Meera zoomed in on all three dragons. Even being as high up in the air as they were, she could tell they were not dragonlings. Or if they were, they were definitely in their teens. She used Identify on all of them.

[Sootscale Dragonling – Level ???]

[Sootscale Dragonling – Level ???]

[Sootscale Dragon – Level ???]

That Sootscale Dragon had a mean look about it. Its scales had many scratches, some bent, and a couple were even missing, but if that was the parent of the one Meera had just killed, she did not want to face it.

"If you're done ogling at them, I suggest we move on," the woman said. Her voice sounded familiar, but the accent was like the girl's, so Meera doubted she knew her.

"You know where to go?" Meera asked.

"I do."

Meera squinted. She could feel something was off about her. Maybe it was that she had the lower half of her face covered. "Can I trust you?"

The woman snorted. "Any human who has tried to work with dragons has ended up in their bellies."

"I know her," Verna said. "Her name's Rina. She's known around my camp. Please, we must go. They're almost here."

Meera didn't need to be told twice. They were descending at full tilt as if to crash onto the street where the corpse of the dragonling still burned.

"Lead the way."

Meera had half a mind to leave Onyx behind as a distraction, but if they could get out of there without being noticed, that would be all the better.

"This way, dearies," Rina said, and again, Meera felt oddly familiar about that.

She plunged into the dark building where Verna had hidden. They didn't have to wander in the dark for long, as the masked woman lit a torch once they were a little farther in. The building's inside was worse than its outside, with desks and chairs strewn about. The ground was littered with books, scrolls, and loose papers. Most of it was burned, but a lot of it was intact. It felt like a library or could've been a city office.

They had taken a few steps in when the ground shook behind them. The three dragons must have landed outside. Not shortly after, Meera heard a loud wail, which made the paper shake on the ground and gave her the strong urge to rip off her Gem of Echoes as her eardrums were about to burst.

"That must be the mother," Rina whispered.

Oh no…

"Come along, and try not to make too much noise," she said. "Dragons have excellent hearing, on top smell and sight."

They tip-toed their way around the ruined building. Verna clutched her bag. The girl was surprisingly brave, considering the danger that waited for them just outside. Meanwhile, Meera was still perplexed as to why the dragons were attacking the city in the first place.

Do they think Neel is still here, or is it just retribution in general?

They moved further in. This was a long building, as per the looks of things. Even in the scant lighting, Meera could see the end was some distance away, maybe about thirty meters. This was hands down the biggest building she had seen ever since she got here, aside from Tearsfell Prison.

The dragons roared outside, making the building rattle, and dust fell off the ceiling. Meera groaned and covered her ears. The other two were less affected by the dragon's mighty roar. The roar was followed by grunts and a rumbling sound as if the dragons were chewing on rocks.

"I don't understand the tongues of dragons, but that is most definitely an order to hunt us down," Rina explained in a low whisper.

Rina eyed Meera to say it was her fault that this was happening. It was, but if she hadn't intervened, Verna would've been cooked alive, and then the dragon would've come after Meera.

Verna whimpered and sniffed. Rina bent down and placed a finger on her lips. "We must be quiet, my brave one. You shouldn't have left by yourself, but you need to keep it together so we can get this medicine to your mother."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Verna wiped her nose, drew a deep breath, and nodded. "O-Okay."

Right at that moment, the world outside lit up with dragon fire. Rina motioned hurriedly. They picked up the pace. Rina picked up Verna in her arms when the girl started falling behind, while Meera kept an eye on their surroundings, ensuring she'd be ready if a dragon burst through a wall.

Rina led them successfully through the building's mess without much incident. When it looked like they had reached the end, they heard sniffing outside at the far wall, followed by some guttering clicking and huffing.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Verna didn't utter a squeak. She just held on tightly to Rina. Meera carefully took off two level 2 chakrams. The dragon must have sniffed around for about a whole tense minute. Sweat dribbled down the side of Meera's face.

The dragon's heavy footfalls indicated it had finally moved off, and everyone took a collective breath of relief. Rina carefully lowered Verna to the ground and moved towards the plank in the corner. She moved the plank ever so slightly. Meera was ready to pull her back with Nightstalker Bindings and erect a shield if she saw the slightest bit of fire.

Rina's body relaxed as she motioned them forward and carefully moved the plank aside. Meera went outside first, and there was no dragon on the road or in the air. She motioned them out, and Rina took the lead once again.

She picked up Verna and took off across the road with Meera in tow. The other side of the street had smaller houses that were equally ruined. Thankfully, they made it to the other side with a bit of flinching from Meera as her wounds had not fully healed. Her arm was mostly without pain, but the hole in her chest still needed some time.

They had just made it to the other side when a Sootscale Dragonling poked his head out from above the building they were in. This one was slightly bigger than the one she had killed. It had a longer snout on top of having less curvy horns.

It reared its head back. The scales on its neck began to glow.

"Run!" Rina roared as the dragonling blasted them with fire.

Meera raised three Tower Shields behind her and dashed off. Her shields only held for a few moments against the dragonling's red-hot flames, but that was enough time for them to slip into the row of homes.

"This way!" Rina yelled over the sound of roaring flames.

She ran towards a mostly destroyed home but didn't go inside it. Instead, snaking her way around it and running into the one behind it. Meera shut the door behind her. The dragonling's flames had stopped, but that was not all. Meera heard the roars of all three dragons now, and one of them had landed close by.

More flames lit up the night sky. It was close enough to make Meera sweat despite being in the cold house. Rina lay down on her stomach and motioned Meera to do the same. She did so. It would be effective if the dragons decided to tail-swipe their way through the neighborhood, which started a few moments later.

But their path of destruction thankfully led away from them, from the sounds of things. Meera risked crawling to the window and peeked out. Rina hissed at her, but Meera took a quick peek and did not like what she saw. The two dragonlings had leveled the entire street while their mother was nowhere to be found.

"I have an idea," Meera said. "We need a distraction."

"And you're going to go out there and volunteer," Rina surmised.

"In a way."

Meera crawled out of the house after ensuring the mother dragon was not hovering in the air. She stayed low to the ground as she put some distance between her and the house in case things didn't go her way.

She called on Onyx. Thankfully, the horse came out quietly this time.

"Me—"

"Shh!" She cried. "Lower your voice. Actually, just listen. I need your help."

Meera told him off her plan quickly. The dragonlings were just about done and would most likely return to level this row of houses.

"Okay," he whispered.

Meera tried something new. She formed a Mirror Tower Shield, the size of her hand. After all, she could adjust the size of the Tower Shield and then activate Mirror Phantom on the shield. This way, taking down her phantom would take more than one hit. Meera crawled back to the house and gave the thumbs to Onyx.

Her phantom climbed Onyx's back, and together, they burst out from behind the dragonling's back.

"Looking for us!" Onyx did a lousy impression of Meera.

But it got the dragonling's attention. They turned together and roared, making the earth shake once more. Meera feared they would bring the house down on them. Onyx took off down the street and turned right on the main street. The dragonlings ran and took off into the air, breathing fire, but Onyx was fast, much faster than any horse.

"Okay, I've driven them off for now," Meera said. "Let's move."

"You're full of surprises," Rina eyed her warily with her green eyes.

She stared for a moment longer before she stood, took Verna in her arms, and left the house. They ran down the street at full speed. Meera kept one eye in the air and the other on the back of her hand. Onyx's tattoo hadn't returned, which meant they still had time.

Meera had told him to circle the neighborhood to put less distance between them than last time to give Meera's group more time to flee. The first couple of streets went beautifully. No dragonlings or their mother showed up. It was when they reached this downed building that their problems started all at once. Onyx's tattoo returned on her hand, followed by another ear-shattering roar.

Then Mirithia was blotted out by a pair of massive wings.

"Get in!" Rina yelled.

Verna ran through the door, with Meera and Rina close behind. Rina ran to the staircase that must've led to the basement. They flew down the stairs as the world shook around them. Rina pushed the door open, and they launched themselves in.

Rina slammed the door shut and placed a hand on it. The door was encased in glass…at least, that was what Meera initially thought. But then she saw her bewildered expression in the glass—not glass…a mirror.

The woman turned and lowered the mask covering her face. She had a reddish burn mark on her right cheek and a black and swollen eye. But despite those injuries, there was no mistaking it.

[Sorceress of Mirrors – Level 335]

This woman was Kalrina, the witch of Cliffshield Valley.