me?" She let out a laughter that sounded sick. "I am going to fry you in my magic, you little piece of shit! You bloody whore, how many did you screw on your way to the throne of Galahar? Because the last I knew you were nothing but a soul sucking witch!" 

Iona's eyes were wide as if a jolt had struck her. A fiery pain ripped her. So much hatred… Eight years worth of pain, misery and feelings associated with being a dark witch poured into her. Eight years of nightmares, desperation mingled with helplessness… it all came down like a heavy wave in an ocean on a stormy night. "Whore?" She said in a raspy voice. 

"Iona!" Rolfe was in front of her. Ileus appeared right beside her and Anastasia stood in the line of Siora's vision. "Don't listen to her," Rolfe said in a bitter voice. 

Siora's vision was hampered as Anastasia's wings started to spread. She chuckled and suddenly flung her hands towards the chandeliers overhead. A force so strong hit them that they broke and splintered and fell on the table breaking away the delicate porcelain and chunks of wood. Iona ducked. Rolfe pulled her out of there and made her stand behind him. Siora laughed. "Anastasia, you fool, you will have to make sure that I stay alive. You can't do a thing to me because of the vow you had made to me." 

Anastasia's breath hitched as the color of her skin paled. Yet she didn't leave her place. Seeing her stubbornness, Siora closed her eyes and released a little of her magic in the air. With a thunderous boom, the glass of the banquet hall shattered into thousands of pieces that flung all around the hall. The hall immersed into darkness as howling winds and snow rushed in. 

Rolfe curled Iona in his arms to take the whole impact, but nothing happened. When he looked up, he found that all the pieces were suspended into the air. Ileus's eyes were burning a fiery golden. His hands were in in the air, thin wisps of magic touching him and flowing out of him, containing the glass pieces. He lowered his hands and the glass fragments fell on the floor like a rain of shimmering shards behind them. He looked at Rolfe in a low voice said, "Take her away from here."

"No one leaves this place alive!" Siora growled. Yellow and orange lights crackled around her hands and she flung them towards Rolfe. "Die, you traitor! Die!" she shouted. But before the lights could hit him, Ileus had stopped them with his. Siora continued to use more of her magic. It was coming out in powerful waves and Ileus got pushed behind. "I think I need to kill your wife first!" she screamed at him. "You should see how I am killing her." Saying that she turned one hand towards Anastasia and as her hand arced towards her, a line of fire scorched everything in the way. 

Anastasia summoned all the ice from out and used it to create a shield in front of her. She had to keep her alive. And she had to use her magic. And she was pregnant… 

"Get out of here, Anastasia!" Ileus shouted. He understood her emotions immediately. If she continued to use her magic against Siora, she would become weak soon. And Siora was strong. He was surprised at her capability. However, as usual, his wife did not pay attention to his words. 

In the meantime, Rolfe ushered his wife to go out of the hall, but Siora sent the beams their way. 

"Rolfe! Duck!" Ileus shouted. 

Rolfe ducked, taking Iona beneath him as the beams sizzled above him and hit cabinets ahead. The cabinets exploded and splintered and fell right in front of them. Rolfe covered Iona once again to save her. In a moment of frustration and love, he said, "Gods, I am so sorry Iona." 

Iona's fury was humming in her chest. Her breathing shallow, she said, "Go, fight her. I will stay here." 

"No, love. She wants to kill you. Can't you see what she is trying to do?" A shudder passed through his body. 

"Of course, I can. She knows that if she kills even one of us, the other would follow suit, but her priority is me, because if she had stayed hidden for so long behind those drapes, then the possibility is that she knows I am pregnant." 

"Gods!" Rolfe was shaken. "I am so sorry… She has become too strong. Her magic is too ancient to be taken lightly." 

"No, love. It isn't your fault. Now go!" She forced him to leave her. 

Rolfe got up and looked behind. He found Ileus fighting her while Anastasia was blocking her magic. Suddenly, he saw a dash of lightning and a man with silver hair stood right beside Ileus.. Haldir took his dagger out and hurled at her.