Ileus narrated everything to her and popped tart cherries in his mouth from the tray of food he had kept for her on the table.

The tub was full when he finished speaking. Dawn was in splits on his antics. Both he and Brantley had been giving her good company in this morbid place.

​​

"Would you like to explore the markets today?" he asked. He was pleased that after such a hectic fight with the basilisk, which was quite an achievement, he managed to make Dawn laugh. His cousin's wife was not only pretty, she had brains too, and… she was a dragon rider. He really wanted to see her dragon. He couldn't go to Ulfric for their wedding where he could have seen him.

"The only place I am allowed to go now is Daryn's chamber, without any spells stopping me" she replied. There was a look of happiness on her face as she grinned.

"That's wonderful Dawn, but who said you aren't allowed to go and explore the markets of Ixoviya?" asked Ileus as he got up from his place to leave her alone.

"There are too many guards out there. They would never allow me to leave—in my opinion…" she sounded dubious.

Ileus narrowed his eyes. "Was there a rule that prohibited you from going out?"

Dawn jerked her head back. There wasn't a single rule that said that she couldn't go out. And now that she reflected the time when she had just entered Ixoviya, the four women who were walking in front of the procession were Dolgra, Volara and Erdaaz. Odd… because the fourth woman should have been Pia. Why couldn't she recognize Pia? She shoved her thoughts and smiled at him mischievously. "There is no such rule!"

"Then get dressed and we will go out to the market." Saying that Ileus lifted the flap of the tent and walked out.

Dawn removed her clothes and took one long look at herself in the mirror. Jocrut's black blood had spattered over her face and neck and hands. She had already handed the fangs to the guards before she walked out of the arena. She wondered why Sedora needed those fangs. She shook her head at the eccentricity of her mother-in-law.

She scrubbed her skin thoroughly to remove the blood. While doing so she couldn't help thinking about Erdaaz. This whole fiasco to win Daryn—her husband, was going to leave a trail of deaths. She shuddered and lowered her eyes to look at her hands. "How much blood is going to splash on these?" she muttered. Disgust rose in her chest. Then she reminded what Quetz had told her—Lore is cruel. There is survival of the fittest.

She was so hungry that the minute she stepped out of the bathtub, she attacked her food.

Dawn got dressed in white silk pants, which had gold woven in them in a self-design and a matching silk shirt. She left her hair open. She wished she had lots of jewelry so that she didn't stand odd in front of the Ixoviyans. She sighed and stepped out of the tent only to see that Ileus and Brantley were standing there, waiting for her. Her mouth fell. "No one is allowed inside the contestants' arena. How come you guys are standing here? Won't you attract attention?" Wearing jeans and polo, the two looked like college boys with devilish charm. Only that Brantley had green hair, which made Dawn roll her eyes.

Brantley scratched his forehead and said, "A little bribe of gold coins can do wonders!"

"Besides, we have made a lot of money because of you. Might as well spend on you also!" said Ileus.

Dawn chuckled. "Spend money on me also? Hell! You gotta spend it all on me!"

Brantley offered his arm to her and asked, "Where would you like to go?" He guided her out of the enclosure. The three guards opened the iron gates and stepped aside. Ileus threw a bag of gold coins at each of them. They caught them immediately and Dawn could see the greed in their eyes. Sorcerers had something for gold. One of the guards even took out a gold coin and he rubbed it on the skin of his face murmuring, "Gold is life…" It was as if the metal sent him in a trance.

"I don't know. Surprise me," she said.

"Then I know of a nice tavern where we can get local mead. Although for you, no mead!" said Ileus.

Dawn wanted to ask him how did he know, but then pursed her lips. This boy was beyond comprehension.

After the rains, the sunlight had warmed the lands and a nice breeze was flowing. Silvery-white and green leaves of the huge Yelgra trees that were found only in Ixoviya fluttered in the warm summer breeze. They walked on the wet cobblestone street that led to the markets. She noticed small shops, which sold expensive silk and velvets. Fifty percent of the shops were selling gold in the form of bars or jewelry or dresses. "What are winged demons?" asked Dawn as she looked at those vendors.

Ileus's expressions stiffened and he clenched his jaw. "They are something you wouldn't want to talk about," he replied as his breath became ragged.

"Dolgra is the daughter of the king of Zor'gans—the winged demons. I have a feeling that she is concealing her wings or maybe her true identity. If that comes out, I don't know how can I take her down. She seems like a formidable enemy," said Dawn.

"Then instead of going to the tavern, we need to go to the library here to know more about them," said Brantley.

"We don't have to go to the library. I know all about them!" Ileus snapped. "We have to go to a blacksmith."

Dawn turned her head to look at Ileus. He was sounding so angry that she wondered what was the matter. Suddenly she remembered—Daryn and Caleb had gone to help him to fight the winged demons who had surrounded his mate. She stopped, forcing Brantley to halt in his tracks. "Ileus," she said and held his hand with tenderness. "How did you manage the attack? I hope she is fine…" Dawn felt Brantley's arms going taut with tension.

Ileus turned his head away from them. He took a deep breath and stifled a growl in his chest. At this point he wanted to lope to the mountains to vent his steam off. Áed Ruad was proving too much of an asshole. "For four days I battled and managed to kill most of those flittermouse. Some ran for their lives. Unfortunately, the moment I got close to her, she was taken away from me." In reality she ran away from him. And yes—he had a special disliking for the winged demons.

Dolgra was aware of his presence and he knew what her main task was.

Dawn had to kill Dolgra to prevent cataclysm.

"I am sorry…" Dawn said as she rubbed her thumb over his hand softly. All three of them stood there holding each other's hand, feeling that void in their hearts without their mates. Ironically all of them were chasing the odds to be with their mates.

To change the topic, Brantley asked, "Why do you need a blacksmith? I wonder if we could find one here. Goldsmiths—plenty!"