Chapter 339: For Exchange

A thousand thoughts swirled in Ileus' mind. Would she reject him? Would she stop liking her? Would she blame him? His heart sank. He knew what he had to do the next morning. He would call his wife and in front of her sack the royal healer. Yes, that was the best solution. The sneaky wolf would heap the blame on the healer and agree to what his wife does with the healer. He would be saved. The thought brought a smile on his lips and he drifted off to deep sleep. He heard others conversing. Darla was pregnant? 

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Iona was lounging on the hammock after sprinting a mountain trail that led to the peak and back to the cabin. She was waiting for Seraph to come and give her next orders. Cool autumn breeze carried the aroma of the thick ash and birch trees that dotted the landscape, of the damp soil and the evergreen foliage. Over the last few days, her nightmares had ceased. Those intense golden eyes stopped haunting her. She really wanted to see the face which owned them but her dreams were just too blurry, always covered with dense fog. 

She took a deep breath as she looked up at the thin slice of moon in the inky blue sky. The stars dazzled across it glittering like diamonds. She reached her hand up to make a pattern as if trying to pluck them when suddenly a chill caught her, froze her movement and she knew that the Master was somewhere near. 

She jumped out of the hammock only to see that he had floated near her. Through the fog and mist she could see his features every now and then. 

"You are supposed to stay in Vilinski for the time being," he said. "Over there Etaya will see to it that you are taken care of nicely." 

"Yes Master," she replied, bowing to him. Though she was shocked as to why she was being sent to Vilinski rather than going for the battle, she didn't ask. 

Seraph prowled closer to her and she could feel his cold tentacles on her body, gliding, slithering, trying to reach her soul. "You will have to take Diumbe with you and wait for my orders to attack Draoidh." 

She nodded. 

"This time there can't be any mistakes, Iona," he hissed with temper. "I will have you skinned and then give your bones and flesh to Diumbe!" He sounded very impatient. 

"I will try my best, Master," she replied, keeping her head low. 

After sizing her up for a while longer, Seraph removed his tentacles from her. "Do you wish to take anything from here?" he asked. 

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"No, Master." 

"Then get ready. We will leave in an hour." 

She nodded again and then walked back to the cabin as if entranced. There she wore a black tunic and black leggings over which she threw a gray fur cloak with a hood. She slipped her feet in brown leather boots. In Vilinski, she had her own room for she had been there a number of times. And this time of the year, Vilinski was very cold. She sat on the edge of her bed with calmness that she had tried to develop in her over the past few days. Seraph had asked her to take Diumbe with her, and she knew what he meant. He wanted her to act like their vessel and turn into a dark witch. So, Iona did exactly that. She closed her eyes and summoned the dark spirits. 

An hour later the dark witch stepped into a portal and was delivered right outside Sgiath Biò. A royal soldier called Ráild had come to pick her up. She traveled with him for three days through several portals before reaching Vilinski. Surprisingly for those three days Ráild barely spoke and she was hardly interested in him. 

Etaya had welcomed her with a beautiful smile. "Ionaaa!" she said. "I have been waiting for you. When your Master told me that he wanted you to stay here for a few days, I was only so happy." 

"Is that so?" the dark witch asked with a smile exposing her pointy white teeth. 

"Of course! Your rooms are ready." She led her to her room, which was located in the far south of the palace two levels up. Her bedchamber consisted of a foyer, which opened in two rooms. It was a place where the sun never showed its face. With the dark and gloomy weather that already prevailed in Vilinski, this room was perpetually into darkness. Tall candelabras with thick candles lined the walls and spread soft light. The windows were draped with navy blue heavy curtains, which seemed as if they wouldn't budge from their place. "If you want anything, you can let the maids know!" 

Iona bowed and said simply, "Thank you." She was certain that they had brought her to the Kralj Palace to execute their first step of negotiations, which was to exchange her with Anastasia. 

"Then it's good, I guess," said Etaya. "I will meet you tomorrow." Saying that she turned on her heels and walked out of the door. Iona watched her leave and as soon as she left, as soon as she could no longer hear her footsteps, she closed the doors and opened the windows. Gusts of cold breeze from the snowclad mountains gushed in. She climbed the ledge and looked below. There was only darkness all around. She opened her mouth and the Diumbe got out of her. They immediately crawled down and lurked on the walls out of the window in the darkness. 

Iona closed the windows and draped them back. In her human form she was trembling with cold. She opened the doors to call the maids to draw hot water bath for her. Once in the bath, she let them scrub her nicely. She wanted to indulge in all the luxuries that she had been devoid of, that she thought were useless because her Master said so. But now… now she wanted to indulge. The maids made her wear a straight white silk nightgown. After commenting that she had beautiful golden eyes and that it was hard for them to imagine her as a dark witch, they left. 

This was when Iona walked out of her room to find answers. 

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The palace was shrouded in darkness. Except for a few hearths that burned in the walls at regular intervals to keep the place warm and spread some light, there was no other activity. She walked in a hallway, down a stairway, with ornate railings to a landing that took her to the study she had been meaning to visit for a long time. She opened the heavy oak doors and stepped into the study. It was encased in the darkness she had anticipated. Her werewolf vision was strong to see even in that darkness. 

This study belonged to the previous king, Ian Lachlan, and no one was allowed to enter it… even Etaya. Iona never knew how she could enter it, but in one of her previous visits, she could enter the study. She waved her hand in the air and a candle flickered to life. 

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