Chapter 155: Manipulation

After a long time, Etaya and Seraph came out. They called the servants in. 

"We will have breakfast in the bedchamber," said Seraph. 

"Yes, m'lord," said Jor'gas. 

From the corner of her eyes, Anastasia glanced at Etaya. She was extremely exhausted and annoyed as hell. Her skin was flushed. She was lying in the bed, tucked beneath the sheets. Her clothes were still lying on the couch. On the other hand, Seraph looked refreshed. He had a wide smile on his face. And Anastasia dared not look below his torso. The feeling was… disgusting. 

They exited, satisfied. 

"When is the wedding?" asked Anastasia. 

"In the evening," Jor'gas replied, as they hurried to the kitchen. 

"Are many people invited?" 

Jor'gas rolled her eyes. "The king has a large number of enemies. Who would attend the wedding of his younger brother? Queen Og'drath has been constantly asking him to make allies considering that he is alone, but the man is just too arrogant!" 

They walked through the side corridors of the throne room and soon reached the kitchen. Jor'gas became busy with telling the cooks to spread out a tray for the prince and princess, which she and Anastasia would take back. While the cooks immediately started to arrange food for the royal couple on a trolley, Anastasia stood in a corner and watched them. The demon cooks were meticulous. There were guards standing on every entrance of the large kitchen. About thirty cooks were engaged at a time to deal with constant demands of the palace. 

From the looks of it, it seemed that Zor'gan was a thriving economy. Perhaps it was a reason why Kar'den didn't want to find allies. So what was it that would sway Kar'den? Anastasia knew for certain that Seraph was a content demon, hardly bothered about ruling the kingdom, happy being just the prince. It would take Etaya a lot to convince him to go against Kar'den. So what was her plan going to be? 

Anastasia couldn't help thinking about Theordir. If the elf king knew about this clue, why didn't he tell her about it back then? Or was it that he just had inkling? There was something she was supposed to know, something about Etaya or about Seraph in order to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Though the things were confusing, Anastasia was determined to find out about them and at the same time deal with Etaya's whims. 

A shriek sounded and her chain of thoughts broke. Jor'gas was screaming. Standing in the center of the kitchen, she had dropped something on her feet and was now dancing on one foot. Before Anastasia could even reach her, the chief cook rushed to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to a sitting position on the counter. Jor'gas stopped screaming as she bit her lip and looked away. Was she blushing? Her gray skin was tinged crimson. Anastasia narrowed her eyes and then a faint smile appeared on her lips. 

"How did you manage that, Jor'gas?" she asked, watching the chief cook gently applying a thin paste of flour on her feet. Almost all the guards had come to see what had happened. When they realized that it was just a small accident, they resumed their position. 

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"I— I dropped a hot la— ladle on my foot," she murmured. 

"In that case you better stay here and I will go to serve food to the prince and princess," Anastasia offered. 

"That would be better," the chief cook muttered. 

Soon after, Anastasia was on her way to the west wing, but not without tasting the food herself. It was a long walk back. The guards allowed her in and when she entered the antechamber, she froze. Etaya was shouting at Seraph. The door of the main bedroom was open and she could easily hear them. 

"You promised me, Seraph!" Etaya yelled. "You said that you would help me. You will give me your men!" 

"Come here, Etaya," Seraph said, exasperatedly. "You are too worked up. You will not look nice for the wedding if you are so stressed." 

"My stress depends on you. You have to deliver your promise," she snapped. "I want men who would attack Ian. My mother is giving him an unnecessary advantage of being the male heir. So what if he is older to me? She is going to crown him as the king in the upcoming coronation ceremony." Etaya paced the room. "This cannot happen. I am an equal heir and I will snatch what is not given to me, what I desire," she said in a menacing tone. 

Anastasia's mind became numb and her knees wobbled with the shock. So this was what Etaya was planning. She was using Seraph. Didn't he see it clearly? Was he so blind to her manipulation? Anastasia remembered what Jor'gas told her—Etaya wanted Seraph to demand his lands from Kar'den. Since that wasn't happening, she was goading him to attack her brother? She pressed her hands on her mouth to stop the stunned scream. The woman's depravity had no limit.

"Etaya, what is the point of discussing it today?" Seraph said in an uneasy voice. "Please come to me. You have my unconditional support." He surrendered.

"I am looking for more. Do you know I risked my life running with you and coming to Zor'gan? My brother must have already sent his people around the Lore to find me. He must be feeling guilty as hell for not being able to protect me. I want to take advantage of his guilt, of his sorrow. If we strike him now, my mother is going to get the message." She said as she continued to pace the room. "You have to—" 

"Okay!" Seraph exclaimed. "I will give you my men. Now will you come here?" 

When Anastasia heard her climbing back in the bed, she smoothed her hair, fixed her expressions and then knocked on the door. "Breakfast, m'lord." 

"Come in!" His voice boomed. 

When she rolled the trophy in the bedroom, she found Etaya staring at her. She was on the bed, beneath the sheets. 

"Where is the other one?" Etaya asked with disdain. "And if the food isn't hot, you know what I will do!" 

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