Cora continued to rebuke Ileus. "You should have waited before rushing into the marriage. Was it necessary to fulfill the prophecy so soon? Couldn't you restrain yourself and keep your kingdom's duties before your own stupid needs?"
Ileus was stunned into silence at his grandmother's outburst. She was trying to make him feel guilty and it was working. She was trying to rile up Anastasia and make her feel like the worst thing that could happen to them, and it was working.
Seeing her flaring up so rudely Pierre shouted, "Cora, you are going beyond limits! So, shut up."
"Oh please, why should I shut up when I am pointing out the bitter truth?" she retorted. "It's not like—"
"Mother," Dmitri interrupted her. "When I met Adri, I couldn't wait to marry her. I see history repeating. At that also you protested against the marriage because of Kiesha and once again you are doing the same thing."
Cora peeled her lips back and flared at her son. "How dare you make similar references, Dmitri? Those were different times!" A low growl sounded in her throat as if she was going to attack. "Talk about the present situation. Right now, there is a rumor in Silver Vales that their future Alpha will be marrying their enemy. How is it fair to the subjects? Tell me!" She glared at him. "There is a chance that if they feel that the rumor is correct, a civil war may erupt. Right now, because of this fae princess, because of your son's dalliances, we are sitting on the verge of a civil war!"
Cora's acerbic burst of hatred left everyone stunned at the table. She distrusted her own family to the extent that she lashed at everyone, pointing out Ileus' mistakes. The anger Anastasia felt earlier was mixed with guilt and confusion and frustration. Ileus placed his hand on her thighs and brushed her lightly over there. She could feel the bitterness he was experiencing and she knew that the act was more to appease his anger. When Cora gave Anastasia a withering glare, Anastasia shifted in her chair towards her husband.
Adrianna sat there with a cold look in her eyes. She sliced a meat pie and ate it patiently. Not only that, she served some fresh apple juice to Anastasia and her husband murmuring, "Please have it. It's awesome."
Her act only irked Cora all the more. "And how are you going to suppress a civil war, Adrianna? Aren't you already occupied with saving your borders from the attacks of other kingdoms that you also will be looking into a war within your own people?" Her gaze shifted to Dmitri. "When you married Adrianna, there was no such thing as a civil war. People supported you. Whatever you did was not frowned upon. But in Ileus' case there's a lack of support from the citizens of Silver Vales and Draoidh. How are you going to combat that?" She asked, slapping the table.
"Let me refresh your memories, Mother," said Dmitri in a sarcastic voice. "Adrianna's father, the Alpha of the Red Moon pack was never our ally and we had to wage a war against them. I don't want to get into the details but there was a lot of unrest back then too. However, together all of us brought the situation under control."
"The situation didn't spiral down so fast!" Cora was going ballistic. She pointed at Anastasia and said, "Send her to stay with Dawn and Daryn for a few months till the situation here is resolved and faith is restored amongst the people."
Anastasia narrowed her eyes. The old crane was getting ahead of herself. What the hell did she think she was? Suddenly she realized that Adrianna had removed her hand from her. Was that an indication? Anastasia answered back, "And how will solve the problem? Is that a permanent solution? What is going to happen once I come back? I am going to stay where my husband is. No one can snatch that right from me! While I do agree that my marriage to Ileus did bring its own consequences, you can't ask us to separate. I am sorry to say, but your analysis of the situation hasn't been too wise and we have all seen it in the case of Lila. You never came to know that Lila was an opium addict and that she was using prisoners for her own pleasure and you chose that woman for your grandson."
"Anastasia!" Cora roared, her cheeks mottling as anger rippled through her. "You do not have the authority to speak with me like that, you insolent girl!" She turned to look at others and waved at Anastasia. "See this is what a fae princess is like—spoiled and arrogant and no regards to elders!"
Anastasia's breath was ragged as she glowered at Cora. And she just couldn't imagine what she might have been to her own daughter-in-law.
"Grandmother," Ileus intervened in a cold, calculated voice. "I married Anastasia because I wanted to. Yes, I was in a hurry, but there were other reasons too. And the main reason was that with my marriage to Anastasia, there was a political upheaval in Vilinski, the sound of which is echoing in the Lore."
"You should have waited!" Cora shouted. "Silver Vales and Draoidh have come together and are now a powerful kingdom. I certainly don't want a civil war." She threw her fork on the plate. It clanked and bounced off the plate.
All the confidence and anger that Anastasia's body was thrumming with got replaced by guilt. She lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers. She had warned Ileus that Cora did not like her. Suddenly she felt sorry for putting the whole family in a situation as complicated as this. "Cora," Adrianna's calm voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "How did you choose Lila? I would like to know on what grounds did you choose Lila? If it had not been for Anastasia, we would have never discovered what Lila was like. If Ileus hadn't married Anastasia and hadn't brought her to Silver Vales, we would have gone ahead with Ileus' marriage to a woman like Lila. We would have never discovered that Iona has gone to the dark sides. I would have never met my daughter." She choked and gulped the lump that formed in her throat. "I don't want to hear about Ileus' choice on marrying his mate because I support him and his mate wholeheartedly."
Anastasia gasped. She pursed her lips tight to stop the squeal that wanted to come out of her throat. Her heart struck a chord of happiness and fought with the brain to suppress the expression. This time she took her hand beneath the table and squeezed Adrianna's hand as a gesture of thanking her.
All of a sudden Ed started laughing, catching all of them by surprise. The tension in the air notched a little with the soft edges of his laughter.
"What's so funny, Ed?" asked Cora, irked as hell.
Ed shook his head and asked, "Who is the keeper of the prisons now?"
Adrianna knew why her grandfather was laughing. He always backed her, encouraged her and was her most loyal supporter other than Dmitri. She loved when he laughed and a smile came across her lips. "We have put Tadgh as the keeper of both the prisons."