AN: This is a sequel to Offer Your Throat to the Wolf. If you find yourself here without having read the previous story, please do not continue any further.

So we're finally here, the sequel. I know I left a lot of unanswered questions behind. Hopefully those will get sorted out here. This story picks up roughly nine months after Offer Your Throat to the Wolf concluded, epilogue aside.

I sincerely hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!

"Princess Sofia..." His voice spoke with an amused flair, hinting at the smile that she didn't need to see to know it was spreading across his face like a wicked, thorny vine. "To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"

"You know why I'm here, Grimtrix." Sofia replied scarcely above a whisper. "I need to see him."

Grimtrix cocked an eyebrow at the young woman and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry, I simply don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't have time for your games, Grimtrix!" Sofia shouted, her voice raspy. "Please, I... I just need to see him. It's urgent."

"Urgent enough that you would come crawling to me of all people in search of him." Grimtrix replied, eyeing the young woman's disheveled appearance up and down. "How the mighty have fallen. You look a little worse for wear, Princess. Everything not going according to how you'd hoped in your pearly little kingdom?"

Sofia clenched her fists at her sides, fingernails cutting into the flesh of her palms. She was doing everything within her power to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't break down now. She was so very close. "Grimtrix, I know he's here. Baileywick told me as much."

Grimtrix shifted a bit but he kept his eyes focused on the princess. "He lied."

"Baileywick has no reason to lie." Sofia replied. "Now, let me see my husband."

"Your husband." Grimtrix replied with a chuckle. "Don't act as though that somehow means so much to you now."

Sofia swallowed back the lump in her throat and took a step forward. She was hardly able to contain herself at this point. She had no time or patience for this. Her hands wrapped into the collar of Grimtrix's robe and she bared her teeth at him. "I want to see him! Now!"

"Why should I let you?" Grimtrix replied, his smile falling to a steely glare as he wrenched himself free from the princess' relatively weak grasp.

"It's about the babies." Sofia croaked, lowering her gaze from the sorcerer to the floor.

Grimtrix's eyebrow popped in interest and he took a step back from Sofia to examine her. Indeed, she appeared fuller in figure since their last meeting nearly ten months prior, though the cloak she wore covered it well. His eyes searched over her features for answers he didn't expect her to give him if he outright asked but he could detect nothing more than sorrow on her face. "Did the infants not survive?"

"Rowyn..." Sofia managed as she raised her gaze back to Grimtrix. "I named him Rowyn."

"And the other?" Grimtrix asked as he watched Sofia's features in interest.

Sofia sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and looked away from the man once more. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her desperation was likely evident at this point which was precisely what she didn't want. Men like Grimtrix tended to take advantage when they knew someone was desperate. He might want something in exchange and she had little to offer. "I just want to see my husband, Grimtrix. Please."

Grimtrix looked down at the princess' tear-stricken face and let out a long, irritated sigh. "You understand what you're asking. He remembers nothing... and I suppose you're to thank for that."

Sofia bowed her head and wrung her hands together. "I did what I had to do. If I didn't send him away like that he would have been put to death."

"As though that justifies what you've done." Grimtrix retorted. "Does he even know? Underneath the spell you cast to lock his memories away, is he aware that he is the father of your children?"

"He's aware." Sofia said meekly.

Grimtrix shifted and sighed irritably once more. "I don't think you're prepared for the repercussions if you undo what has been done to him. You would be robbing him of the quiet, tranquil life he's been living for the past several months since you sent him away. He's completely unaware of his former life and all the horrors it contained. Are you sure you want to pull him out of his blissful ignorance to tell him that a son he never got to see is dead and the other-"

"I know it's not ideal." Sofia replied as steadily as she could, raising her gaze back to Grimtrix. "But I have no other choice."

"You could choose to leave here." Grimtrix said coldly. "You could go on your way and leave him happily unaware of the hellish life he left behind. It's honestly the least you could do."

Sofia stared at Grimtrix, weighing his words carefully. She knew he was right to an extent; it bordered on cruelty to pull anyone from a peaceful existence into the harsh realities of a life they once lived, especially when so few were afforded a second chance that actually seemed to amount to something far better than the life he'd left behind. "I-I know what I'm asking. I know what I would be doing to him if I told him the truth but I... I really have no other choice."

Grimtrix continued to glower at the princess, unmoving in his resolve to keep her separate from her husband. He opened his mouth to convey just exactly what he thought of her and her request but before he could vocalize a word the sound of the door opening and swiftly shutting drew his attention across the room to the entryway. "Shit..."

Sofia whirled around at the intrusion, eyes growing wide as she saw a hooded figure with his back turned to her. He was supporting himself on the door frame as he painstakingly removed his mud-caked boots. Her eyes dropped down to gaze at spindly legs far too familiar to belong to anyone other than him. Her breath caught and she watched, frozen in her spot as the figured sloughed off the slurry drenched cloak covering his form to reveal damp, bi-colored locks dangling quite a bit longer than the last time she'd laid eyes on them.

Her husband, Cedric.

"I'm sorry I'm back so soon, Master." He spoke, a slight chuckle in his voice. "I ventured a bit too far into the bog and found myself submerged. I collected a few newts but not nearly as many as you asked for. If it's not enough I'll..."

Sofia tensed as Cedric trailed off and caught her in his hazel stare. It was clear by the look of shock on his face that he hadn't expected to return to find anyone there other than Grimtrix. She hesitated a moment, unsure what to say. She quickly decided it was better to say nothing. Instead she reached for the wand that she had brought with her and raised it with a slow, quivering hand.

Grimtrix stepped forward instantly to stop the woman. He placed his hand over the princess' and clasped it tightly to lower it back down to her side. "As you can see, Icarus, we have some unexpected company."

"Icarus?" Sofia asked as she looked over the form of her husband in questioning.

"Yes, Icarus. My loyal and trusted servant." Grimtrix replied as he discretely wrenched the wand from Sofia's possession. He then turned his gaze from the princess to the man who stood before them. "Icarus, you look an absolute mess. Go clean yourself up while I see our guest to the door."

Cedric blinked in awe at the woman who was staring at him. Though he was quite certain he'd never met her before he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that had taken hold of him and struck him to his core. He wanted to speak to her but he had been given a direct command by Grimtrix and he knew better than to disobey the man's orders. He tucked his muddy locks behind one ear and took a hesitant step past the pretty young woman who was sending his heart into overdrive with her intense gaze. "As you wish, Master."

Sofia watched in disbelief as Cedric bypassed her and quickly disappeared from sight. When he was out of earshot she whipped around to face Grimtrix with a scowl. "Icarus?"

"A fitting name, don't you think?" Grimtrix said with a chuckle. "I assume you're familiar with the tale of the man who flew too close to the sun..."

"I'm aware of the story." Sofia said in annoyance. "You renamed him?"

"I very well couldn't keep calling him Cedric." Grimtrix replied with a scoff. "We're on the outskirts of Enchancia and as I'm sure you're aware, the entire kingdom is still very much on the search for him. It was a simple matter of precaution to change his name, though he has no interaction with outsiders."

Sofia stared off in the direction Cedric had disappeared to. Her stomach was swirling with nerves and making her feel nauseous. She clenched her hands at her sides, tempted to follow after him, though she could feel Grimtrix's hand wrapping around her upper arm to drag her toward the door. She looked back at the man angrily and shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

"You got what you wanted. You came to see him and now you have seen him." Grimtrix replied. "It's time for you to go."

"I'm not leaving." Sofia tugged her arm free from the sorcerer's grasp and dropped stubbornly into a nearby seat. "I'll wait, Grimtrix. I'll wait however long I need to. I'll make a scene if I have to but I will not budge from this spot until you give me time with him."

"He has a happy life here, Sofia." Grimtrix snipped. "And you want to ruin it."

"I spent over half of my life rotting in a prison cell because of that man." Sofia replied haughtily. "I'll do whatever I see fit to his life and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me. Give me time with him."

Grimtrix stared hard at Sofia as he grasped the wand he had taken from the young woman into both hands and snapped it in half. He then tossed it at her feet and turned from her. "I'll give you five minutes. Then I want you gone from here."

Sofia watched as Grimtrix retreated in the same direction as her husband. He disappeared behind the door with a slam, sending a small jolt of panic through her, though it did little more than pile on to the immense sense of panic she was already feeling.

Somehow sitting alone in the room was worse than being there with Grimtrix. The solitude meant she had time for her mind to wander and wander it did.

The past few days had been a whirlwind and she hadn't really had a moment to stop and process it all. Now sitting just outside Enchancian territory in the home of one of her greatest enemies, the reality of it all was beginning to crash down on her. Tears were stinging at the corners of her eyes and threatening to cascade down her cheeks in an unrelenting waterfall of overwhelming sorrow.

She couldn't fall apart now, she reminded herself. There would be time for that later. At the moment she needed to remain focused and do her best to stay calm in the face of the unrelenting hell she knew awaited her. She made the effort to collect her thoughts and stuff them back into the locked box she had been storing them in since this whole nightmare had started. A few deep breaths helped to bring her back to a place where she could function without completely losing her mind.

She held on to those slow, deep breaths like a lifeline.

Then the sound of a door opening set her heart to pounding and she forgot to breathe. She heard bare feet hitting the stone floor before she saw the body they were attached to. Her eyes flew up to see Cedric's face coming into view looking entirely bewildered.

Her eyes dropped to his frame, bare save for loose fitting trousers and a damp towel draped over his shoulders. He was decidedly more muscular in appearance since she had seen him last, though she supposed the work he was doing for Grimtrix was much more physically tasking than ruling over a kingdom with an iron fist.

His throat clearing brought her eyes back up to his face and she stood quickly from her seat.

"Master Grimtrix said you were hoping to meet me." Cedric spoke as he let his eyes trail over the woman's captivating features. The way she stared at him caused his heart to throb in a way he was certain he'd never experienced before and he found himself elated that she hadn't yet gone away. He took a few uncertain steps forward and reached out his hand to formally greet her. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Sofia." The woman managed to stammer as she reached out to accept her husband's hand. "Grimtrix says he calls you Icarus."

"Yes, Miss Sofia" Cedric replied with a nod as he clasped the woman's hand delicately. A warm, comforting sensation washed over him at their contact and caused his already erratic heart to beat just a little bit faster. He found himself staring at the woman, struggling to find words to speak to her. "It's... uhm... i-it's not very often that we receive visitors all the way out here in the wetlands. Are you a friend of Master Grimtrix's?"

Sofia stared up at Cedric in silence. She found it hard to speak, though she knew she couldn't allow herself to fall speechless now. There was too much on the line. She gave a quick shake of her head to answer the man's query and glanced around him, seeing that the door he had come from was left slightly ajar. It was likely that Grimtrix was on the other side listening to every word spoken between them. She kept her voice low as she spoke her next words cautiously. "I know what I'm about to say is going to sound a little strange but... I need you to come away with me."

Cedric's brow furrowed in confusion and he took a step back from the woman in shock. "What?"

"I can't explain right now. We don't have a lot of time." Sofia said, glancing back and forth between the door and her husband's face as she continued to speak in a hushed voice. "I know you're probably confused. That's okay. Everything will make sense eventually but for right now I just need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" Cedric replied with a small, good-natured laugh. "Miss Sofia, with all due respect, I-"

"Do you want to know who you really are?" Sofia pressed the man, not giving him a chance to question her. "You woke up one day with no recollection of who you are or why you're here. Don't you want to know? Or maybe you want to know about that ring on your finger... why it's there and why you can never take it off."

"Th-the ring?" Cedric asked in surprise. At the mention of the word his left hand gave a slight twitch. He glanced down at the appendage to see the silver band that he had initially awoken to find encircled around his finger. It had been there mocking him, plaguing him for the past nine months about its origin. Grimtrix had insisted to him that it was a meaningless trinket of little worth but he knew there had to have been more to it than that. Otherwise why, try as he might, could he not remove the item from his body? His eyes flickered back to the young woman's face in apprehension and he inhaled sharply, uncertain what to say and afraid to ask any questions. "I-"

"I'll tell you everything." Sofia said, holding her hand out for Cedric to take. "But you have to come with me right now. There won't be another chance. It's now or never."

Cedric looked the woman over anxiously. There was a large part of him that longed to go with her, to take in all she had to say and find out the truth about who he really was. After all, she seemed to know at least something about him; far more than he knew about himself. Perhaps she was someone from his past. It would certainly help to explain why he felt so drawn to her despite the fact that she was a virtual stranger to him.

There was only one tiny doubt tugging at him. "What about Master Grimtrix?"

"Grimtrix is not the man you think he is." Sofia warned, just above a whisper. "And he's not going to let you go with me willingly. That's why we have to leave right now, while we still can. I wish I had more time to explain everything to you but unfortunately time is scarce. I-I know I'm asking a lot of you. I just need you to trust me. Please."

Cedric watched Sofia's features as she stared up at him. There was desperation in her eyes that showed she didn't just want him to come with her, she needed him to come with her. More than that though, he had been feeling all along that he needed to go with her as well. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the room he knew his master was expecting him to return to before turning his gaze back to the woman in front of him. He took a deep breath and slipped his hand hesitantly into hers. "Where are we going?"

"We're going home."