Chapter 520 - [Bonus ] Dilemma
Ileus scooped her up in his arms and climbed the spiral stairs towards the upper stories. The dungeon was located seven levels below and he carried her in his arms till they reached the ground level, where the morning sun awaited them with its golden rays spread in the sky like petals of a flower. He walked with her face buried in his chest and with Evindal sword hanging down from one hand and one hand wrapped around his neck. No words were spoken. It was just warm breaths fanning each other. Her from mental exhaustion, his from worry about her.
He carried her straight to their bedchamber and to the bathroom. He had already summoned the maids, and so they were standing there to help the princess. One of them took her sword and placed it on the counter at the far end where she started cleaning it.
Ileus set her on foot, stripped her clothes and piled them in a heap—a mess of fabric and blood. He helped her sit in the bathtub and then removed his clothes. He stepped right behind her and pulled her in his lap. The maids created surds around them, and then offered to help them to clean, but Ileus asked them to leave. Anastasia had already closed her eyes against his skin, feeling the home he had given her when she was a runway, when she wasn't anything, when she was alone… Her throat bobbed as it burned with the choked emotions.
The maids bowed and left, understanding the need of the prince and princess. They both looked distraught and so none of them even dared to ask questions of remark.
"Anastasia?" he called her, tilting his head down. He had gripped her over her belly with one hand and with the other he tucked her loose strands behind the ears. Her tresses had been opened by the maid and now they spread over the surface of water like golden color splashed by a child over canvas. She didn't open her eyes, instead just hid her face in his chest. "My baby…" he whispered and pressed his hand on her cheek to further keep her head over there. He rocked her slowly. "Please, love, let your worries out. I know it is difficult, but now that man is our prisoner for life. What is it that bothers you?"
Her lips quivered and her body trembled. She tilted her head up to see in his golden eyes. Then her eyes looked beyond him, in blank space. In a shaky voice she said, "I hate him, Aly! And I hate him so much that the thought of living with that man under the same roof, gives me jitters, gives me goosebumps. I feel as if spiders are crawling beneath my skin, spewing their venom with every thought of him. I can't— I can't live knowing that he is existing merely a few feet below me. Please, can you throw him somewhere I can never see him, or else one of these days I will end up killing him. And I don't want to kill him. I want him to live his insufferable immortal life like his mother. I want to make him live forever and live miserably. He should be able to crawl and beg for food. I should be able to kick him when I want to." Her chest heaved with fury. "I should be able to hurt him when I want to!"
"Ana…" Ileus whispered her name. "I understand, love. But look at me. This is hate. It never leaves your body. And if you are going to ride on this emotion, your brain with only emit hate chemicals. You will become addicted to hatred. I have seen it. This extreme emotion starts driving people, they start finding individuals or groups to hate and then encourage others to follow them. The sad part is that they don't even realize that they have become such addicts that their brains conjure stories to justify what they are doing and speed up their addiction. I am not saying that your stories will be false, but believe me, haters start believing their bullshit stories to the extent that they start looking for external support. Eventually they enter a world where what is true and what is not merge and then there is no line." He paused for her to take in what all he said and hoped she understood.
"You are a princess. You are going to be a mother and you have just found your parents." He caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. "You can't give in to any of those emotions for they will corrode you, they will make you acerbic from the inside." He leaned down and kissed the crown of her head. "And then what about me, baby? What about me, hmm? Where will I find my beautiful, innocent mate? Hmm?"
"Aly…" she said as her breath lodged in her throat. She placed her palm on his cheek, her emotions racing through her, her magic ebbing in her veins. Only this man had the ability to leash her in the finest way.
"Yes, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice a gentle caress to her riled up mind.
"What do I do? I don't want to feel that man around me, but I want to punish him forever."
"We can arrange that," he replied, leaning in her palm with a sigh. "Your wish is my command, darling. But please don't torture yourself. No one is worth it, not even me." His hand went to her belly where their baby was.
And that was when Anastasia realized that there was no man like Ileus in this world. He was worth all her emotions and no one else. If she tortured herself, he would also be tormented. And how could she do that? Her hand went to her belly where his hand was and she rested it over his. The baby was going to bring them closer. How could she let so much hatred affect their child? "I am sorry…" she breathed out.
His features softened as golden eyes locked with her sapphire ones. "You don't have to be sorry, my love. You are doing what you wanted to. Just don't get lost in that feeling. I love you. Your parents love you and our baby—he or she is going to love you. You have to control yourself for all of us."
She sagged against him. "Yes, Aly, yes." She was going to make an effort to do all this and more. And Ileus bent over his wife and pressed a kiss on her lips—one he had been dying to from a long time. Her fingers threaded in his hair and then they were all moans and skin and lips and teeth and mouth and love.
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Etaya was hanging by the chains that were tied to her wrist, her legs two feet above the ground. She had grown tired of it, she wanted to die and then maybe never come back. Her hair was matted and she looked gaunt. Thinking of her dilemma to live or not to live, she tipped her head back and laughed. Suddenly, an icy chill along her skin made her jump.. She knew who was there and her eyes widened, as shock flitted through every part of her body.