But did her mother trick them? The letter from her mother was… shocking. The fog which clouded her mind cleared as she started stitching things together. Was she meaning to send that letter to her? That was the only way her mother could send any communication to her and why did she choose to send only this much? What was it that she was trying to convey? Did she think that by giving her a shitty piece of information, she would sway her allegiance to her Master? But…
Circe was one woman because of whom she could enter Draoidh and she trusted her a lot, but after Adrianna's letter in which it was written that it was Circe who was responsible for her kidnapping, she wished she had given Circe a worse punishment. She recalled how Circe had come to meet her mother just before they had left the palace to go to Vilinski. She had handed a rolled parchment to Adrianna, which was a map—a shorter route to the fae kingdom.
If Circe was involved then it meant that people were already stationed there for the ambush and the target was little Iona. This also meant that Circe knew Seraph and Etaya from before. She tricked her mother to send her through a different route in order to get her abducted.
She must have allowed Seraph to enter Eynsworth Palace when she was only a little child. Did that mean that Circe was keeping an eye on her? Was this all a well-planned strategy to which she fell a victim?
Iona's fists clenched hard against her sides. Not even once did Seraph tell her that Circe knew them from a long time back. She had given up herself completely to him, and he hid that information from her.
The only way Circe survived staying in Draoidh despite being a close informant of Etaya and Seraph was that she practiced necromancer magic. Steady your breath Iona, steady yourself… So many doubts crept inside her mind. She wanted answers.
They said that she could master the dark forces, but not even once Seraph allowed her to master them. He used her body as a vessel to the dark spirits, which in turn meant that she was used as a slave and not as a master. Her thoughts were interrupted when the door of the iron cell opened and the hinges groaned loudly in protest. The dense fog entered and this time the Diumbe stayed outside… still crawling… still seeking her blood…
"Do you have anything to say, Iona?" asked Seraph when he found her sitting and staring at him with blank eyes.
"I wanted to—" she started. She wanted to ask as to why he never talked about his connection with Circe and why did they target her?
"Enough!" he lashed at her. "We have to hurry up now," he said as his shadowy form appeared through the fog every now and then.
Iona frowned and her eyes narrowed. "For what?"
"We have to attack Draoidh now! Etaya was extremely dejected by your actions and has asked us to retaliate as soon as possible. So, we are going to wage war against the wizard kingdom," Seraph said with rage that manifested in fog growing denser. "You have to be in the forefront with the Diumbe. And this time if you fail… I will make sure that you are dragged to the spirit world with me. I will take you to the Land of Gaira."
"What is Land of Gaira?" she asked, feeling uneasy about it.
"The Land of Gaira consists of portals to four realms – the Dorzi, where only irredeemable immortal souls are found, the Bodak, where souls of thieves and murderers from the mortal and immortal world are imprisoned, the Efevar, where nature spirits and Fae souls are found and the Seozia, where spirits of the dark creatures reside. Your destination would be Seozia."
Iona's eyes flared wide open. Seraph was now trying to get rid of her. After all these years of serving him, he wanted to get rid of her and in such a horrifying way?
"If you don't want to land in Seozia, then you better deliver!" he said in a voice that made her hair rise on the back of her neck. He prowled closer to her. Leaning down over her face he said, "Do you know that your great-grandfather, Vikra is also in Seozia? And that wizard was notorious for his thirst for the throne. Wouldn't it be nice to be with family?" He laughed. "You will feel at home."
"When do we have to attack?" she asked, her voice very cold.
Seraph stopped laughing and studied her expressions. "Soon, maybe in a week or two."
She stared right into his yellow slits. She raised her chin and said, "I am ready."
"Good," he replied. A moment later he turned to leave and this time when he left, he didn't close the door.
Iona was free to come out. She watched the fog retreating in the darkness beyond the prison. Diumbe watched their Master going and as soon as they left, they looked at her… greedily.
---
The table was laden with the choicest of foods—meat pies, cured fish, cheese, breads, eggs and everything she loved. The Diumbe slithered over her right leg and she would pet them every now and then.
Iona had walked out of the prison right into her Master's home—a logwood cabin somewhere in the jungles. The Master said that it was specially built for her, so that she could unwind, so that she could relax. Right behind the cabin, there was a small pool where she would take a bath every morning or night. Still in her human form, she lazed around the cabin waiting for her Master to come back with his plan. Only Diumbe were her companions. Every day when she woke up in the morning, she would find the cabin well stocked. Master did it all for her.
He had said that they would attack Draoidh. Over the past three days she had been lazing, eating a lot and regaining her strength. She had pondered over all the events that took place, not just in the last few days, but in the last eight years. There was so much to reflect, but too many loopholes, too many secrets, too many things that didn't make sense.
A week later she was beginning to get bored. After taking a dip in the pool that night, she was lazing on a hammock, while munching on an apple. The cool breeze that touched her skin felt good. Suddenly she heard Diumbe screeching as if in happiness. A smile tugged her lips up and she jumped down from the hammock. Master was here. She tossed her apple behind and walked inside the cabin. But she had hardly walked a few paces when she picked up the voice of Etaya. That was new, unexpected.
"Your body is still stored in the basement of Zor'gan Palace," she said. "It is safe. Sedora is going to help you come back to life, so stop worrying. We are this close to our goal. Keep patience."
Iona stealth like a cat in the dark till she reached the entrance of the cabin. The door was closed. She could feel the dense fog inside. It was hissing, it was impatient.