73 Plans
“Did the Crown Prince return to Lavinya?” Romulus, the alpha of the Atkinson clan, asked his informant.
The informant bowed to the alpha and delivered the message that he had brought from the capital, “Yes, Alpha. He set off for Lavinya today.”
Romulus was counted among the powerful alphas of the new generation. Though he was in his early twenties, he was admired by many for being one of the most capable alphas to be leading a pack.
The tall man had short light brown hair, thick brows, dark brown irises, a button nose, and a chiseled jawline. His looks alone gave off an intimidating vibe. And even when he was calm, he would emanate a powerful aura.
At the moment, Romulus was admiring the beautiful bougainvillea flower in his garden. He asked the informant again, “Any other interesting news related to the new wolf?”
The informant proudly puffed his chest and replied with a smile on his face, “I happened to see a messenger leaving for the forbidden land. And when I poked around, I got to know that it was the Crown Prince who sent the letter.”
Romulus diverted his gaze from the flower to the informant. His eyes had a hint of curiosity in them. “By forbidden land, do you mean Sorvando?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Romulus raised his brows in delight. “Interesting! And why would a newly turned wolf send a letter there? Is he planning something amusing?”
.....
The informant smiled broadly and then revealed what he had found out, “I heard that Orsenia’s Princess was sent to Sorvando as a tribute bride. Since our Crown Prince is on good terms with the Crown Prince of Orsenia, he might have sent the congratulatory letter to his friend’s sister.”
“A congratulatory letter, huh?” Romulus nodded his head. However, he couldn’t quite believe that it was as simple as that.
“Does he not know yet what Sorvando’s tall walls hide?” the alpha asked the informant again.
However, this time, the informant disappointed the alpha, “I’m afraid I don’t have the answer, Alpha.”
Romulus inhaled the sweet fragrance of red flower and ordered, “Find the answers, Lorenzo. Dig deeper. And I also need to know everything that Everard does, what he eats, how he thinks, and every little detail about him.”
The informant understood what his next task was. So he bowed to the alpha and said before leaving, “I will prepare to leave for Lavinya.”
Romulus gave a nod and dismissed Lorenzo.
And when he was alone in his garden, he whimsically smirked and thought, ‘It’s about time that I start to get closer to the future King.’
—
‘It’s about time I think of an escape plan,’ Everard thought to himself as he stared outside the window of his carriage.
‘If my father sends people to assist me in my transformation the next month, then I won’t be able to get inside Sorvando. They will most probably chain me down in some desolate location. I can’t let that happen.’
He clenched his jaw and thought resolutely, ‘I need to see Anastasia again. And I need to talk to her privately.’
Suddenly, several worry lines appeared on Everard’s face. ‘I specifically asked her to write back to me. And I even stayed back in Xanmar, thinking she might send the letter there. But the letter never came.’
He sighed and thought, ‘If the letter hasn’t arrived in Lavinya as well, then I need to understand that either the letter never reached her. Or she might be in real danger.’
Everard closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand. A beautiful image of Anastasia smiling at him appeared in his mind. ‘Anna... please hang on until the next full moon. I will rescue you from that monster’s claws.’
And he silently prayed, ‘I hope that I won’t be too late by then.’
—
Back in Sorvando, Anastasia had completely forgotten that she had yet to send a reply letter to Everard. After all the drama that followed after receiving the letter from him, it completely escaped her mind.
And she was now hatching the plans of her own.
She was sitting at the table in her antechamber to have her breakfast. However, after Zenon left the room, her mind was consumed by all the information that he had provided her.
And although Zenon had explained everything to her regarding how the vampires got their daily doses of blood, she still wanted to make it sure with her own eyes.
Her eyes suddenly sparkled when she got an idea. ‘Right! Aunt Edith must have blood servants, right? I think I should give her a visit. I want to know if whatever Zenon said was the truth.’
But then she frowned and thought, ‘But I doubt that Aunt Edith would treat them poorly. She wouldn’t represent all the vampires.’
She took a deep breath in and thought for a while.
In the end, she decided to visit Caspian’s aunt anyway.
‘Even if the blood servants in her mansion are treated well, those servants might know how the others in their circle are getting treated by their masters.’
Keeping that in mind, Anastasia finished her breakfast.
She got up from her chair and walked towards the door while mumbling to herself, “Now let’s find Caspian and ask him to prepare the carriage for me.”
However, she suddenly got cold feet. She furrowed her brows and shook her head.
‘I think I should take it slow. If I ask him that I want to visit Aunt Edith right after discovering about the dungeon then he might think that I am trying to run away or something. He is very quick to assume things.’
“Let’s just head to the library for now. But where’s Tilla anyway? She didn’t get herself into another trouble now, did she?”
Anastasia sighed because it had been quite a while since Tilla had left the room, saying she would get a glass of water.
‘She seemed quite shaken by today’s incident. I better ask her to get some rest for today when she comes back.’
Anastasia was pacing back and forth in her antechamber when she heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she asked, thinking it was Tilla.
However, she saw a vampire she didn’t recognize at her door.
That vampire bowed to the Queen and greeted her, “Good morning, Your Majesty. I am Francis, the Royal Messenger. I’ve brought an invitation letter from Lady Edith.”
Anastasia looked delighted to hear that. She took the letter from him and thanked him.
After the messenger left, Anastasia opened the letter and read it. And to her luck, Lady Edith had invited her for lunch in her mansion today.
Anastasia smiled and muttered happily, “I think Lady Luck is smiling on me today. It would be rude to reject an invitation from her, right? Now, let’s find my husband.”
“Where could he be at this hour though? In the throne hall or in his study? I guess I will have to check both the places.”
Anastasia stepped out of her chamber to find Tilla in the corridor. She was hurrying towards the chamber with a tray in her hand.
“Leave the water in my room and follow me, Tilla,” Anastasia stood in the corridor and ordered her handmaid.
“We are going somewhere?” Tilla asked after catching up with Anastasia.
Anastasia smiled and nodded, “Let’s go on a little trip.”
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