Anastasia continued, "Aidan sacrificed himself to douse the fire in you as you rode him, as you had sex with him!" 

Darla gasped as the bare truth came out. 

"And you two didn't know when Carrick had gone far, to the point of no return! It was Kaizan and Guarhal who pulled the two of you out of that place. They tied you two and then attended to Carrick," she said, her voice an octave high. "I tried to help Carrick by attempting to take the poison out, but it was not successful!" She was panting by the time she poured it all. "Darla, it wasn't me who was responsible for the death of Zlu and Carrick. It was you! You are the one who is the root of it. You tried to make me feel guilty, and these men out here—" she looked at Aidan and then at Guarhal who had just entered the dining room. "These men didn't say a word against you. They are so loyal to you that they hid your mistake even from you!"

"I didn't commit any mistake," Darla shook her head. "It was. It was—" 

"Shut up!" Anastasia retorted. "If you have brains as big as a pea, then you must think as to why did Aidan risk his life to save you and why didn't others?" 

The glare in Darla's eyes changed to a mere stare. It was as if she was fighting with the swirl of emotions in her heart. Accepting what Anastasia just said was too difficult for a girl who for her entire life had idolized a man she was fancied. Darla had been his support and a part of his inner circle. They used to play together and she hadn't realized when her friendship turned into an obsession. She still hadn't. She didn't want to believe that he didn't feel anything for her. She knew him like the back of her hand. Bitterness crawled in her heart and Darla waved a letter in front of her eyes. "Read this. It is for Ileus, but I will give you the pleasure of reading it first!" A vicious smile crept on her lips. That was her trump card. 

"Why should I read a letter that is for Ileus?" Anastasia countered, her mind screaming on the inside to tear the envelope and read the letter. 

"Because this letter is your doom." She said, with a gleam in her eyes. "And I am giving you a chance to understand Ileus!" 

With her chest falling and rising with nervousness and anger, Anastasia extended her hand in the direction of the letter. What did she mean by her doom? Sweat beads dotted her brows. 

"You are not giving that letter to her!" Guarhal chided her. "This is for Ileus and you can't go against him." 

Darla said scathingly, "Shouldn't she know what she is getting into?" Then she took Anastasia's shaky hands and slapped the envelope in her palm. "Read it! You will love it." 

Anastasia closed her eyes as she tried to subdue the energy that was revolting to explode from her. 

Guarhal and Aidan lunged at her to take the letter away, but Anastasia opened her eyes and the air around her rippled, restraining anyone to come near her, forming a thick wall around her. The men were stunned. Guarhal rubbed his mouth with his palm. They could see her, but not reach her.

She tore the seal of the letter and opened it. It read:

"What is your price to return her? 

—  Aed Ruad"

"Oh. My. God." Burning, acute pain surged through her body and it stole her breath. It throbbed endlessly, making her vision hazy, soaking her chest in cinders. So this was his ploy? He waited for a year to abduct her and then give her back to Aed Ruad for a price? Her body trembled. The letter dropped from her hand and fluttered to the ground. The betrayal she felt was so raw that it cut her like a razor on the inside. Yesterday they had made love. She had been craving and revelling under his touch, his kisses... and now—she hated him. Her eyes went to Darla who was watching her with sadistic satisfaction. 

She rose from her place and staggered on her feet. "You were going to give me back for a price?" 

Darla nodded. 

Anastasia froze. "Why? How much money did you need?"

"That is a question you need to ask him," she replied with a shrug and bent down to collect the letter. 

Her lips trembled. She had escaped Vilinski with his help to find Iona and return her to queen Adrianna and in exchange ask her to help in getting back her kingdom and parents. And here Ileus's ploy was to give her back? She pressed her hands to her mouth. Did queen Adrianna send him on this mission? "Gods!" she rasped. Her heart seemed to stop. There were knots in her stomach. She felt sick as bile shot in her throat and she coughed. As if her legs had developed their own mind, they pulled her out of the inn. No one dared to stop her because no one could. On her way she met Lilette who stopped to say something to her, but she didn't understand when Anastasia walked past her. 

She clutched her arms as her heart felt tightened with anguish, which she always felt when she was around her cousins. They tried to break her mentally, but Ileus, he broke her heart. Horror roiled through her as she thought that he would send her back to Aed Ruad. She started to walk fast in order to go away as far as possible from the inn. But wasn't that her plan always? To leave him? The pain that she felt was much higher than she had ever felt. Her instincts screamed that it was all wrong. She shook her head. Her pace increased. She looked up at the dark skies. Darla had won in the end. 

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PS: Read the author's thoughts. 

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