The entire royal halls bustled with guests who were overjoyed and drunk on their wine.
The emperor smiled as he gazed at them and glanced at Daphne, only to see a sad expression on her face.
Today was her marriage with prince Yuri, and she was so disheartened and devastated about it.
A slight sigh exited his nose, and as much as he wouldn't have wanted to do this and make her happy, he knew that he had to, for the sake of that alliance.
He returned his gaze to the guest and allowed the smile to reappear on his face.
A deep breath fled Daphne's throat, and she glanced to the side to look at Luthiel, who was standing beside William.
Her heart ached heavily within her, and knowing very well that nothing could stop this wedding today, she inhaled and exhaled, averting her gaze from him.
Luthiel, who obviously noticed her gaze on him, fluttered his lashes, finding himself suddenly feeling some sort of pity for her.
Yennefer's words from that day rang in his ears, and he tightly balled his face, now kind of realizing that he may have hurt her further with his words.
He shook his head, and a deep frown suddenly settled in between his brows when he saw none other than Ayana, who was seated beside her brother, suddenly stand up and make her way out of the hall.
His instincts, which kick in when a bad thing is about to transpire, hit him, and he stared instantly at her disappearing back.
…..
Ayana walked out of the hall and breathed heavily to calm herself down.
She honestly can't help but be devastated by the fact that she can't stop thinking of what would happen to them.
Sure, Damon has assured her, but she still feels scared! She knows what the elders are capable of, and she honestly doesn't want to face the consequences that would befall them.
Her hands tightly gripped her dress, and as though having made up her mind, she walked further away from the royal hall and proceeded into the castle building to make her way up the flight of stairs.
She avoided eye contact with the maids, and once she had arrived on the first floor, she proceeded towards Yennefer's room.
She glanced around to make sure that no one else was coming to the side and allowed a gentle smile to appear on her face.
She strolled towards the guards and stood before them.
"Hello," She said to them with a blooming smile on her face, and they shifted their gazes to her; however, the instant their eyes met with hers, her iris turned completely white in color, instantly rendering the guards unconscious and collapsing to the floor.
She walked over them and pushed the door open.
She stepped inside and looked around, ready to knock out anyone she saw unconscious.
But on hearing voices coming from the washroom, she realized that the maids were currently giving Yennefer a bath.
A smile formed on her face, knowing this was her only opportunity to do this without causing a ruckus.
She quickly hurried towards the wall, where she was feeling the energy coming from, and placed her hand on it.
She began to move, and once she arrived near the sword rack, the energy became even more clear.
"It's behind this." She glanced at the sword rack, and not wanting to make any noises while pushing it out of the way, she used her magic to lift it, then carefully put it down on the floor, away frok the wall.
"Whew." She exhaled a breath of relief, and knowing that the doors were definitely invisible, having been in a situation like this before, she placed her hand on the wall and made the door and its handle visible before her eyes.
An excited smile formed on her face, and without wasting any more time, she pushed the door open and walked in.
It shut behind her, and out of nowhere, Damian, who had been standing there all along, watching her, tilted his head to the side, having never seen Ayana before.
"Hmm. I wonder who she is."
He said to himself and turned to look at the washroom, where Yennefer and the maids were still inside.
"I mean, it's none of my business, is it?" He shrugged and walked to sit down on the chair at the table.
...….
Ayana proceeded further down the stairs.
She arrived at the same door that Yennefer had arrived at before and walked towards the chain.
She grabbed it and it immediately burned her hands, causing her to quickly take a step with her heart racing rapidly.
"A pure spell!" she exclaimed, knowing that as the accursed sorceress that she is, she couldn't go near pure magic. It hurts her.
Deep breaths to calm herself down exited from her nose, and she quickly shut her eyes.
She concentrated deeply, then slowly began to transfer her energy to the chains, hoping that her cursed energy would clash with the other magic, which would in the end create an unwanted reaction, therefore bursting the chain apart.
And just like she had expected, it did work, bursting the chains into smithereens.
A haughty smile formed on her face as she opened the door.
She strolled into the room and looked inside to see that the whole place was dark.
She effortlessly clapped her hands, and every single torch within the room lit up, letting her take in the view before her.
"Wonderful!!" She exclaimed the moment her eyes spotted what she was looking for.
It was an object that looked like a lamp with ancient carvings on its body.
She immediately rushed towards the object and grabbed it, then lifted it to look at it.
"It's actually it!" A look of joy filled her face, and she immediately recalled what the elders had said to her.
[Once you get a hold of the lamp, scratch it three times and release the djinn.]
Her eyes glowed as she thought, and slowly, she scratched the body of the lamp, specifically where the ancient languages were written, and watched as the lamp slowly began to glow, causing her to instantly go dormant.