Chapter 290 - Collusion
"Anastasia!" She heard the door open. "Ileus is calling you!" Darla said. She appeared rattled. Her breath was shallow and the urgency of her words made her feel edgy.
She jumped out of the bed and followed Darla through the corridors, the courtyard and then outside the temple. There was eerie silence everywhere. Heart accelerating like a wild horse gone crazy, she came to stand where Ileus was. He was standing on the topmost step of the stairs.
She peered at his visage—he was standing straight with a stiff spine, with golden eyes focused in distance and raven dark hair blowing softly in the cool wind of the fall. There were about three or four dozen devotees on the ground. As soon as they saw her, they bowed to her and came to stand right in front of her with fierce expressions on their faces, as if to protect her even if it cost their lives. Haldir and Kaizan were standing in front of the devotees and Darla stood beside her. Everyone was so silent that she could hear leaves susurrating in the cool breeze.
Soon the silence was pierced by the heavy footfalls of men and hooves clomping on the packed earth.
"Who is out there, Ileus?" she asked in a worried voice.
"I smell… Lilette."
It couldn't be! Her grip tightened on her dagger. She wished she had her Evindal sword with her when she looked at Ileus with his swords sheathed on his back in a vee. Where did they come from? They weren't there when he was with her. Her heartbeats became slower when she realized that it was her husband's magic.
As the footfalls drew closer, she narrowed her eyes. When they came in her line of vision, she noticed men in the front line. They were mostly wizards for she could see magic crackling in the hands. Behind them was a line of witches on their brooms and then there were vokudlaks. They were no more than thirty, but were more than enough to create larger problems.
The men and women parted allowing a black stallion to come forward. Anastasia squinted and the unrest in her chest came back. As the horse came forward, she saw a girl riding it. She was cloaked and her head was covered with a hood. She was helped by a wizard to dismount her horse. The girl removed the hood from her head, revealing her face.
"Geez!" Anastasia rasped.
Lilette stood before the men and women whose expressions were full of hatred. She looked paler than what she looked before. There was a stark red mark on her left cheek. She was wearing black leggings with a black shirt, her hood down.
Anastasia just couldn't understand why Lilette was doing it. Lilette had been cold to her initially but later she had warmed up to her. It was hard to believe that she was the one working with Maple to send her letters. And how did she know that Anastasia was her cousin? She had never revealed it to Robert also that she was Áine's daughter because at that time, they were too scared to reveal her identity. So, who was the one who knew everything about their relationship? What was the connection?
She walked closer to them and her eyes went straight to Ileus. "The Dark Wzard," she said in a cold voice, as Anastasia's hand went to her dagger. "Or should I call you the Dark Prince?"
"That's Prince Ileus for you," he said with his eyes focusing on her with a glare.
Lilette chuckled. "You should have listened to me Ileus." She turned her face to Anastasia and said the same thing. "Why didn't you listen to me and leave Draoidh?" She waved her hand around to show them the witches, wizards and vokudlaks who had accompanied her. "See what you have done. They all know that you are feeding their crown prince with spells upon spells and he can't see your truth. You are the fae princess who should have gone."
Ileus came closer to his wife and touched her back with his hand. He stroked her lightly over there and softly whispered, "Don't show mercy." When he stepped away, Anastasia's feral wings flared wide and taut. He had unshackled them. A murmur rustled amongst the crowd.
Lilette's lips curved into a malicious smile. "I wish you were the wind beneath my wings, Ileus. I would have been a better partner as compared to her." She flirted with him.
"That's if I allow you to live," he snarled. "Why are you here?"
She laughed softly. "I am here to give Anastasia one last chance to leave this kingdom."
"You are out of your mind," he snarled.
She shook her head. "No, my dear prince. I hope now you understand that with her on your side, you are only going to face hatred because there are many who stand with me." He pointed with her thumb behind her shoulder. "These are just a few of them. If she still chooses to leave the kingdom, well, she would be spared. She can go into hiding anywhere in the Lore. Otherwise, there are beings, beasts, dark forces that would enjoy her as dinner."
Anastasia felt dizzy. Did Lilette meant Iona? Gods.
She took a step closer. "You should know that even with the addition of the troops of the queen, the people with me will easily outnumber you."
Fear cruised through Anastasia's heart. She didn't know how many of the netizens were with Lilette. A civil war was something she thought was going to get suppressed only a few hours back, but to her horror things just… escalated. And where did Lilette go after the last encounter and how did she appear so fast in front of them? She was high on the list of the Mozias to be caught. Then how was she leading a faction of haters? Anastasia was bewildered. There had to be something behind her moves. Or someone… Etaya? Iona?
"What do you think, sister?" asked Lilette, as she looked at Anastasia. "It all depends on you now. Leave this place and everything will return to normalcy."
Suddenly there was a low, dangerous roar amongst the vokudlaks and Anastasia saw that those standing in front of them started to shape shift. The wizards and witches threw their hands on the sides as magic crackled around their fingers in the form of sizzling lights.
Lieltte only grinned. "Anastasia, look at what you are about to do. Do you want so many to die for you? You are so selfish. Why won't you listen to me for once?"
Ileus walked down the stairs and stood a few yards away from Lilette. She tensed as her jawline became tight. "I have never shown interest in you, Lilette. There has never been an instance that would prove it. When we were in Óraid, things were amiable between you and Anastasia when we left. So please. Tell me what has changed that you have stooped to this level. Moreover, I know that you have colluded with the dark forces."
Lilette threw her head back and laughed. "Nice try, Prince Ileus. Dark forces?" She laughed hard. When she stopped, her jaws set in a tight line again and she said, "You have to send Anastasia out of the kingdom."
Anastasia jerked her head back. Oh. God. Her suspicions found roots. She was not wrong in thinking that Lilette was in collusion with Etaya or Iona.