Tension crept in Etaya's already flailing body and she knew that Anastasia had struck a chord. If Seraph went to check his body, then she had no chance of surviving the torture that Anastasia had planned for her. Yes, Etaya knew of the torment that was up and coming her way. In a low, hoarse voice, she said, "Don't give up on me so suddenly Seraph, no matter how convincing this girl sounds. She is cunning because she can sense your need to go back, but don't you know where all this is coming from? Don't you know where she stands on this and how she would gain?"
"Oh, I know where I stand," Anastasia stated. "But where do you stand?"
"Where I have always been, Anastasia," Etaya replied, turning her head towards her. Her body was now covered with so much blood that her skin was becoming cold due to blood loss. She looked at Seraph with self-pity in her eyes. "But I would never expect my love, my husband, to give up on me. If I was there in your place Seraph, I would have never given up."
Anastasia shook her head as a chuckle escaped her mouth. "Is this self-pity another scheme to get on the good sides of the man who loved you and the man whom you loved to betray?"
The way Anastasia spoke it was as if she knew Etaya inside out and how badly she manipulated people around her for her benefit and the man who was most affected by it was her husband.
"I love my husband more than anything!" Etaya retorted. "Why would I betray him?" Panic was apparent in her voice. She dreaded that if he believed Anastasia, it would be a disaster.
"Then why did you move his body to Vilinski, when you knew that he wanted it to be in his home—Zor'gan?" asked Anastasia as she pressed her sword in the middle of her neck. More wisps of clouds escaped from her body, this time with a tinge of red.
Pain made her go insane. The magic that was leaving her was like being scrapped from her veins, from her body. Magic was something that filled the gaps of immortal life, and now it was disappearing, leaving gaping holes in the cracks. She screamed so loud that many soldiers—foe and friends—stopped and gazed at her.
"You lie!" Etaya hissed after coming back to senses. "You lie. You don't know a fuck about him. You are misguiding him to gain time."
"Am I now?" Anastasia pressed her sword further inside and Etaya yelled out curses. Anastasia lifted her eyelashes as she lowered her chin. "Go to the tunnel next to her chamber to find out about your body," she addressed Seraph. "Of what is left of it."
Seraph froze. The fog around him froze at the information, something so unexpected. "What do you mean?" he asked in a voice so low, so ghostly, so disembodied. "My body— my body is—"
"I mean what I say. It was discovered by none other than Iona."
It seemed as if the fog around him disintegrated a little and he didn't want to hear what was coming next. He glided back, shrinking in size.
"Iona entered my father's study."
"Seeee?" Etaya yelped. "She is speaking a lie. I told you! No one can enter Ian's study. Strong spells ward off people from entering it. How could she enter?"
"Those spells are meant to keep you away from it and keep all those who were his enemies. Those spells were meant to keep the demons out of his study, and he must have sensed that you were the demon in the palace. He must have sensed or seen Seraph's body in the sarcophagus," Anastasia countered. "The spells must have detected Iona's purpose." She turned her head over her shoulder to look at the swirls of darkness. "Iona entered the study because at that time she was not under the influence of Diumbe, because at that time she came to know that you used her as a tool against her parents, her brother and her kingdom! She did what she could to take her revenge. And guess what she did?"
"Seraph, go away from here! Take me with you now," Etaya shouted. "This girl is vicious. She is only deceiving you to buy time. She knows that you are an integral part of this mission and so she is sowing the seeds of mistrust. Why don't you understand that she is fabricating it all?" Etaya knew that her husband would never be able to enter the tunnel where the sarcophagus was. She had to manipulate him. "Ian's study is covered with very strong spells. You would be toasted if you as much as tried to go near it. Why do you think I have never allowed you to go there, ever?" And she hated Iona. The bitch was so slimy and sneaky? If she ever got her hands on Iona again, she would snap her head.
As if reading her mind, Anastasia tilted her head and said, "Aren't you an idiot or your mind is addled? Didn't you hear what I said a while back? It was you who brought his body to Vilinski and put it in the coffer." She looked at Seraph and said, "How do you think she did that? Hmm?"
Silence and shock flitted through the fog. It rippled as if shuddering.
"There is a door from her bedchamber that leads to the tunnel. Iona discovered it. And the best part—she called her Diumbe. When the Diumbe saw your body, they devoured it. They ate the skin, the flesh and the bones. They chewed until Iona decided that some of it should be left for you to witness," said Anastasia. She tipped her head back as a giggle came out of her throat. "This was her revenge from the man who ruined her life, who said that he would give her better education but threw her to the dark forces. Iona is not redeemable now."
Thorns of panic and dread gripped him. A shriek, a howl, a wail so loud and painful emanated from the fog that it could make your ears bleed. The sound of the spirit that he had become was the sound of one who cried but had no tears. He had become so dark that an exclamation would have brought more pain to him. He wailed, the sound so child-like as if calling for rescue.
Through the fog and mist he looked at the dark swirls of energy that seemed to slow down. "Ionaaa…" he called her. The swirling completely stopped. She emerged from there, panting, chest heaving and obsidian skin shattered at many places. She looked broken, abandoned and so… beaten.
"Yes Masterrr," she said and bowed.
Ileus was standing behind her looking tired, blood sprayed on his brows, and armor. Dmitri, Kaizan and Darla stood beside him. And everyone was breathless.
Seraph wanted to slide to her, rip her throat off. His tentacles moved slowly towards her. "You tricked meee…"
Iona stood there silently and cocked her head as if asking a question to him.
"Did you discoverrr my body in the tunnel in a cofferrr?"