Anastasia frowned as she got up. "What kind of plan?" Her curiosity rose. 

Ileus took a deep breath and said, "I want to go to Zmjia and look for Iona." 

Confusion marred her looks. "You mean you want to find her on your own?" 

He nodded. "Since your information is eight years old, I do believe that Aed Ruad must have moved her elsewhere from there. The last time when we sent our spies in Zmjia, we couldn't find her. If what you are saying is correct, then I would like to give it a chance again. It is possible that we haven't looked properly for her beneath the sea. I don't think that Rhys would have kept her away from his eyes." 

"Who is Rhys?" 

"He is the king of Zmjia. My mother once supported him to become the king, but he was too weak. My mother decided not to support him because his people had created a lot of menace when she had just taken over as ruler. His father banished him when he tried to stage a coup. However, his father was killed by my mother in an act of self-protection and Rhys came back to claim the crown." He omitted the detail that Adrianna killed his father because she wanted to protect him. "Over the years, Rhys gathered his kith and kin and slowly rebuilt his empire. He is afraid of my mother and so he has remained dormant over the years." 

Anastasia tilted her head and bit her lip. She slid off his lap, sat beside him and pulled up the blanket. "It would be very foolish of him to keep Iona as a prisoner," she commented. "He is a direct target and if he is afraid of Adrianna, there is no way he would do anything to attract her ire." 

"That's what even I think. But what if this particular fact gives him the best explanation to imprison her?" He shrugged. "It's just a theory." 

"Where would he keep her?" she asked with doubts in her mind. "With your mother's scrutiny, he wouldn't risk it." 

"Like I said, it's just a theory and I want to explore." 

She nodded as she pursed her lips. "I would like to accompany you in the quest." 

His lips curled up and he picked up her hand. He kissed it with his soft but firm lips and said, "I would love that." Then his eyes went past her as if he wasn't looking at anything. "I want to undertake this quest on my own… without mother's help…" 

She jerked her head back with amazement. "Why? Adrianna has way too many resources. It would be stupid to not use them." 

He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. "With current conditions, it wouldn't be a good idea. If your information is somehow isn't correct, she would become furious… more so because she would think that you are misleading her for your benefits. And I—" his eyes traveled to her. "And I promised you that I will fight for your honor."

Anastasia's heart warmed with love for him. She looked in his intense golden, fiery eyes, which were full of promises. 

"I will hate it if your words become shallow. In the world of politics in kingdoms, we often behead those who try to mislead us even if that truth has gone bad." 

"Oh my!" her eyes became wide as she realized the gravity of his situation. At the same time all her hopes to save Vilinski and free her parents, dashed. 

As if understanding her thoughts, he brushed her hands with his fingers. "We will find a way to help your parents too. My plan is to pick up a solid lead about Iona and follow it. And you my darling—you have given me that lead." Suddenly his eyes shone. "I am hopeful that we will get a concrete information about her in Zmjia." 

She gave him a weak smile. "I hope you are successful." 

He leaned forward and kissed his bride. "Do you know under normal circumstances our marriage celebrations would have lasted a month at Draoidh?" 

She grinned. "And in Vilinski too." 

"Let's get ready for dinner!" Ileus said with excitement. "Theodir and Ilyana must be waiting." 

Anastasia took a slightly long bath with him and according to her she would never take a bath again with an insatiable vokudlak. His appetite for sex was gargantuan. While taking a bath, he had made her sit on the edge of the bathtub and devoured her. He had pinned her thighs apart and poked his tongue in her core. She had grabbed his hair for the want of pressing his head in between her thighs, but he didn't allow her to. That denial made her tip on the edge soon and he had wrenched her dry when she came. When she looked at him with those sexy, sultry eyes, he said, "Tonight I will make sure that those rosy lips are wrapped around my cock." And she thought she would come again. The man talked dirty and she liked it. 

They came out and he helped her wear a peach silk gown that had a slit on the right side up till her mid thigh. He wore black formal pants and a pale peach shirt. 

Theodir and Ilyana were waiting for them. Ileus apologized. "Sorry for coming late." 

Theodir got up and patted his back with a wink. "You got married this morning, boy! I didn't expect you to come for dinner at all. I was sure you would devour your wife!" He laughed out loud at his joke. 

Anastasia blushed crimson as her gaze locked with Ilyana's. Ilyana laughed softly and gestured to come and sit with her. "Don't mind him," she said with a smile. "He loves to tease, and after a long time he has found someone he can tease without being bothered by his kingly duties." 

Anastasia returned her smile and sat down, trying to ready herself for a tease session. She watched Theodir bending towards Ileus and whispering something. The two laughed when Ileus answered. When Ileus turned to look at her with an amused expression, she knew the joke involved her. A servant came to put a napkin on her lap. The dining table was soon laid out with exotic food. All four courses were brought at once, it seemed. A bowl of soup that had the smell of cream and tomato wafted upward, suddenly making her feel hungry. Trays of fruits, bowls of various kinds of deserts, cured fish that were cut in thin strips over an assortment of green vegetables and a variety of deserts were laid out. 

The servants in tights waited for them at the edges of the room. They started with the soup. Conversation drifted from Ileus' days in the elven academy and his dalliances to Anastasia's days at the fae kingdom. Suddenly Theodir became serious. He stopped eating, looked at Anastasia and said, "I believe Vilinski is under evil forces. How do you plan to deal with them?" 

She wiped her mouth with the napkin. Her shoulders crunched forward in a helpless way. "I don't know..." 

"There is a way," Theodir remarked, making her immediately sit up with attention. 

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