Anastasia's eyes thinned. She jerked her head back and gave him that how-dare-you look, but Ileus maintained his mulish demeanor. "Both of you won't be leaving the palace's premises until the threat called Aed Ruad is nullified." 

"So, if the man is not caught for years to come, are we to stay inside?" Anastasia asked, obviously peeved at her husband's decision. "Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?" Her face was flushed as she glared and glared at him. 

"Ridiculous?" he retorted. "Hasn't Iona gone through enough that you want to expose her to danger? If it hadn't been for our spies, we wouldn't have detected Siora. Imagine the cataclysmic effect that would have occurred if she was not stopped in the right time. I don't want to take any risks now. Out of all the people out there, only Aed Ruad remains hidden. We don't know where he is." He exhaled heavily, as if exhaling his anger. 

A wave of shock passed through Anastasia. Did he mean that she was trying to put Iona in harm's way? "Ileus, threats don't end with eliminating those who have wronged us in the past. They keep coming and coming, because we are the rulers of kingdoms. Who knows what all perils are still lurking? How many are you going to face and how many are you going to control? Even if on the outside you control the laws of the lands, can you control what is going on inside a man's mind? And more importantly, will Aed Ruad even dare to come inside Draoidh?" She paused as she glowered at him. He was being too overprotective. It wasn't needed. 

He didn't say anything for a long time as silence fell heavy in the air. Iona was actually surprised at his outburst. Being siblings, this wasn't the first time they fought with each other, but she could sense her brother's anger beneath the layer of silence. It was like a molten lava, ready to erupt if provoked even slightly. She got up from her place and said, "I will talk about it later." She strode out of the room. 

When Iona shut the door behind her with a loud bang, Anastasia looked at Ileus and shook her head. "That was too rude. You can't speak with her like that." 

"Don't teach me how to speak with my sister Anastasia!" Ileus snapped. "She is pregnant. And she is bearing the heir of Galahar. Do you realize that burden? I just want her to be safe and after what Siora did, I get nightmares of her standing hidden behind curtains and waiting to attack you or Iona and my parents! Hell, there can be anyone out there who can do the same. How do you know that Siora doesn't have allies in Draoidh or in Silver Vales?" His chest rose and fell with anger that was now peeling off him in wisps of black smoke. He tossed the banket aside and went to stand at the window. The twilight had descended upon the wizard kingdom as he stared into the distant horizon. His thoughts tumbled. He had been quietly trying for far too many years to disentangle the mess his family had been put into. And just when he thought it was going so well, Siora struck. Now who knew that Aed Ruad might just decide to strike? 

"Life doesn't stop, Aly!" she said, jerking him out of his thoughts. "You can't contain Iona in the house forever. She has remained a captive for so many years. I have remained a captive for that many years. We want to move around freely. Can you realize it stifles me to even think of not moving freely?" 

He didn't reply. Picking up his jacket from the nearby chair, he stomped out of the room. Ileus strode to his parents' bedchamber where he knew he would find Iona. The girl was getting jittery and he could sense her anxiety with the heartbeats. If he didn't take good measure in time, she would actually sneak out of the palace and commit some grave folly… yet again. When he entered his parents' bedchamber, he found her standing on a dais in the back of the room, with the seamstress bent in front of her, who looked very stressed. 

"This gown is too long. Cut it from the hem and sleeves are also too short," Iona instructed the maid. "The cut of the fabric right over here," she pointed at her belly, "is too sharp. I am feeling very uncomfortable. Either you add lace here on the sides or open the seam." 

"Yes, Your Highness," the seamstress said, as Iona whipped her head in her brother's direction. Their gazes met like cold shards of ice. Without looking at the seamstress she ordered her to leave. "Leave us alone." The seamstress gathered all the fabric and with a snap of her fingers, vanished from there. Everything that she brought with her also vanished. Iona tilted her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you want now?" she asked, her golden eyes glowing with fury. 

Ileus crossed the room and sat on the sofa near the dais. Their parents were out in the garden talking to the gardeners, arguing as to which flower should be where, even though the clouds were gray and heavy. There was something unsaid between them, which he couldn't make out. He focused his attention on his sister. "Tomorrow we have a party at Darla's house. Aidan and Darla are calling a number of guests. Why don't you join us? It will do you good." 

Iona pursed her lips. She got down from the dais and then ambled to the bed. She sat there and pulled a cushion in her lap. "That's just one day, no, one evening, Ileus. I am so bored that I can't tell you. I asked Mother if I could join the wizard academy." 

"That's a great idea!" Ileus replied. "You haven't been to the wizard academy and you will learn a lot over there. Moreover, you will be well protected." 

Iona sighed. "Mother refused. She said that a lady called Circe, who was heading the wizard academy once and was the Minister of Education, played a key role in my abduction. And who knows how many people out there are still her loyalists?" 

Ileus stared at her in stunned silence. A moment or two later he coughed and said, "Well, Mother isn't wrong. She has a valid point." 

"Then what options do I have with me, Ileus?" Iona asked. "I want to go out. I miss him so much, but when I think of how much mother and father missed me all those years, I feel extremely guilty. I have missed them just as much, but—" her throat choked with emotions and she turned her eyes away. They could hear their parents arguing. In a hoarse voice she added, "I am restless. I want to do something!" 

"Because of your restlessness, because of how curious you were all the time, we landed in a horrible mess eight years back. And you want to put us back into that mess all over again?" Ileus said in a sharp voice. 

Stung by his words, Iona became quiet. "Are you serious?" she said after a second. "It wasn't because of me." 

"Then, please tell me how you got into that mess?" 

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