Rolfe was clearly struggling to control his temper or was it crazed lust? He asked, "Why did you hide your identity? Why have you done this, Iona?" Her strawberry scent hit his nostrils and all he wanted was to taste the fruit of passion. Jealousy had flared inside him seeing the way she had kissed her brother. In fact, he was seething with it. 

When she was in the camp with him, no one had dared to even flirt with her. She was so beautiful and gorgeous and voluptuous and stunning that he couldn't comprehend why wouldn't anyone flirt with her. Little did he know that they all got a hint as to what she meant to him. Who would dare?

So many conflicting emotions roiled inside him that he just stood there, hoping that his horns didn't straighten. So many suspicions arose and his mind kept dismissing them. When he faced her, she met his gaze and her eyes were a beautiful golden yellow. It was impossible to look away from them. 

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, purring again. 

"No, it isn't!" he snapped. 

Iona lowered her head and looked at her fingers in her lap. She clasped them tightly, not knowing where to begin. The ache in the front of her head was returning slowly. But she had to clear his doubts because she got a chance at starting their relationship and she wouldn't let it go to waste. Moreover, she had to confess to him that she was his mate. She wondered if he even understood the concept of mate. 

Iona started, "When I was a little girl, Etaya got me kidnapped in collusion with Seraph. Your father Edyrm Cranon Aramaer, was a part of the ploy. They knew that both Ileus and I have the power to control dark forces and we both can be used as a vessel for them. Ileus never fell to the temptation of embracing the dark world, nor did I, but… but…" she choked. She took a deep breath. She had to say it. Her body shuddered. "But Etaya and Seraph tortured me to the extent that I had to give in. They would whip me, beat me, leave me in cells for months with Diumbe lurking around so that I would allow them to come inside me. I was only fourteen when for the first time, I allowed a Diumbe to get in me, and the reason was that I was sick and tired of the torture." 

Rolfe stared at her with wide eyes, as his skin prickled with goosebumps. Only fourteen? 

"When a Diumbe got inside me for the first time, I felt… strong. And that was how Etaya and Seraph broke me. After that I got more and more Diumbe to get in me until I turned into a Dark Witch, exactly as Etaya wanted. She used me to massacre thousands who came in the line of attaining her ambitions. And me… there was no escape from the dark forces. They had become an integral part of my life. With them in me, Etaya and Seraph stayed away. They were scared. However, with them in me, Seraph could control me, because he controlled those dark spirits." The memories were so tormenting that tears made her vision blurry. 

"It was just a few days back I learned what Etaya intended to do with me and what was their plan. They wanted to rule the Lore with me at their beck and call." She looked away towards the fire that had spread a soft buttery glow in the room. "And something inside me snapped. So, when Seraph sent me to Vilinski, I went on my small adventure to discover things about Etaya and Seraph. I came to know that Etaya was the reincarnation of Etayalar Aramaer and that your father was the one who was funding her for carrying out all the destruction, massacre and wreckage in the Lore." 

Rolfe knew and he felt extremely disgusted. But even more disgusting was the link between Etaya and Iona. He clenched his hands into tight fists until his knuckles were white. He just wanted to go and kill Edyrm Cranon Aramaer and was ashamed of being his son. 

"Anastasia helped me find out about him and together we came up with a plan. I wanted to get rid of the dark spirits and she promised me that she would do everything to help me so that I could return to Draoidh, to my parents, which… I intend to as soon as possible…" Tears that she had stopped ill now, rolled out unbridled and they felt… good. 

Rolfe's entire demeanor changed. His body tensed and the muscles of his neck corded. His breath lodged in his throat. 

"Anastasia talked to Haldir about my situation discreetly. She didn't want anyone to know about it because we were still not sure of it. Haldir suggested that if she plunged the Evindal sword in me, I would be permanently relieved of the dark spirits, but there was a condition." 

"What condition?" he asked, his brows knitted close. 

"That I could die…" Iona looked at him. "When she said that to me, I was ready. I was so ready for it. I just wanted to get out of my situation, wanted the dark spirits to get out of me! I was too tired and exasperated. And I wanted all this to end. Wanted to do one good thing for my parents for I had been a very very bad girl." A sob racked her body. "I told her to go ahead. Understanding my desperation to be free of it, Anastasia agreed. In the battle against Etaya, she plunged the sword in me. And I… I became free… The dark spirits left me, not able to bear the wrath of the metal that was plunged in me. But they punished me while leaving me. I didn't die, but they made sure that I die, slowly and painfully. They wanted to throw me in a world of oblivion, and I guess that this place—" she said, waving her hand around. "—was their concept of oblivion." She wiped her tears from her cheeks. "But you found me…" 

And thank God, he found her. His lips quivered slightly when he thought about the kind of torment she had gone through in her little life. Hell he was hundred years old and he had never seen so much torture. 

Iona got up and walked to the window. The ground tilted sharply as her headache returned with full force and she lost her equilibrium. 

A pair of strong, muscular arms caught her from behind. She blinked as surprise flitted through her. She found herself being pulled against a rock-hard chest, with his thighs on her either side, bracing her. In a deep cello-like voice he murmured, "I've got you." His lips brushed her temple and sent electric jolts through her body. "Why did you stagger?" he asked. 

Yet another giddy sensation passed through her. She tensed and clutched his arms. 

"I am not going to let you fall, Iona," he said as he held her securely against him. Once he steadied her, he repeated his question, "What made you stagger?" 

"My skull is fractured in a line from one ear to the other…" she whispered. 

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