There were many books, but Iona went to the one stacked in the last. On its spine faded words, Faelar Aramaer – The First Fae King, were written in golden words. And right in front of it was the book, Estelar Aramaer – The First Demon King. She took that one out from the shelf along with the one on fae king and went to sit at the table. She was in for a long time.
She opened the pages of the book on the demon king. Everything she knew was already there. She flipped the pages and came to the section which mentioned his fourteen sons and in the end was daughter Etayalar Aramaer.
Etayalar Aramaer was the youngest and most pampered by her father and brothers. She was born to her father after three thousand years. She was as fierce as her brothers and remained dedicated to the king till she lived. It was said that she suffered the grief of her father, who always mourned the loss of the fae kingdom. While under Faelar Aramaer, the fae kingdom flourished and prospered, under Estelar Aramaer, the demon kingdom flourished. It was his wish that the fae kingdom and the demon kingdom merged and become one. He had gone to his brother a number of times with the proposal but Faelar had refused.
Living in a place that had extremely harsh conditions, Estelar Aramaer's people had evolved into demons with horns and had tanned skins. However, the rest of their features resembled the faes. Same skin, pointy ears, almond shaped eyes, and muscled bodies.
Estelar Aramaer waged three wars against Vilinski, but he lost all of them. His daughter was with him in the third war. After his third defeat, he kind of broke down and didn't survive.
It was recorded that his daughter gave her life soon after vowing to the Lore that she would take her father's revenge.
Iona shut the book down. A shudder passed through her body. If Etayalar Aramaer vowed to the Lore, was she reborn as Etaya? Or was she the same woman? The second option could not be true, because not even faes lived that long. And if she was reborn, did she know that she was Etayalar Aramaer in her previous life? Why had she hidden the book on demons in her room? Iona had a sudden urge to go back to her room and read the book on demons all over again. So many things now pieced together except the connection between Etayalar Aramaer and Etaya.
She placed the book back into the shelf, locked it as Valdar explained to her. She brushed her fingers over the symbols in a backward movement and the door locked with a click. She walked out of the corridor only to find a confused Valdar sitting in his armchair, searching for something he had forgotten.
When she reached her room, she read the books in order to find out more. While she found a lot of information on the generations of Faelar Aramaer, there was only one page dedicated to his brother.
Estelar Aramaer had fallen in love with his brother's wife. Apparently, Alvenia, Faelar's wife, was the most beautiful woman in the world. Despite Estelar approaching her numerous times, she refused him. He even proposed to her that it is possible to have both the brothers as her husbands, but the idea was so filthy to her that she had insulted Estelar in an open court. Her husband, Faelar was extremely angry and he had banished Estelar. But not before Estelar had waged a battle against him and threatened to take away Alvenia as his prize.
Iona was too tired by the end of it. Did Etayalar Aramaer know of her father's dalliances? Did she know the history between her father and Alvenia at all? Or was she a blind follower of her father? Iona couldn't imagine the depravity of the younger brother. And more than that she couldn't imagine that if Etayalar Aramaer had vowed to the Lore that she would take her father's revenge, then for how long did her soul remain in the Lore to be reincarnated at Etaya?
If this was the case, then the conspiracy to get Anastasia back to the kingdom ran deeper. Did Aed Ruad know about it? Did Maple know?
Her head started pounding. It was all a lot for her to digest. Etaya was born long after Ian was born and in comparison, she was far younger. From the beginning she wanted to rule Vilinski, and had made it clear to her parents that she needed some part of the kingdom. However, they denied it, saying that she could serve as a noble under him, but she would never be able to break the fae kingdom. What was this need to have a piece of kingdom for herself?
Iona closed the book and rested her head on the pillows. She drifted off to sleep, but not without nightmares.
"Jump out, Iona," the golden eyes communicated to her. The fog around them would not reveal the face. "You can make it!"
"I have come to take you, little child," said the Master. "I will educate you." He caught her delicate wrists.
"Leave me!" Iona struggled against her Master. "Leave me, Seraph!" she shouted.
The golden eyes flared wide open as if shocked. "You have to overcome him!" they said. They encouraged her. They wanted to change the events in time. Iona tried to wriggle free from her Master.
"Come to me Iona," Seraph hissed. He was oblivious of the presence of the golden eyes.
The fog around him seemed to spread on her legs, slither on her. She looked at the twin flames exasperatedly. The tentacles of her Master glided over her thighs, her waist and then her chest. Finally, she got completely covered by that slimy, inky, mucus-like feel. A scream emanated from her throat and she jerked open her eyes with sweat covering her body like a thin layer of water. Iona gasped, wanting to catch her breath. Those golden eyes belonged to whom?
When she gathered her wits, she looked around the room. From the dim light of the candelabras that were lit in her room, she realized that she had slept past dinner. She had a late dinner on the bed and got up. Outside the window, it was still too dark. Sconces around the alleyways and breezeways, were lit imparting soft buttery glow. She took a deep breath and wondered where the tombs of the previous kings and queens were. Should she pay a visit to them? How did the first king die? What about Alvenia? The snow on the outside had swirled and settled on the glass of her window. On a thought, she whipped her head back to the book of History of Fae. She had to call her. She wanted to visit the tombs of the rulers and only she could tell where they were. She started walking towards her bed. If her calculation were right, the war was around. And Iona was one of the pawns that had suddenly become the black knight.
She opened the book and pressed her finger on the symbol. The woman appeared, her body a ripple of thin silver and white lines. "What is it you want now, Iona?" she asked.
