The queen cried out as one undead ripped off its arm and hurled it at the queen. The arm grabbed onto her leg. Dirik, who was carrying the queen, quickly cut it off. It gave Meera the signal to fly even higher and faster.

She was burning through Mana. She would've been concerned if not for the Mana potions in her Dragon Hoard Belt. The others were hanging onto their chakrams just fine. The only one she was worried about was Tekton. She didn't know when he might let go of his, drop down to the forest, and take on the undead army single-handedly.

The sun had risen well above the tree line, and she could only imagine what they looked like to the guardsmen on the city wall. It was in sight, though still some distance off, but it was visible to Meera's enhanced eyes. Any archer worth his salt would've picked them up by now.

She wondered if she should lower them to the forest floor and run the rest of the way. But the undead were right beneath them. Any time they wasted on getting down, the undead would use that time to rip into them.

"Meera, put us down once we're out of the forest," Melas commanded.

"You sure?" Meera asked.

"We'll buy you some time. I have a feeling that these undead would try to smash the Gateway Mirror if we let them get anywhere close to it."

It didn't take them long to reach the forest's end. Meera gave one final burst, creating distance between them and the horde. She deposited the Wardens on the ground.

"Don't try to be heroes," Meera called. "Hold them off for a few minutes, then run for it."

"We'll be fine," Tekton grinned. He looked like he finally had what he wanted.

"Brison, you can come with me," Meera said.

"My place is here," he replied with a smile. "What sort of a Keeper of Records would I be if I didn't stay to record the heroic deeds of my brothers and sisters? This will be one to remember."

"Once you're done here, meet us at Tearsfell Prison," Dirik called. "We can figure out the next steps from there."

"I'll make sure you get the best reward for all you've done for me," the queen said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Melas replied.

"Please come," Meera said. "Don't be stubborn idiots and say that you like to work alone or other such nonsense."

"Thanks," Lexa said. "But we—"

She never got to finish her sentence as the undead army burst out of the forest. From where she was, as her sight was unhindered by the trees, she saw the breadth of the undead army. Her breath caught in her throat. There were thousands of undead monstrosities. All manners of beasts—wolves, foxes, monkeys, squirrels, and everything in between. The worst was the jumbled-together humans whose extremities didn't match each other.

"Meera, we need to go," Dirik called urgently.

"Yes, let's go." As much as Meera hated leaving his new friends to fight this evil alone, she had a duty to her brother. She had to find him before it got too late. She shot off towards the Gateway Mirror.

The soldiers stationed there were more than aware of the shambling undead pouring out of the forest of Pegonia. Luckily for them, the few people who had lined up to use the mirror dissipated and ran for the protection of the city walls upon seeing this new threat. Meera aimed directly for the mirror at top speed.

Some soldiers cried out as she flew over their heads. Others recognized the queen and pointed to her with wide eyes. She hoped that would make their time easier. She landed beside the mirror and plopped down three Mirror Tower Shields, covering them fully to stop any unwanted interference.

"Go," Meera hurried them.

Dirik placed the palm of the queen on the mirror. "Your Majesty, please select Tearsfell Prison."

She nodded. Her whole form was bent forward. Meera feared she would tip over if Dirik let go of her. She didn't know what she selected as the mirrors prevented anyone from seeing another person's selection unless they, too, had their palm on the mirror. She hoped she had enough Mana remaining after her last stand with the Mistblades.

The mirror became translucent like it did when someone had made their selection. Nisaya stepped into the mirror. Dirik didn't waste a second to place his palm on the mirror, and that was a good thing, too, as the soldiers had started bashing on Meera's shields. Thanks to the shield's strength, it held. Maybe the soldiers were not using their strongest attacks, or the soldiers were weak.

Dirik nodded to her. "See you on the other side."

Meera returned the nod, and he stepped through the mirror. The mirror was ready when the first cracks in her shield started to form, which were quickly turning into major ones, resulting in a big chunk falling out. She slammed her hand down on the mirror, selected Tearsfell Prison, and stepped through the mirror just as the shield on her right shattered.

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She emerged into an unexpected scene and place. Wounded soldiers of Narikas' armies—the Steel Sentinels and Shadow Vanguard, lay everywhere, nursing their wounds. The Shadow Scribes were going about healing them one by one. The Gateway Mirror itself had been pulled inside the walls of the fortress, and that was not all.

The mirror had been plopped inside a giant cage. Meera could see why they did that—to prevent any assassin from inadvertently gaining entry into the fortress and doing nefarious deeds. Three Phoenix Protectors stood guard outside the cage.

"This is your queen!" Dirik barked. He had one of her arms over his shoulder, helping her stand.

The Blazers squinted at the withered woman, and one of them gasped and fell to a knee. "Your Majesty." The two followed his example.

“Rise,” Nisaya said weakly. "Where is my husband?"

"He is with Prince Narikas in his throne room, planning the next phase of the war," replied the one who had bowed first.

"I see," Nisaya nodded. "Let me through."

He fished out the key hurriedly and opened the door. Dirik and Nisaya were allowed to leave easily, but they stopped Meera.

"We know who you are, Varshan," the Blazer said.

Meera rolled her eyes. Not this again.

"You're not going anywhere," said the second. "We have order to—"

"She's with me," Nisaya said.

"B-But Your Majesty, the king ordered us to throw her in the dungeons if she ever returned without the Crown Prince."

"I'm in her debt for getting here. I won't begin to repay that by throwing her in the dungeons," the queen replied. Her gaze was ice. The Blazers could do nothing but look away.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

Meera flashed them big smiles as she walked past them to join Dirik and the queen. They had walked to the fortress's gates when Brison stepped out of the Gateway Mirror, followed by Melas—in his human form and the rest of the Wardens.

Lexa squinted as she took in her surroundings and waved when she saw Meera. "Looks like we took you up on that offer, though this place doesn't look much better than the one we left behind."

Meera couldn't help but grin. "How are you guys here so soon? Don't tell me Melas went rage mode and killed them all by himself?"

Melas crossed his arms. "I'm right here."

"They're with me," Meera said to the Blazers as she walked back to the cage.

"We don't take orders from you," the Blazer said through gritted teeth.

"You want me to get the queen back here? I'm sure she'll be happy to address your concerns."

The Blazer grumbled about Varshans not being better than pigs, but Meera let that pass as she wasn't a Varshan. And he unlocked the gate and let the Wardens out, giving them all the stink eye, though they did a double take when Pallas walked out and looked down on them arrogantly. It was the exact reaction Meera had when she saw him for the first time. If they only knew how he must've been chomping at the bits to ask about their class and skills.

"How are you here so fast?" Meera asked again.

"Let's get away to somewhere quiet first," Melas said, then looked to the Shade. "Dirik, you take Her Majesty inside. We'll be right behind you."

"Okay. Let me know if you need any help, and please don't start a fight with anyone," Dirik pleaded.

Melas chuckled. "Can't make any promises on that front."

Dirik shook his head and moved on. As soon as Dirik was out of sight, Melas walked a few paces to avoid the Blazers listening in.

"Something is terribly wrong, Meera," Melas said. "We shouldn't have brought the queen here without questioning her first."

Meera frowned. "Questioning her about what?"

"What if the Heart succeeded in getting what it wanted," Brison said. "Because as soon as you three left through the mirror, all the undead simply dropped dead, including the summoner."

Meera's eyes widened. "What?"

"This could only mean one thing…the spirit of Doromar was never in the Summoner. It was in someone else."

"The Queen…" Meera looked around and saw all the injured, and her talk with Hilnoa about Doromar taking control of all the dead of the war flashed to the forefront of her mind. "You, Blazer, was there a battle here recently?"

"Why do I have to answer to you?"

Meera gritted her teeth and was ready to knock some sense into him when Melas grew into his enraged form. He now stood eight feet tall, even taller than Pallas by a foot.

"We would really appreciate it," Pallas said, crossing his arms. "My brother can't control his anger when he's like this, so I suggest you answer all our questions as swiftly as you can."

All eyes in the courtyard turned towards them. The Blazers gulped and looked at each other for strength, but they were equally scared.

[Phoenix Protector – Level 209]

[Phoenix Protector – Level 205]

[Phoenix Protector – Level 203]

Meera almost laughed at their levels. She figured she alone could take them, and they were facing five people who were past level 300.

"Y-Yes, there had been a battle here two days ago," the Blazer replied. "King Draros has pushed through the kingdom at lightning speed and reached here by destroying any force we sent his way."

"Damn," Tekton said. "That man is a monster on the battlefield."

Meera cursed under her breath and quickly handed out a chakram to each of them.

"We're not taking the stairs?" Pallas asked with a frown.

"It would take too long," Meera replied. "Besides, it would break tradition." She looked to the Blazers. "I'm going to fly to Narikas' window, make sure any arrow doesn't come my way."

Without confirming if they understood. Meera shot off the ground with her friends. There was some finger-pointing and some arrows pointed their way, but they didn't get the time to shoot as Meera landed on the window and bashed her fist as a way of knocking, but it only took two knocks before the window opened.

"Do you hate the stairs that much?" Narikas smiled, but his smile dissipated when he saw the Wardens. "Who are they?"

"My friends," Meera replied. She was thankful that Narikas looked the same as she had last seen him. Only half his face was covered in scales, and his white hair remained to that side alone. "I tell you about them later. There is a bigger concern. The queen is here, and she might be possessed—"

Meera stopped, remembering that his armor had asked her to bring the Heart to it.

"Is the queen here yet?" Meera asked.

"The queen?" Narikas frowned.

The door to the room opened, and they both looked at the door as Dirik and Nisaya walked in. As they did, Nisaya removed her arm from Dirik's shoulder and walked upright. All the fatigue seemingly evaporated instantly.

"My love," Rokibor moved around the big table with a huge map and went to his wife, arms outstretched. "Did it work?"

Nisaya smiled as her eyes glowed red. "Oh, yes, it did."