Ileus: The Dark Prince

The spy assessed his condition and wondered if he was good enough to even go to Draoidh and not reveal himself. He could ask the witch to disguise him, but other than that what about his behavior? He had to let him know of the situation and couldn't leave it on him. If they had to take Iona this time for sure, then there couldn't be any mistakes. But he knew that whatever he said, it had to come out carefully. The man was too inebriated to be irate. "M'lord, it will be easy to put you in the house under disguise, but Ileus and Anastasia are going to be there. Though Iona is weak and pregnant, we still have to be extremely careful and plan accordingly. Perhaps this is the only chance we might ever get." 

Aed Ruad leaned on the table where the bottles were stored and stood with his legs crossed. He wondered if Ráild had crossed Vilinski. What about his father's spirit? Was Ráild able to reach? Somehow Aed Ruad was sure that once Ráild would go to his homeland, he would never return. He would find a way to stay back and survive. He took a deep breath in and poured yet another glass of whiskey—his fifth for the day. "I know…" he replied absent mindedly. "What do you propose?" 

The spy's confidence in his Master wavered. "If you like I can go to Draoidh. Rest assured I will carry out the mission to the best of my abilities." 

Aed Ruad looked at him over the rim of his glass and judged his spy judging him. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. The man was scrutinizing him closely. "No, I will go there and you will accompany me," he replied flatly. "When is the party, you said?" 

The spy recoiled. The Master had understood his intentions and now at the party if things went wrong, Aed Ruad would sacrifice him in a heartbeat. Now he couldn't even wriggle out of the situation, but he had to be extra alert, not only for himself, but for his Master too. "It is tomorrow in the evening." 

"Good. I will be going there with you. Now go back and find out about Darla's house-plan. We need to be very specific with this one." Aed Ruad turned to leave and dismissed his spy. He stopped at the door of his room, turned his head over his shoulder and said, "Come back in the night and we will discuss more." 

The spy bowed and left, muttering curses in his mind. 

--- 

Adrianna and Dmitri were sitting in their bedchamber. It was almost dawn and she was tossing and turning in her bed, when she finally decided to get out of the bed. She was watching the last log in the fire, which split open, turning gray and releasing a flurry of embers in the air above. The days were beginning to get colder and snow was now a constant feature of Draoidh. Last evening, the spat between her children didn't bore well with her. She understood their tensions, but Ileus was especially over-tense about it. She didn't want to blame him, she wanted to blame herself for letting this all happen. 

A soft knock pounded on the door. "Come in," Dmitri said. A servant walked in with a tray of tea and freshly baked biscuits. As soon as she left, Dmitri got up. Grabbing a shawl from the footrest of the bed, he ambled to her and wrapped her tightly with the shawl. She smiled as she curled her legs beneath her and Dmitri sat down beside her. He gave her the tea. "What is bothering you, my dear?" 

Adrianna lowered her gaze, took a sip of tea, and exhaled her anxieties. "Iona is—" 

"Iona is missing her husband!" Dmitri cut her off. "Rolfe is her mate and by asking her to stay for two months, you have practically become a devil." 

"What?" Adrianna frowned. "I want to spend time with her, Dmitri. Two months are also very less. I was planning on taking her to the human realm, was planning on showing her our college, and if she wanted to shop, well she could shop there." 

"And two months will be enough, Adri?" asked Dmitri, huffing altogether. 

"Well, two months is the minimum!" 

"No Adri. Even a year is going to be less for all the time we missed with her. The only way is to go back in time and cuddle her, but is that a solution?" He sipped more tea. "You need to let her go. She has grown up. You should be happy that after all that she has gone through, the wolf spirits have been kind on her and on us. She found a mate who is the king of Galahar and she is pregnant with his child. If her mate was some ordinary man, I would have been very happy, perhaps equally ecstatic and thanked the wolf spirits for giving her a chance to live. But Iona's mate is Rolfe Aramaer, and he is no ordinary man." 

"What are you getting at Dmitri?" Adrianna asked, her voce tired. 

"I am just saying that you shouldn't have asked her to stay for two months. In my opinion, you should cut short her stay. If you want, you can go to Galahar with her. I will also come with you. But don't separate her mate from her. Do you remember how I behaved when you left for the kingdom's duties?" 

Adrianna chuckled. Yes, she remembered how Dmitri would just take her away from everyone and hide her in one of the caves in the forests of Silver Vales. She gave him a loving gaze. "I remember very well. And I also remember how Iona was conceived in one such cave." 

Dmitri loved when his wife laughed. He placed the cup on the table and took her hand in his. He pressed it to his lips. "I love it when you laugh. You should laugh more." He stared into her golden eyes and was mesmerized once again. He was secretly planning on having another child with her. 

"Silly." Gods, she adored her husband. 

"Let her go," he said. "She wants to be with her mate but she is unable to tell that to us because she knows that we are going to feel bad about it." 

Adrianna whimpered. "I want to do so much with her." 

"I know Adri, but do it with her in her home, not yours." 

--- 

The spy was in a small room in a tavern in the outskirts of Silver Vales. It smelled of sweat and oil and wax and alcohol. He was lying beside the witch who was now smoking after having sex with him. "You are a smart lad," she said, forming curls of smoke. "I can take you and your lover in Draoidh, but that would cost you silver." 

The spy took his arm beneath his head and propped up. "How much?" he asked. The room was pretty cold and the thin blanket was doing little to stop the cold. Still, he tucked it up. 

"Ten silver coins, and—" 

"And?" his eyebrows raised. 

"And I want you and your lover in this room after you have toured Draoidh," she grinned at him showing her yellow teeth. 

The spy stopped an urge to roll his eyes. "Done." 

"Then come here tomorrow morning," said the witch as she stubbed her light.