Everyone present in the room looked at the source of the voice.
There were two pairs of eyes that stared at her. They looked so stunned as if an ancient secret had been revealed, which would lead to their salvation, their freedom. How could a bond be broken? Niiya held his breath. He raised his eyebrows and gave a questioning gaze. He muttered under his breath, "Could you please repeat that?"
"Yes, the bond can be broken," came the soft assurance again.
There was a pin drop silence in the room and then—
"Meet Inyanga," said Adrianna waving her hand towards her. "She is the Wizard Queen of the South." Adrianna gazed at Inyanga gently. Inyanga nodded and said a polite 'hello' to all.
"The man standing next to her is Haldir. He is my personal bodyguard," Adrianna continued.
Niiya bit his lip gently. The hope that Niiya nurtured from a long time rekindled. Then he smiled, the shine of which reached his eyes. Internally, he was already celebrating. He wanted to get out of this bond from so long that even a small ray of hope was enough to breathe life into his mundane existence.
As for the General—he was in awe of the mighty, dynamic royalty present in the room. His hopes rose as though he was shooting for the stars.
Dr. Tanaka narrowed his eyes. His heart skipped a beat. 'No, no, this can't happen,' he thought. If the bond could be broken, then all his plans would fail. And not just now, even in the future all his plans would fail because then everyone would know that the bonds made by the wizards could be broken. He thought that he had to immediately stop this secret from becoming popular. He had to nip it now.
"Oh really," he scorned. "If that is the case, then wizards are big liars. They make bonds and promises that can be broken so easily? What is the veracity of those who call themselves the witches and wizards? The powerful people who can change the world?" He stopped for a moment to notice any reaction from Adrianna but she sat there quiet like a piece of ice, not revealing a speck of what was going on inside her mind. So he continued. "So please don't make such baseless claims and get out of my house," he said blatantly.
General's spirit sank. He was beginning to get hopeful. If this would happen, he would immediately change his sides. Or better he would leave all of them to fight against each other. He was not interested in this battle anymore.
"What do you know about the wizards?" asked Haldir. He was raging with anger but he held it inside. He was controlling it a lot. This kind of insult was not acceptable.
"Breaking a bond is very subjective and not all bonds can be broken, but yes they can be made to break if you know well about them and if you have read laws related to the bonds," said Inyanga softly.
"Please explain it properly," urged Niiya.
"No, this is enough," scowled Dr. Tanaka. "Just leave, else I will call the police and file a report against all of you. We will see how you hide your identities then."
Inyanaga started laughing. She shook her head and bit her lips.
Dr. Tanaka watched her laugh with anger on his face. He perceived that she had caught his plans because she was the only one who knew how to break the bonds. He rose from his place and walked to her. "You insolent girl!" he shouted. "You dare to make a joke out of me." He raised his hand to slap her but was instantly pushed back to his place by an invisible force. He sank back on the place he was sitting magically. He tried to speak again but realized that all his body muscles had frozen.
"Sit quietly. I have had enough of you," said Haldir with wide eyes that were full of hatred.
Dr. Tanaka just sat there immobile.
Inyanga thanked Haldir and then she continued. "You see the bonds made by the witches or the wizards are subjective to the laws of those realms. In fact they are based on the laws of the realms you belong to. If a human has taken the initiative to make a promise with the wizard, then the human realm laws will govern the bond, which in this case are only your words. If a wizard initiates the bond, then laws of his land will influence the bargain."
Inyanga looked at the plate, which had fruits she hadn't seen in her realm but had only heard of them. Niiya noticed her gazing at the blueberries. He rose from his place to offer her the fruits, but suddenly the berries were already in her hands the next instant.
She chuckled slightly, a little embarrassed. She looked at Haldir as though chiding him. Niiya sat back in his place feeling a little awkward.
"Please continue," said the General, angry and impatient at this slight interruption.
"Now, every bond is different and it is not possible to break the bonds so easily. Also not many wizards can break them. Only a few who are well versed with all the laws of various realms can break it. This is because each and every aspect of the pledge is seen and then it has to be shredded one at a time."
"So does that mean that the promise that Ziu made is complicated? And who are the ones who can break it? Please take us to them," said the General eagerly. He was already shifting in his place.
Inyanga watched his edginess and replied, "As of now I only know one person who can break them."
"Who?" asked Niiya and General together.
"Me," she replied.
Niiya's mouth fell to the floor.
The hold on Dr. Tanaka drifted off. He could feel it.
"But there's a condition. You might get killed if you are not true to your intentions or your body may get severely damaged.
Dr. Tanaka stood up and protested. He yelled, "Get out of this place. Do you want to kill us?"
But the General was already sitting on his knees in front of Adrianna. "Please help me and I will help you."
Adrianna's eyes furrowed. She already had inkling that the man in front of her knew a lot of secrets. He was a man whom she wanted to use. She entered his cell. And true to what she had thought, every little part of his brain that contained information about the attack on the Wizard Realm was sealed. Yes, that was what the wizard's promise did. That information was only for the individual or for the one who made the promise. Inyanga had to open these seals by going inside the cell. It was indeed very tough.
Dr. Tanaka went to the General and pulled him to stand up. "How can you stoop so low? You are the General of the Human Army. You have all the modern warfare with you. You can defeat these creatures easily. Also didn't you hear that you might get killed? If you want to live, just flow with our previous plans."
The General freed his hand from the doctor. He growled, "Leave me." He had made up his mind.
Dr. Tanaka's hand went to his revolver.