Ilay's wife

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ILAY'S POV

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She looked so cute laying out all these petty rules. But my mood turned sore at her last request. How could I just let Aya go when she had taken away half of Drakon's soul? Without the complete Holy Grail, I'd not ascend to being Czar and would suffer immeasurable consequences.

Dammit!

Thinking about what was on the line made me want to fly to where her sister was being held captive and slowly pluck out her hair one strand after another.

I was aware of my weakness, I trusted too easily, but I also killed just as easily.

And to think that Aya had been a spy from the beginning was something...I had totally seen coming. But I didn't think she'd be this good and steal the irreplaceable half of Scroll of Poisons entrusted to me by my grandfather before his passing years ago.

Whether my family was aware of this theft and loss, I had no idea. But with them summoning me back home after so long only meant that something had happened. But it was also time for me to go back and prepare for my ascension as well as remind them who I am.

My dear brothers seem to have forgotten just who had been chosen to lead Drakon in my absence.

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"Oh gawd! This is crazy. I'm crazy. What am I doing here?" Kally panicked as the car drove through the towering golden gates which had guards wandering around like ants. "I..." She looked my way, her eyes wide and hollow as more panic flooded them. "I don't wanna do this anymore."

"Then hop out and walk your ass back to America. How does that sound?"

She gave me a sour look before throwing it out her window. I had noticed her nervous state from the very beginning, which was a day ago when we registered our marriage.

This might have been a little too much for an inexperienced and young person like herself, but she was part of my horrible existence for the time being. Not like we had gotten married out of any warm relationship. She was an available tool that was amusing to play with, and I was a money bank for her to spend as she pleased. At the end of the day, we'd each get what we wanted and separate when the deal was over.

Her silence created a moment for me to settle my share of uneasiness. I was about to face the very people I had grown up with in the name of family. We were about to enter the jungle of a palace where only the strong could stay sane. I had scars from my past that were yet to heal. And the person responsible for those scars was my greatest rival and...brother.

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KALLY'S POV

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My stomach was all watery. Not a single organ felt like it was in place or even present entirely. I had done it. I had gotten married for the most absurd reasons, and to the most unhinged man I knew of.

And he was walking me past these uniformed servants standing in two lines on the large porch. Their heads were slightly bowed and remained like that until we walked into the house.

A long brightly lit hallway welcomed us, its walls holding up huge paintings of who I assumed were Ilay's relatives and some ancestors. It was like walking into an art gallery, only this one, the people in the paintings all possessed a sophisticated aura that piqued my interest.

There was one with three younger men who seemed to be in their early twenties standing behind three girls in possibly, their teen years. One of the young men looked so much like Ilay, more than the rest of them.

"I looked innocent here, didn't I?" Ilay's voice came as a hand cupped my shoulder, his arm lying on my back.

I shrugged it off quickly and stepped aside. "I'd go blind if I ever saw anything innocent about you."

He chuckled eyeing me. "Entertain me more after we meet my family. I have a feeling I'll die of bore-"

"Uncle!" A sharp child-like voice squealed as light running footsteps came from the arched doorway on the left wall. From the other room, a child, no older than seven came running straight to Ilay. "You really came!" He beamed hugging his waist.

Ilay's reaction was disappointing, to say the least. How could he keep a flat face with the child brimming with excitement from seeing him?

He turned his head up in my direction, his round eyes staring at me with darkness I had seen too many times in Ilay's own pair.

"Uncle who is this?" He asked, his Russian accent barely noticeable. He must have been attending an international school. And knowing how wealthy his family was, they probably got him one of the best.

"This is-"

"She looks ugly."

Ouch! An invisible arrow was shoved into my soul. How could such a young child be so rude?

I glared down at him openly.

Ilay peeled the boy's arms from around him and gripped the back of his sweater, pulling him back like a dirt bag. "This is my wife. Now shush! Run along!"

There was a flicker of danger in Ilay's eyes as he chased away his nephew. But boy was I glad that he had taken my side against this little menace.

From the same doorway, a feminine figure in a body-hugging white gown made an appearance. Her long wavy ash blonde hair rested harmoniously on her ample bosom. If I was being honest, she was curvier than me and an inch or two taller than me. Her face was perfection at its best, long dark eyelashes that gave her an even more feminine charm, a pair of full lips painted in an alluring shade of red, her jaw was smooth and her gray eyes were a trap given by nature to lure in any man or woman they focused on.

And right now, they were wholly fixed on Ilay.

"Ilay. You...I thought you wouldn't..." She trailed off, a hundred emotions swirling in her eyes till they became wet.

She glanced my way, questioning me and my identity.

"Why shouldn't I come to my own house?" Asked Ilay walking forward, pushing the little boy to the side.

He only stopped when he reached Irina's feet. "You look lovely as always," he complimented her as his fingers pushed back some of her long hair.

My brow raised, taken aback by the sudden development.

"Tha-thank you."

I caught two teardrops rolling down her face.

She looked away embarrassed. "You look handsome as ever. Black hair suits you."

Ilay chuckled turning to the side to gaze back at me. "I'd like you to meet my guest, and my wife, Kally Volkov," he introduced offering me his open palm.

'Time to pull out a believable act,' I whispered in my head as my feet took steps forward. Sliding my smaller hand into Ilay's bigger one, I felt a sense of superiority.

"Wife?" Echoed Irina.

'Yes bitch. His wife, but it's only a part-time role.'

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