Ileus: The Dark Prince

"Yes, that is my dagger. That is given to all the royals. The pommel carries two big round rubies that are shaped and encrusted in a way that the hold on the dagger is easy. In my palace, only I possess it. It is a sign of royalty. And Aed Ruad wants it… badly. It was stolen from my room almost two years back after they caught Iskra. I thought that it was Aed Ruad who had taken it. But I was afraid to ask him about it because I knew that he wanted to acquire it and that if it was missing, he would only get another chance to torture me if that wasn't the case." She took in a heavy breath. "But I was stunned to know that Nyles had stolen it…" Her sadness returned. "Her actions have grieved me…"

"Do those rubies signify anything?" 

She drew a lazy circle around over the shirt on his chest. "The Royal Crest of Vilinski contains an image of a winged lion holding a dagger. The lion holds this dagger." 

"So these rubies don't have any significance?" 

She shrugged. "I don't think so. When Iskra used to teach me, he would often ask me to use this dagger." Thinking of Iskra made her smile. "I had excelled in using it," she said with a proud grin. 

"How did you manage to attract the dagger to you when you were fighting with Nyles? I saw that it flew back to you." Ileus was quite surprised at that view.

"I don't know. I felt it like an instinct that I could call it, control it, and so I did that. I called it and it listened and obeyed my command. Though the rubies on the pommel glowed when it was in my hand this time. They never glowed earlier and that was a surprise." A warm feeling swirled in her chest when she remembered how the rubies glowed. 

"Interesting," Ileus observed. "Maybe your magic is slowly affecting it?"

The flap of the tent opened and a cool gust of wind blew in. She shuddered as it touched her cheeks and Ileus immediately covered her with his arms and the fur. He tilted his head up to see who was there. Kaizan had entered the tent. 

"Ah!" he blurted as soon as he noticed them and slipped inside his fur. He turned to the other side after shaking his head at Ileus. 

Ileus removed the fur from her head, and immediately she said, "I have a question that I wanted to ask for a long time." 

"Why do I feel a déja vu?" Kaizan's exasperated voice came from the other side. 

Anastasia turned and glared at him. 

"Ignore him Ana," said Ileus affectionately. "You can ask whatever you like." 

She turned back to him and resumed, "Just before I had passed out in the tunnel, I remember you picking me up and then galloping out of the exit. But I also recall a loud rumble, as if stones had fallen off from the walls of the cave onto the ground. Did something happen after I fainted? Were there more Fae soldiers?" 

The flap of the tent opened again. This time Aidan entered but he entered so quickly and closed the flap that she didn't feel the cold. She watched Aidan taking off his boots and slipping into the fur. He grinned at them, and then turned to the other side. He took the book out of his fur coat and started reading it. Anastasia felt a gush of heat on her face. Quickly she turned her attention away from him and saw that Ileus was watching her with a raised eyebrow and kinky smile. 

"My question!" she blurted in order to bring his attention back. 

Ileus lifted his eyes towards the ceiling and said, "Something strange happened that time, Ana." There was a line between his brows as he drew them together. "The sword of the statue of King Óisin—it moved." 

"What?" Anastasia jerked her head back with an incredulous stare. "H— how can this be?" she asked with wonder. Though when they had reached the bridge in the tunnel, she could feel his eyes on her. It was creepy. She couldn't shirk that feeling when she was there. It was as if the statue was watching her. 

"The king lifted his sword."

Anastasia raised her head with wide eyes. She gaped at him. 

"As soon as the last one of us, which was Aidan, was left in, the king's sword came down and hit the wall around the exit. The wall cracked. Aidan galloped and made his horse jump over a boulder that had already fallen on the entrance. As we rode away, we heard more stones breaking from the wall and falling down until they blocked the entire exit." 

Anastasia pushed her hands against his chest and looked at him dubiously. Was he jesting with her? Her hair had tumbled around her and formed a thick golden veil around their faces. "I— I don't believe you," she said as she looked into his amber eyes. 

"Ana, why will I tell you lies?" His hand went to the shiny curtain of pale gold. He had imagined this scenario hundreds of times, her waist length golden hair hanging around, shielding them from the world as they lightly feathered against his skin. He inhaled her scent and then looked back in her sapphire eyes. 

Anastasia blinked her eyes as if to absorb the information he had just presented in front of her. "The statue actually moved?" she asked in a quiet but excited voice. 

He nodded. A painful ache grew in his pants where his erection pressed against the fabric. His own thoughts were tormenting him. His eyes became heavy lidded and his hand went to her cheeks. He brushed her skin with his thumb. 

"That is— that is very strange," she said.

"I thought as much, but I think the act was to protect the heir of Vilinski," he replied as he continued to brush her cheeks. Slowly, he outlined her delicate chin and then took his hands to her nape. He moved his finger from right to the left, and stopped right in the center. The sweater wasn't letting him go further down.