Brantley narrowed his eyes and then walked up to them to receive them. He gave a warm hug to Daryn and shook hands with Caleb with a warm smile. "Join me for Samobian," Brantley said. "We were just leaving for that."

Every muscle in Daryn's body was tense. "We have to talk urgently!" he rasped.

​​

"I have to attend the closing ceremony of Samobian and my people are waiting," said Brantley curtly. It was something he could never miss. At least not now.

Daryn licked his dry lips, looked at Caleb and took a deep breath. His hands fisted into balls. The whole room was filled with palpable tension.

"Then let us go to Samobian first," said Caleb. Between the two brothers, he looked calmer and in control.

Bianca was greatly surprised. She wasn't expecting her father to come and then suddenly he came along with Uncle Caleb. It was something so unexpected that she knew there was something grossly wrong. Mentally she talked to her mom, but found her mental shields high. Same with her father. She communicated with Darius. 'Do you know what is the problem?'

He shrugged. 'How would I know? Am as clueless as you! Though I am beginning to get nervous.'

'Why?'

'I haven't seen Daddy so agitated.'

Bianca sighed. 'Come on. Let's get over with the last part of Samobian and then we can start talking about it.'

'Agree.' Saying that he stepped into the portal first.

Bianca followed him and then Brantley. Caleb was next. Daryn and Dawn stepped into it asking murmuring something, which none of them could hear. Bianca caught a word, 'Shadows' but didn't give much of a thought to it.

As soon as they entered, a crowd of Ministers and their wives thronged them. They walked towards the area, which dipped like a bowl between the grassy knolls. They were seated on chairs in the front row along with Bianca's family. There were chairs all around and the bowl acted as a stage. Some people were sitting on the ground also.

The dark night above, which was bedecked with bright stars from the past six days, had a silver crescent moon hanging amongst them. It looked beautiful and it seemed to come out, to show itself only for Daryn Silver, the Silver Crescent Alpha Prince. Dawn looked at her husband as the moon's lights fell on his handsome face and for a millionth time, she sighed.

Lights around them glowed from all the sides as soon as they seated. Drumbeats began and they saw artists in various positions in the center of the stage. As if they were waiting for the music to play, the artists began swaying. Soon the dance caught momentum and it appeared as if they were in a frenzy. All of a sudden a man came up and bowed to the king. "Join us," he requested politely. And Brantley rose to his feet. This was customary. He walked with the man and joined the dance. Bianca's eyes became wide when she saw how gracefully he was dancing. He looked like a predator, he looked like a hunter. The intense gaze in his eyes was enough to blaze her. The way he looked at her, she was feeling the heat in her belly. It was a call to his command. She was in a trance as she watched him dance upon the drumbeats. He unbuttoned his shirt and threw it away. How he swayed his legs, how he hopped over the women, how his muscles flexed with every movement and how they formed one after the other positions—she was ensnared. Suddenly men lifted him high up in the air. He jumped higher and when he came down, he flipped and the men caught him in a horizontal position. He extended his hand and beckoned her.

Her skin was lined with goose bumps. She got up from her place and walked up to her husband without breaking eye contact. His hazel eyes seemed to bore into her soul. She stopped merely a few inches away from his face and looked up at him. He was sweating. Suddenly she found herself high in the air. Four women had lifted her and they hurled her in the air. Bianca squealed. She found herself coming down right on Brantley's back. The man was made to flip, and he caught her in his arms before landing on the ground.

The crowd gasped.

More drum beats followed and Brantley made Bianca twirl and swirl. They looked like swans in a lake, entangled in a love dance.

Finally when the dance was over, she found herself with one leg clasped on his waist and the other settled down his thigh, as her hands wrapped around his neck. Brantley canted his head and kissed his queen.

The crowd erupted in a loud cheer. Brantley slid her down his sweaty body. Her trance broke and as soon as she was on the ground, she blushed heavily.

He explained in a whisper, "This is a customary thing that every king and queen have to do. The dance shows that we will always balance nature together, the way we balance life between us, the way we love each other." He held her hand. "My people need the assurance and this is how they want it."

She nodded, feeling every bit of the part of his kingdom.

They walked back to the chairs and sat down. Other programs began and they ended just before midnight. Brantley gave them a small speech of thanks and the festival came to an end. People dispersed as soon as they left back for the palace.

As soon as they were in the palace, Brantley ushered them into the meeting chamber immediately. As soon as Daryn, Caleb, Darius and Dawn were inside, Brantley closed the door and waved his hands to make the chamber sound proof. When they were all seated in the chairs, Brantley said, "You can tell me now."

Caleb started. "There has been an incident in Ixoviya. A week back two Ixoviyans were found dead on the outskirts of the kingdom."

Brantley frowned. This wasn't unusual. He shrugged. "So?"

"Their death wasn't normal. It was as if their bodies were chewed. Their flesh was chewed upon before they died. The limbs were missing, the head was half eaten and worse, their stomach was ripped open and contents empty." Caleb shuddered. "At first we thought that wild beasts had attacked them." He turned his ring in his finger. "However, a day later we found five more people dead in a similar way. It raised an alarm and we started hunting for the beast. There was none. You can imagine our shock because we couldn't find the beast."

Daryn interjected. "A day later there were similar instances in the neighboring kingdom. By the time I went to meet Caleb, four kingdoms were affected by this kind of attack. Along with him and other kings, we went to look for the people behind the attack."

"And?" asked Bianca. Her breath was caught in her throat.

Daryn looked at her with a tense expression. Sweat beads appeared on his brow. He pursed his lips.

She waited. When she didn't get the reply, she asked, "And?"

"And we saw Shadows… corpses with yellow, fiery, glowing eyes… They were feeding on Loreans, eating them, gorging them. Lots of them. Floating in the air." Daryn's lips quivered. "Both Caleb and I managed to ward them off, but— but they are coming back in numbers."

Brantley's hand squeezed Bianca's under the table.

"And as sorcerers, we know who is doing it…"