Mated To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 712: What Is Islinda

As Aldric emerged from the bathroom with Islinda cradled tenderly in his arms, he was met by Prince Andre, leaning casually against the wall, an infuriating smirk plastered on his face.

"Took you that long to finally appear, eh?" Andre’s voice dripped with mockery.

The sight of Andre in his bedroom sent a surge of anger through Aldric. His protective instincts flared, and his eyes flashed with a dark, ominous light. He was grateful he had dressed Islinda before bringing her out; the thought of Andre seeing her naked fueled his fury. Without a word, Aldric unleashed his dark power, his shadows writhing like serpents, lunging towards Andre.

But Andre was quick, vanishing just before the shadows could ensnare him. Aldric, anticipating his move, directed a shadow to wrap around Andre’s neck and pin him against the wall. The shadow branched off, binding Andre’s hands to the sides, rendering him immobile.

"Really?" Andre sneered, locking eyes with Aldric. "This is how you welcome a concerned brother?"

"How dare you come in here?" Aldric’s voice was low and dangerous, his eyes blazing.

"Perhaps you’re not the only one concerned about Islinda," Andre retorted, his defiance earning him a solid blow from a shadowy fist.

Andre cried out in pain before bursting into laughter. "That was a new one. You’re growing stronger. I think it just got a little harder to kill you."

Aldric’s rage intensified. "Perhaps I should just kill you now and be done with it," he growled, advancing menacingly.

"Sure, go ahead and do it. I’m sure Islinda would be thrilled to wake up and find you’ve killed her Fae best friend," Andre taunted, a cunning smile on his face.

Islinda stirred in Aldric’s arms, a soft whine escaping her lips, her face contorting in discomfort. Aldric’s hardened expression instantly softened as he cradled her closer, his anger giving way to concern.

"Islinda? Islinda..." he whispered urgently, shaking her gently. But she remained in her deep sleep.

Andre’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of Aldric’s tender care. "By the gods," he murmured, disbelief coloring his voice. "You have fallen totally for her."

The comment only stoked Aldric’s frustration. In a swift motion, his shadows released Andre, who fell to the ground in an undignified heap. A shadow stretched out to open the door, while another grabbed Andre, dragging him towards the exit.

"You are not welcome here," Aldric spat, and with a forceful shove, he expelled Andre from the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Aldric stood at the spot for a moment, his chest heaving with a mixture of rage and relief. His attention returned to Islinda, his features softening as he gently laid her back on the bed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

With the tension of the confrontation with Andre faded, Aldric was left alone with his sleeping mate—or so he thought, because the next second, a loud knock sounded on his door.

"By the gods," Aldric muttered under his breath, imagining the million ways he would end Andre right at this moment. Andre was currently like an annoying fly hovering around him, and consequences be damned, he would squash him pretty soon.

"Come on, baby brother." Andre’s voice carried a mocking lilt that made Aldric’s nose flare in anger. "Either you open this door and speak to me, or I break in and we nonetheless talk in there, which is honestly preferable for me. I’ll love to assure you that whatever the witch did to you hasn’t replaced and gone haywire again, attempting to kill Islinda again."

That horrible reminder made Aldric grimace. How he wished the witch had taken away the ugly memories because he remembered all of it as clearly as day. Aldric winced, rubbing his temple for the umpteenth time today. Perhaps it was the effect of everything that happened lately, but he was beginning to experience these throbbing headaches.

Aldric would have loved to spend the rest of the day cooped up in the room with Islinda just to keep his eyes on her, but something told him Andre was not going to give up and would make good his threat of breaking into the room again.

So with a disgruntled sound, he opened the door and walked into the room, only to see a smug look on Andre’s face. Clearly, he had won in the end.

"Make this conversation as short as possible," Aldric ordered, stepping further into the room and refusing to take a seat, his muscled arms wrapped across his chest. He was eager to finish the conversation and return to his mate.

"Why? So you can return to the love of your life?" Andre teased him.

Aldric did not give his brother the satisfaction of knowing he got to him. His expression was blank and communicated all that Andre needed to know. He was not in the mood for jokes.

Seeing his attempt at a joke fail, Andre cleared his throat and asked a little more seriously, "How is Islinda?"

"Fine," Aldric answered curtly.

"Really? Do you take me for a fool, brother?"

Aldric removed his wrapped arms, stepping towards him and growling, "What is your fascination with Islinda? Have you also fallen head over heels in love with her like that pathetic Valerie?"

"Aren’t we all head over heels in love with her, brother?" Andre admitted.

Aldric was taken aback by the response. While he had intended to push the answer out of Andre, he was still unprepared to hear the truth.

A bitter smile crossed Andre’s features. "It seems polygamy does run in the family."

"No!" Aldric snarled in his face, his eyes dark and threatening. "Islinda is mine and mine alone. I don’t share and I would never share. I’ll kill any of you guys that try to take her from me." His eyes gleamed with the dark promise.

He might be his father’s son, but Aldric was determined not to repeat the same polygamous mistake his father had made. He had seen the fallout firsthand—the jealousy, the scheming, the deaths. Sharing his mate with his brothers? Fate had to be kidding him. He would rather end his brothers and be hunted by the rest of the realm than see that happen.

"Unless she’s your mate, I do not care to know that. Islinda would be the one to make the decision in the end. For once, though, I’m morbidly thankful that Dark Fae aren’t blessed with mates," Andre said. If only he knew.

For the first time in his entire life, Aldric couldn’t say a truth he truly hungered to shout to the world. He wanted to announce and rub it in their faces that the gods they knew were indeed whimsical and that the Dark Faeries weren’t as doomed as they had thought. But he couldn’t.

He knew what would happen the instant everyone knew Islinda’s worth. If they couldn’t get to him, she would be their target. He wouldn’t let loose his mate to the vultures.

"Make another sentence like that, and I’ll punch your mouth," Aldric warned him.

"We are merely love rivals, brother, you, Valerie, and I. The one thing we have in common is the well-being of Islinda. So tell me, how is she?"

Aldric snarled, "Get lost."

He turned his back on his brother, ready to leave when Andre announced, "Islinda is not human."

Aldric stopped in his tracks, his ears beginning to ring. What in the Fae did he just hear?

He slowly turned to Andre with a flabbergasted expression. "What nonsense are you vomiting this time? If this is all a trick to get me to—"

"Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the signs? The whitening of her hair? You certainly didn’t think that was ordinary?" Andre asked, staring straight at him.

Aldric gulped. He had his suspicions, but to think that Andre knew more than he did left a bad taste in his mouth.

"You noticed more changes, didn’t you?" Andre said, studying his face.

Realizing that he slipped, Aldric composed himself at once. He asked coldly, "What is she?"

"How is she?" Andre demanded. "The doctor ran out before I could exactly have the chance of interrogating him. He almost looked as if he had stared death in the face," he said knowingly, looking at Aldric for answers.

For a moment, it looked like Aldric was not going to give in, but he suddenly answered, "She needs more rest; otherwise, she is fine. Now tell me... What. Is. She?" His fierce gaze demanded that Andre dare not play him.

Andre took a deep breath, then said, "A half-breed."

Aldric sucked in a sharp breath.

"One of her parents was Fae. Definitely her father. He died. There are no records of her mother. None of the villagers claimed to have caught sight of her. My trail is cold, which is more suspicious. Whoever was her mother, something tells me she was either someone important or there was something more, considering she also erased Islinda’s memory of her."