"Of course, I will," Lilette replied coldly. She pointed towards the exit and said, "Do you know what is behind that door? Your doom, if you walk out of here with Anastasia." She extended her hand towards him. The white snakes retracted and twined on her shoulders. "Take my hand and tell you that the rumors that you have married a fae princess are baseless. Tell them that you are going to marry me. And then throw her out of Draoidh." 

Anastasia started shaking as fury flowed in her blood. She stared at her cousin sister. "How can you stand there and spout blatant nonsense?" she retorted. "I am furious with you for threatening us. For even thinking that this was an option. You must be absolutely insane to go to such lengths." She lifted her dagger. "You get out of here before I kill you." But on the inside Anastasia's hands were shaking because it was her cousin standing there. How could she kill her own?

Lilette shrugged. "What else can I do?" she replied with nonchalance. "Do I look like I care for your threats?" A semblance of an evil smile could be seen in the faint glow of the candle. Looking back at the door, she said, "If you like, you can test what I am just saying." 

Anastasia gave one last chance to logic. "Lilette, you are being misguided by the dark witch. Take my hand and I will help you."

Lilette's eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Help me with what you fool! This is my choice. You thought that you would marry Ileus and I was going to watch it? The moment I met the dark witch I knew that I could get what I wanted. You keep harping that he is your mate, but have you heard that mates can reject too!"

Not able to bear Lilette's nonsense, Anastasia hurled her dagger at her, but the girl once again disintegrated into dust and the dagger passed through her. Anastasia summoned the dagger back and yet it couldn't harm Lilette. Ileus lifted his hands towards the orbs of lights on the ceiling. "Taqae!" he breathed and all the orbs started falling on the ground over Lilette, shattering into small pieces as they touched the floor. However, Lilette's body, now a mere silhouette, faded away and a warm gust of wind tousled their hair. She left whispering a warning, "Leave Ileus. Soon I am going to come back and take your place!" The fog around her dissipated as soon as she left leaving everyone in dreadful silence. 

After a moment, Ileus said, "Aidan, go on the outside and see if what Lilette said is true or not. I am taking Anastasia from her. It is definitely not a place to stay. Call Haldir back from the forest and ask him to form a team to look at each and every house in Level two. Strat with Draven's. Also, where is Murtagh?"

"I will do that," said Aidan. "Murtagh is in house arrest here in Draoidh and he is also in Level two. But if you want, we can imprison him." 

"No, let him be. Mother must be having her reasons to keep him in house arrest. Besides, we haven't been able to prove his guilt," Ileus said in a gruff voice. 

"Okay, but what are we going to do with Lilette," he asked, pointing at the shattered orbs. 

"Shut down this restaurant with immediate effect!" 

Suddenly they heard a rustle of clothes from the side. Alert, Ileus burst into his shadows and embraced Anastasia. Ileus was about to teleport to the palace, when they saw the manager rushing towards them. She came and looked at Anastasia with nervous expressions. 

"There's a horde outside that is demanding to see you Your Highness. They are spewing nonsense that they want to see the fae princess, Anastasia," she said in a jittery voice. "Also— also—" her face became red with anxiety. 

"Also, what?" asked Aidan with furrowed brows. 

"Our dancer is found dead in the basement. She was gagged and tied and stuffed in a closet. Her assistant just found the body and reported it to us." 

"How is this possible?" Aidan retorted. "She was right here!"

The manager shook her head. "No, that was an imposter. I have sent the guards to find her but it's like she has vanished in thin air!" She sounded scared when she addressed Anastasia, "You should leave this place m'lady. There's something really terrible happening here. If you want, you can come with me to my place and I will protect you!" 

Anastasia jerked her head back at the manager's offer. "Thanks, but we are leaving," she murmured. 

Aidan stabbed his fingers in his hair as anger rose in his chest. He looked around helplessly as Ileus narrowed his eyes. 

"We are leaving now," Ileus said. "Call the Mozias here and seal this place immediately." Saying that, they parthoned to Eynsworth Palace. They stepped right into the gardens of the east wing. Ileus removed Anastasia's disguise. He held her hand and they started walking inside. They came to a sudden halt when they found Adrianna waiting for them. "Mother!" Ileus blurted. 

Adrianna looked fiercely at her son. She growled, "When I asked you to not take her out of the palace, why didn't you pay heed to my words?" The news of unrest had already reached her ears. 

Ileus shifted in his place and Anastasia pulled her hand away from him. She stood sheepishly beside him with her fingers clasped in the front. 

"I wanted her to see—" 

Adrianna snapped. "Don't I want her to see Draoidh? Don't I want her to go around as the princess and as your wife? But everything has to be done in time and you are in so much hurry!" She pounded her fist in her palm. "You have ruined my plans! You have shown her to everyone." 

Ileus clenched his jaw hard. "I think you were aware that I would take her there, that's why you stopped my entry in the thirst level." He walked slowly towards the sofas and slumped on feeling very frustrated. "There has been an untoward incident in 'The Copse'. 

Anastasia came and sat beside him. There was so much tension in the hall that it felt charged with negativity. 

Ileus narrated the incident to his mother. There was a long silence from her and after that she said, "Take Anastasia to the temple. She will stay with the High Priestess over there for the next three days." 

"Why?" Ileus sounded puzzled and very angry. He didn't like the idea of his mate staying in the temple premise. They were very strict inside and the temple was protected by too many spells. No one could enter it without the permission of the High Priestess and the Shaman—even the witches and wizards. The temple opened for the public to pray to the deities only on specific days. 

Adrianna looked at Anastasia and said, "She will be most protected in the temple. We are going to open the gates of the temple every day for an hour for the public." 

"She is going to be safest in the palace, Mother!" Ileus countered her.

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