Remembering her parents made her sad. She missed them, she missed those carefree days and she missed her closeness with Iskra. She recalled what Nyles did to her and her vision stung. After the attack by the rogues in Gavran Wilds the men were severely injured and she was hoping that things would go better, but everything just turned downhill. The incident at the Virgine Falls was horrible-one she never wanted to think about again.

Now that they were in Óraid she hoped that they recovered fast both physically and emotionally. A sigh escaped her mouth when she recalled how Zlu gave up his life for his mate. Kaizan had said that the mate-bond was above all. Mate bond - It sounded beautiful, full of promises, yet dangerous.

She closed her eyes. Where was Ileus? Her lips tugged up and cheeks warmed.

at the thought of him. Suddenly the door opened and she got up with a start. She blinked her eyes.

Ileus walked in, all disheveled and in serious need of taking a bath. As soon as he entered, he was followed by Lillete and two servants who came in with another bathtub and more hot water. Even in the dead of the night, Lillete came into the room to help him with a bath?

"Thanks Lillete," he said softly.

Jealousy flared in her chest. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Ileus. How come Lilette followed him and why was so ruffled?

Lillete gave a nervous glance to Anastasia and said, "If you want, you know you can have the master bedroom. I will shift in my parents' room."

"That won't be necessary," he replied.

Lillete left after fussing about the bathtub a little longer than necessary and Ileus closed the door behind her.

"You are still awake?" he said as he unbuttoned his shirt and hung it over the chair, over her sweater.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, looking at his wound. She tried to suppress her covetousness.

"It has healed up. Only traces remain that would heal up by the morning," he answered, removing the belt of his breeches and walking to the bathtub.

"What about the other men?"

"They all are healing..." his voice trailed off.

Anastasia plopped back on the pillow. She heard rustle of the fabric and then splash of water behind the screen. She flipped on her belly and looked at him through the screen. "What's with you and Lillete? I thought that you didn't know anyone here."

"Are you curious?"

"I am not curious," she retorted. "I really don't care about your dalliances!"

He chuckled. "I think my dalliances matter a lot to you."

"You have a lot of self confidence." She flipped back on her back and placed her hands on her tummy.

"Am I not incredible?" he replied.

"You are a narcissist!" she replied sharply. "And that proves my point that you have a lot of self confidence when it comes to women."

He let out a deep laugh. "Self confidence is an understatement, Anastasia. After all, you wanted to stay in the same room as me." He sounded so smug that she wanted to smack him.

"And now that you insisted that you wanted to stay in the same room as me, what are you going to do with me, Ana?"

"Throw you out the moment you take a bath."

He laughed again. "That is not happening." He came out of the tub and towel dried. Anastasia had turned her back towards him. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked to the cabinet to change into a pair of pants and a shirt.

She wanted to see his chiseled body, those damp locks and that thing in between his legs. Gods! She bit her lip and before she knew, she had turned to look at him... with wide eyes... She was ogling at him shamelessly.

"You must be extremely tired Ana. Sleep," he said, coming towards the bed.

The man looked... devilishly handsome. Damp hair stuck to his nape. He was clean-shaven and he smelled spicy and woodsy and misty. "I can't sleep, Ileus," she replied, her voice husky to her own surprise. She was bothered about what would happen to her now.

He walked to sit on the edge of the bed and cupped his chin in his palm, and propped his elbow over the knee. "Do you want to talk about something?"

She chewed her lips. "I- I want to- I have to leave you all and find my own way..." She looked away, blinking away the haze that threatened to form in her eye. "That bothers me."

"What is it that you want to find, Ana?" he asked with a tight expression. "Your magic is slowly beginning to show. Do you know how to manage it? You would need someone to guide you."

"I will manage," she murmured, digging her hands beneath the pillow.

"Ana, once your magic unravels, it will be easy for Aed Ruad to find you," he said, his gaze fixed on her. It was as if his chest had clenched. "You still need protection."

She took a deep breath and peered at him from under her thick eyelashes into his golden eyes that were akin to the flames of the hearth. Her heart somersaulted. He was beyond beautiful. Mesmerizing...

"I saw what you did with Carrick," he said, drawing her attention back.

She groaned at the memory and rolled her eyes.

"That was brilliant. But you need to hone it."

"What are you suggesting Ileus?" she asked, her eyes traveling back to him.

"Stay Ana. Stay with me," he said in a breathy voice. His hands went to touch her ankles and she immediately felt warmth over there. "I will help you hone your skills."

She shook her head. "I need to leave..." She was firm on her decision.

"Anastasia, what will make you convinced that it is not safe to be alone at the moment?"

"Nothing. Besides, I can take care of myself," she said with a mulish expression