"The queen of Ixoviya has come up with a game of death to torture her daughter-in-law and get rid of her. The prize of the competition is her son, Daryn. He is the prince of Ixoviya. Once Dolgra wins, which I am sure she will, she would marry Daryn and that would divert her attention. That would also be one less heir to Zor'gan. And if she dies, nothing better than that," said Etaya coldly and shrugged. 

Maple licked her dry lips. Her mother was the queen of schemes. Her mind worked overtime only to cater to her ambitions. "What should we do now?" she said, feeling miserable for having failed the mission. Anastasia married Ileus—it was something so shocking that she didn't know how to undo it. On top of all the tension, she was suffering from immense pain. 

"First, we are going to get your wings unshackled by the Elders. Once that is done, you have to go back to find her and get her back to Vilinski," said Etaya. 

In the next one hour, the General of the Army created a portal for them in the palace. Etaya had made Maple wear a cloak to hide her wings. 

The Elders used their magic to unshackle her wings but warned her that her wings would never be the same. She wouldn't be able to fly as she could. 

Maple came back with even more pain because now every time she moved her wings, they hurt. It took almost a week for her to recover a little after the healers in the palace helped her and tended to her every minute of the day. The horizontal burn in her wings couldn't be healed completely. The healers added some appendages for her to aid in flying, but they weren't too effective. For the fear that her identity would be exposed in the kingdom, they kept her in her bedroom all the time. Her handmaiden was killed and the healers were given the warning that if her identity were revealed, they would meet the same end. The tension in the palace was overwhelming. Aed Ruad increased the guards around her bedroom and prohibited anyone to enter it except the healers and Nyles. 

Nyles had healed and she was given the charge of being Maple's handmaiden. All the while she was with Maple, she filled her with information about Ileus and Anastasia. And every time she did that, Maple only got all the more infuriated. 

"I will kill her, Nyles, I will kill her," said Maple as she stared at the ceiling. 

"But what about her marriage to the crown prince, m'lady?" Nyles asked innocently even though she also wanted to kill Anastasia. 

"He doesn't care about me. This is for sure, Nyles. All he cares about is the throne. Why should I think about him?" 

Nyles chuckled. She wiped her spread out wings with a healing potion softly. "M'lady, I think that once Anastasia is eliminated, Ileus will follow her. And if the crown prince is eliminated, you will be automatically made the queen of Vilinski." 

"No, for that you have to marry the heir."

"You will have to find a way to bend that rule," Nyles said in a mysterious way. 

The conversation got Maple into thinking—thinking on how to kill Aed Ruad and then get the throne. A wicked smile spread on her lips. "We will see." 

After Nyles was thrown back into Vilinski along with her lover Ráild, anger was simmering in her slowly. It had taken the shape of fiery flames, which wanted to consume Anastasia. She had dreamt of marrying Ráild and entering a noble family, but the weak princess ruined her plans. After so many years things were coming to such a lovely finale. Ráild had stopped talking to her because she had failed to bring Anastasia back, because she was of no use to him now. She had to take revenge from him too and her only hope for that was to cling on to Maple. 

For the entire day, the two talked and made plans. Nyles went to the library to get books on the rules of the kingdom. Maple devoured those books. In the end, when Nyles retired to her room, at night Etaya visited her. Shocked by her sudden entry, Maple shut her book and placed it near her bed.

Etaya feigned ignorance. "How are you feeling, Maple?" she asked, sitting at the edge of the bed. "It's been a week and we have to find Anastasia." 

"I am feeling much better, Mother," she replied. 

"Then you should prepare to leave soon." 

"Do we have any news about her whereabouts?" She knew that her mother must be calculating her hundredth move by now. 

Etaya smiled. "I strongly believe that she is Yelgra because that's where Ileus was. My spies told me that he was neither at Draoidh nor at Silver Vales." She rose to her feet and walked to the window that was closed. Snow had piled on its ridge. "Why aren't they in either of the kingdoms? And what is even more interesting is that no one knows about their marriage. There are no celebrations. This means that they are hiding." 

"Or probably just waiting for the right time to reveal it, which could be any day?" Maple pointed, hoping this was not true. 

Etaya laughed. "Ileus' marriage to Anastasia is going to be the most explosive news of the Lore. Why would he hide? Think, Maple, think." 

Maple gulped. "I don't know…" 

Etaya walked back to her. She looked at the book near the pillow and remarked, "That is why you can't become the ruler of any kingdom. You don't have enough brains. You are a dimwit… sadly. And those books aren't going to help you with your ambitions!" 

Maple flushed a red. Her mother had guessed the reason but Maple masked her anxiety. "Then why don't you tell, Mother? After all, you are a master of con!" 

Etaya glared at her but her expressions softened soon. She said, "Your brother had attacked Silver Vales and Draoidh twice. Why would those kingdoms think favorably about the heir of Vilinski? He carried all those battles under Anastasia's name." 

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