Anastasia felt so much better when that calm sense of security surrounded her mind. Now she knew that it was her husband. He could have entered her mind to read her thoughts, but he never invaded her privacy. She lifted his head up and pressed the required kiss of the moment. His golden eyes bored into her sapphire ones and he released a warm breath as relief surged through his body. He slid beside her and rested his head in her lap.

She started stroking his hair and started, "I can remember the scene pretty vividly. That day when he had dumped the bag in my room, I could hear her whimpering on the inside. Those were muffled cries of help and I wanted to go to her and see who was in there, but Aed Ruad and Maple ensured that I became unconscious. They beat me up and left me on the floor. My handmaiden tried to help me, but they killed her." A shudder passed her body as she recalled the incident. "I wasn't in a state to even crawl, but I could hear them through all the pain. Aed Ruad had mentioned that she was going to be kept imprisoned under deep sea in a highly fortified prison."

Ileus looked up at her with astonishment. Did she mean Zmjia, the serpent kingdom? "Did he mention the name of the place?"

She shook her head and sighed. "I don't think so, but then I don't recall him mentioning the name. I had scoured the library at Vilinski to find about the sea. There is a frozen ocean to the west of Vilinski, but I highly doubt that Iona is there. No one lives there except the Nyads, the sea nymphs. The queen of sea nymphs is my mother's friend, so it is highly unlikely that she would keep Iona. I devoured the library to find any other sea that is near the fae kingdom, but nothing propped up. However, I chanced upon a dusty, almost fading, leather bound book that had this map. It was so blurry, but I noticed a large water body that must be equal to five kingdoms. Its name was erased," she said with helpless regret. "I figured out that it was in the south of the fae kingdom and perhaps the last place of the Lore. I believe Iona is prisoned there, if-" a shaky breath left her lips. "If she still lives."

Ileus sat up and knelt on the mattress with wide eyes. "Bastard!" he cursed and bounced a curled knuckle against his mouth. His stomach churned at the information. His chest tightened and air whooshed out. His insides quivered when he thought how much his sister must have suffered. His lips quivered and time seemed to slow down. Every second not being spent on finding her was like a burden to him. "It's all my fault," he blamed himself. "It's my fault!" He closed his eyes as his skin flushed red due to excessive sweating for he suddenly felt panicky. "Why didn't I look in the right places?"

"Ileus!" Anastasia called him. She crawled up to him and knelt in front of him. He was so disturbed that she felt a jab in her heart. She cupped his cheeks. "It's not your fault. The only person to be blamed for this is Aed Ruad."

"No Anastasia," he said in a hoarse voice. "I should have doubled my efforts."

"Even if you would have doubled your efforts you would have never known where she was being held. Please Al, don't blame yourself."

"Then what do I do, Ana?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"We will together find her," she said as she eased him out of the darkness he was about to surround himself with.

He nodded with a hitched breath. "Yes!" The claws on his hands faded into his fingers as he stopped his beast to take over him. He looked toward the window-to where the sky was turning dark, beckoning a dark night. "You have scratched the surface of the memories of Iona."

Seeing his ravaged face, she wrapped her hands around his neck and straddled his thighs. "Talk to me about it, when you like. I am always here," she said and buried her head in the crook of his neck. He circled his arms around her and rocked her. She could sense the pain that lingered there and his exhaustion. She clung tightly to him. She kissed his neck and then his cheek, his skin soft and warm beneath her lips. Her dark prince, her fallen prince.

"Fuck, I need you," he said, wanting to relieve his tension.

"I need you too..." she answered.

His shaft had swelled between them almost immediately and he just wanted to bury himself inside her. He grasped her hips and lifted her like she was a weightless doll. Then he positioned her over him and slid home. "Ah!" he hissed. She began to move up and down. Her hard nipples raked his chest and he groaned. He seized her mouth and delved his tongue inside. They were all legs and hands and kisses. "I love you so much Anastasia that I can scarcely breathe!" He said and rolled his hips to thrust inside her. "So tight!" He wanted to stay inside her. His muscles bulged and his legs began to quiver. She dug her nails in his back, drawing out blood. It maddened him, and he increased his pace. Her muscles clenched around his cock as if forcing him to release and he... released with a brutal roar.

This was far from over. He rolled on the bed with her beneath him without taking out his shaft. He made her straddle him and said, "Take me!" And she started moving up and down again. She crossed her hands at the back as her head turned up and her hair touched his thighs when she moved. The sight of her puckered nipples and that curvy body crazed him. At this point of time he didn't want to think of anything-only his mate. "Fuck, I want to bite you again," he said in a shaky voice.