Flustered, Anastasia collected the 'offering' and covered the marks on an impulse. "I am right here," she called.
"Come back sweetheart," he said in a sleepy and relaxed voice.
She stashed the offerings in the saddlebag and went back to lie down. Why was she feeling so energetic? It was as if her body was vibrating with some kind of a force that wanted to be released. Her heart throbbed and she could hear her heartbeats in her ears. Who did those feet belong to? And how could they break the barrier of invisibility and enter? That too, right next to her tent?
A hand on her chest startled her. "What's wrong?" Ileus lifted his head and looked at her with wide eyes. "Your chest is thumping heavily."
She gulped. Should she tell him about what she saw? She decided against it because it was too early to jump to conclusions. However, she would keep an eye on these things. "I was thinking about Maple," she breathed.
Ileus leaned in and pressed his head against her breasts. "Calm down sweetheart. I will not let anything happen to you. There is nothing in this world that would take you away from me now." Two weeks without her was more than enough to last hundreds of lifetimes. He had vowed to the Lore that whatever may come, he would protect her with his life.
She raked her fingers in his hair. "I know sweetheart…" she murmured and closed her eyes to relax. "Can we stay here today or is it necessary to move?" she asked.
"It is not necessary. If you want to stay, we will."
"Oh great! Then I would like to practice my magic. Right now I feel it is all over the place and I don't know what to do in dire situations. I act on impulse most of the time."
"Sure, we can," he replied. "How about we go to the riverside and practice?"
She nodded. "Anything works!"
Two hours later when they were about to go out, Ileus pulled out a sheathed sword from his saddlebag and gave it to her. When he pulled it out of the sheath, she looked at it with wonder. Its hilt was encrusted with tiny gems on the edges and the sword was made with fine steel with a hint of gold. "This is a beautiful sword. Is it yours?" she asked. Why didn't she see it with him earlier?
"This sword is for you, princess. Theodir gave it to me to gift it to you. When you were gone back in time, I had gone to visit him with Haldir's help to ask him if he had any clue about you."
While looking at it, mesmerized, she asked absentmindedly, "What did he tell you?"
"He said he had no clue, but added that you had traveled to find answers. Theodir was too cryptic. However, he gave this sword to me and said that I should give it to you. It is made of fine metal that is found only in Evindal."
Anastasia swiveled the sword lightly. It looked heavy but was very light to use. "I love it!" It was as if forged for her. There was glint in her eyes. "Let's put it to some use," she said with excitement cruising in her body.
"We should," Ileus replied with a smile. His glance went to her tattoos on the right arm. "Why aren't they fading? It is the third day of your arrival."
She shrugged. "Who knows?"
Riverside proved to be extremely helpful. Ileus had surrounded them with an invisibility spell. With his help, she focused on her internal energy and used it to discover many things about her magic. She was surprised to notice that it felt… powerful. Was there something in the berries? They practiced sword fighting and she was glad that she hadn't forgotten what Iskra had taught her. In fact she was practicing them with finesse.
"You are pretty good, princess!" Ileus commented with shock in his tone when she disarmed him and pointed the sword at his chest.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I think I am better than you!" The confidence in her was overflowing.
He removed the sword from her gently and said, "I have no doubt about it."
She chuckled and put the sword back in the sheath and placed it on a boulder. She was sweating and panting after her training. "Ileus, I was to convert into shadows like faes do. I have no clue how to do that. Do you have any idea about it?"
He shook his head. "I don't, but that is a risky thing and I wouldn't encourage you."
"Why?" she asked as he unbuttoned her shirt.
"Bursting into the shadows is like second nature to me. I can become corporeal because it is a quality in me. It's not magic. How can I teach you an inborn quality? You shouldn't venture into something you aren't sure of. Moreover, it is possible that your body might make you feel that way once it is ready," he said, removing her shirt and then helping her out of her pants. "And you need a good bath in Lifye. Do you know how to swim?"
Her lips turned down because her body never ever felt the need to turn into shadows. Was it need-based? "Argh!" she cried, and started walking towards the river. Just before she entered it, she said, "I don't know how to swim!" and jumped in.
Ileus' eyes were wide and he ripped his clothes off to dash after her. "Anastasia!" he shouted and dove after her. He found her struggling to come to the surface. Grabbing her hair, he pulled her up and she coughed and gasped for air. Angered as hell, he shouted, "What the hell was that?"
"I was trying to invoke 'need' in my body to turn into shadows."
"Gods, you are infuriating!" he scowled.
---
On their third day in Sgiath Biò, Nyles followed Maple through a portal created by one of the fae soldiers. Maple was traveling with ten human and Lore soldiers, four faes, and Nyles. None of them knew that she was also traveling with rogue spirits and wraiths who were invisible to all of them.