Her Master was here. A split second later after a wild screech of Diumbe, a blast sounded and the floor of the iron prison shook. The orbs floating overhead sparked and disintegrated into tiny fragments of yellow bursts of light, shrouding the cell in the sudden darkness. 

From somewhere on the outside came her Master's roar of fury. 

Swallowing fear down her throat, Iona scrambled back to hurdle into a corner. Orbs of red light appeared in the cell and they glowed crimson like blood. Hands empty, magic low, she clasped her hands hoping that Diumbe didn't come in with the Master. Just as she was wishing, she heard clawed tips at the cell entrance. The door creaked open with a loud clunk and much to her horror, a Diumbe slipped in. A face with no features, large fangs and limbs placed senselessly on its body, it slithered towards her. It hissed, "Blood… fresh blood…" Iona huddled further back in the corner. 

The Diumbe suddenly turned its head back and lifted its clawed hands. Dense fog rolled on the inside. Her Master was here. And she didn't know what he would do once he killed the Diumbe. She peeked open her eyes to see Seraph. 

A deafening screech sounded. Claws and wisps of smoky lashes sliced through the Diumbe as though it was nothing but paper being torn out of a book. Once the Diumbe was gone, she could see the delineation of her Master through the shadows. With harsh breaths, Iona tried to get up, but she was too weak. She managed to get to her knees, her chemise now covered with caked and dried blood. She looked at the man she called her Master with reverence, with awe, with fear. 

"You failed me Iona," he hissed as he floated in front of her and hovered in the air. 

"I am sorry Master," she replied in a low voice. 

"You were supposed to get Anastasia back to Vilinski. You were supposed to kill Ileus, but you failed…" 

She lowered her face and looked at her bloodied hands in her lap. "Trust me Master, they tricked me…" 

A wisp of smoke hit her like a lash across her hands and she screamed with pain. He said, "Your plan was flawed. You are flawed. You couldn't be loyal to your parents, you think I am going to trust you?" 

"Master?" she looked up at him with wide eyes as she held her arm, which was again bleeding. What was he saying? He never spoke like that to her. He always coaxed her affectionately after she had failed.

"Stop with your whining, cunt!" he said. "You had one chance at it and you threw that away. We were planning for this from the day you came under me and right at the time when you were supposed to execute the plan, you foundered?" 

Speechless with shock, Iona only stared at him with her pale yellow eyes. He had punished her, brutally in the past but that was only for one goal — to make her mentally and physically stronger. But what she felt from him right now was something else. It was bitterness and fury. 

Seraph floated right next to her and crawled his hands out of which smoke was peeling, over her arm. He took his hand right up to her neck and grabbed it tightly. His face was barely a few inches away from her. He darted a forked tongue out and said, "You will have to rectify this. You have to get that whore back to Vilinski and kill your parents. My plans to rule Lore will not go wasted because of a cunt like you!" 

Iona held his hand, as he shook her violently. She was gasping for breath. "Master! She choked. Tears fell from her eyes. How did he suddenly grow so monstrous? "I will— I—" but her mouth snapped shut when he shoved her against the wall. The impact was so huge that she hit her head and slumped to the floor. With half open eyes, she saw him glaring at her with his yellow slit.

"Now you will pay for what you did. Get ready fast. We will attack Draoidh in two days," he hissed. Saying that he vanished leaving her in the glow of red orbs. Iona's body was hurting so badly that she didn't know if she could sustain it any longer. Tears that rolled out of her didn't stop. The only man that she followed in her life, Seraph, her Master, doubted her? She had been so loyal to him, she had done every dirty work for him, she had embraced darkness for him and she had let dark spirits enter her body. What else did he want? She didn't want to leave her parents, but… Iona slipped into her nightmares again. 

--- 

"I don't want to go, Mother!" Little Iona was sitting on her bed with a grumpy look. Over the past few days, she hadn't gone into her temporary coma and so the color of her cheeks had returned. Gloria was brushing her hair. 

Gloria whispered, "You should go, Iona. I have heard that the fae princess will be unfolding her wings for the first time." 

"I don't care!" Iona snapped. 

Adrianna, who was looking into her daughter's armoire, sifting through all the clothes, said, "Iona, we are not going to discuss it. I will not leave you alone in Eynsworth palace." 

"But I can take care of myself!" she whined. 

Gloria whispered again. "Why don't you go and meet the fae princess? We have heard that she will be your brother's wife and the future crown princess of Draoidh." 

"As if I am bothered!" Iona said, flaring with jealousy. Her Master had told her the same thing. "I am the princess of Draoidh. I will be the queen and not some girl with wings!" 

Gloria froze. How did this little girl have such notions? If she voiced them aloud, people around would accuse her nanny for filling poison in her head. "Hush!" Gloria chided her. "Ileus is your brother, the heir of the kingdom of Draoidh!" 

"Gloria!" Iona screamed in anger and after snatching the comb from her, threw it on the floor. 

Adrianna turned sharply towards them. "Iona, I heard what you said young girl!" She walked towards her daughter. She sat down beside her and motioned a stunned Gloria to go out of the room. Once they were alone, Adrianna said, "Becoming a ruler of the kingdom is not an easy job. Being an heir to the kingdom will be of no consequence if you are not capable of being a king or a queen." She brushed hair past her forehead and cupped her face. "If you are more capable than your brother, you are going to be the queen of Draoidh, but—"

"But?" Iona asked with a frown. 

"But after I die!" Adrianna laughed and Iona threw her arms around her mother. 

"I love you, Mother," she whispered, feeling guilty. "And I am sorry. I will come with you." 

"My little Iona," Adrianna said and hugged her daughter tightly. "You are going to be a lovely queen if you eat good food. You have been fainting a lot these days and it worries me, darling." 

Next day in the morning, Iona had forgotten all about the paintings as she excitedly climbed into the carriage.

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