Meera paced restlessly in her cell, for another day had passed. Another day, she had wasted in this infernal place while Neel got away from her. Just when she figured she was getting closer to him, she ended up in this place.

She replayed all the events that led her to this place and couldn't figure out what she could've done differently to avoid this humongous time waste. She didn't waste any time dillydallying or sight-seeing. She left Arvena's place and went to Firaan's room immediately. Even that visit wasn't too long. It was all Arvena's doing.

She had to be the one who gave me up to save her hide. No wonder she's not here with us.

"You're not practicing," Kalrina rasped from her cot.

It had been more than a day since Aksha's visit, and Meera still had a hard time looking at the witch. This time, the cruel sorceress had left Kalrina in an even worse shape. She had, in essence, given her a poison bath. She had boils all over her face. Patches of her hair were missing, as Aksha had ripped them clean off her head. The acid she had used on the witch's arm was so potent that it burned her skin clean off, revealing the muscle underneath. Aksha had done the same to her back, so Kalrina couldn't lie down nor lean back ever since her last torture session. If that weren't enough, Aksha left a sludge of toxic poison that covered the entire floor of the cell, so Kalrina couldn't even walk to the chamber pot, which she left on the other side of the cell, to torture her more. After doing all that, it was a mark of Kalrina's resilience and fortitude that not once had the woman asked for a healing potion.

Meera didn't even know how the sorceress was still alive.

She was hunched over with drooping eyes. No doubt, wanting to sleep but couldn't because of the pain she was in. The more she looked at Kalrina, the angrier she got at Aksha. If this was divine punishment for everything that the poor folks had to endure under Edwin in the Cave of Wraiths, Meera prayed, it ended soon, one way or another.

"How can you even think about training in your condition?" She asked. "And does it even matter if we're never going to see the outside of these cells?"

Kalrina chuckled, which quickly devolved into a cough and ended in groaning. "Oh, my lungs burn. Why do my lungs burn, fake Aksha?"

Meera expected their jailer to sneer or glare, but she continued looking straight ahead. "Why don't you confess instead of enduring so much pain? Mother might not be able to kill you before the trial, but is this any better than death?"

Kalrina sighed. "No, it's not, but it sure beats dying. When you're dead, you feel nothing unless you end up in the place of eternal bliss or eternal damnation. Given my deeds, I might as well stick around here for as long as I can." She squinted at the woman. "Since when do you care about my plight?"

"I do not." The clone replied.

Even Meera could tell she was lying. Meera shared a knowing smile with Kalrina. Maybe the witch is right. These clones do have a particular aspect of Aksha's personality.

"How do you spot a liar?" Kalrina asked Meera.

"How?"

"It's always in the eyes, and as far as I know, Aksha isn't a great liar. Wouldn't you agree?"

Meera motioned to the jailor. "If she's an example, then I believe you."

"Shut up," the daughter snapped. "Not one word, and I'll show you just how compassionate I am."

"We never said the word compassionate," Kalrina smiled through chapped lips.

The daughter huffed and stormed off down the dungeon into darkness.

Kalrina chuckled. "That was fun, indeed. Now, it's time we got back to business."

"You still didn't answer my question. Why not confess?"

"Oh, you were serious. I thought it was a rhetorical question."

Meera crossed her arms and gave her a blank stare.

"Oh, okay." Kalrina leaned forward, wincing as she did it. She stared in the direction the daughter had left. "Doesn't seem like she's around. She'll be back soon, so listen closely. There's only one way this plays out. They're going to take me to trial for all the murders I committed and sentence me to death. As for you, they will issue a ruling to keep you here, maybe not in a cell like this, but it'll be a cell, nonetheless. They'll say some excuse to keep you safe, considering how you're supposed to play a big part in the great prophecy, that is, your prophesized death. If you don't die, they can forestall the great prophecy or some such nonsense. It's all horseshit. All they want is a way to control your brother through you. So, long story short, we're getting out of here the same way we've been getting out of every tough situation before this."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"With a close fight to the death," Meera concluded.

"That's right. You were smart to keep your chakrams close to you. We're going to need them most of all."

"I'm not letting them out of my sight. But how will we escape from this mountainous castle of yours."

Footsteps clopped down the dungeon, signaling the daughter's return.

"You leave that to me. You focus on your training," Kalrina whispered. "And make a showing of antagonizing me at every opportunity."

"So just do what I've been doing all this time."

Kalrina smiled in response.

The daughter huffed as she glared at Kalrina and took up her position without a word.

Meera didn't feel like antagonizing her just yet, as that hadn't ended up so well for her last time. Mirrors exploded out of her, littering the floor, and she got back to training.

----------------------------------------

Meera focused her Mirrorstrike Vision skill on the mirror in front of her. A feat easier said than done, given that her armor—in the form of a dress—let her see everything. Still, she somewhat managed.

She had formed a kaleidoscope that would let her see down the length of the dungeon, even with the swirling clouds that encircled her cell. It took a little fiddling around, but it worked. She had to angle the mirrors a little and focus her vision directly on the mirror in front of her, and it worked. She saw down the dungeon without turning her head or using her armor.

Thanks to her armor, she didn't need to practice this skill, but if there ever was a time when she didn't have her armor—heavens forbid—this would come in handy.

Then, using Mirror Wing, she burst the hovering mirrors into tiny shards. This had become so easy now that it was almost like a true skill. If only she had known she could train the skill to this level of efficiency.

I should give this a name. She tapped a finger on her lips. Then snapped her fingers as it came to her. "Mirrorplosion."

"What?" Kalrina asked weakly. She had been drooping forward for a while now. To say it had been harder for her to sleep was to say the sky was blue. Thanks to the injuries on her back, she couldn't even lie down.

"That's what I'm calling the skill when I use Mirror Wing to burst the mirrors."

"It's not a skill, dearie."

"I'm thinking of it as a skill. I earned it through practice, so it's a skill."

Kalrina snorted. "Now, practice your Mirrorplosion in silence, please. I'm trying to get some sleep."

Meera wasn't sure how she could do that without making enough noise to wake the dead. She wanted to be considerate, but the witch had also told her to get as strong as possible for the coming fight.

Sorry, witch, but you literally asked for it.

"I'm in here because of you and that idiotic sister of yours, so I think I'll just do what I want to do." She produced more mirrors from her armor. "Which one of you blabbed, by the way?"

"Not me."

Meera exploded a mirror, making her wince.

"I told you I'm trying to sleep. Keep it down, dearie."

She exploded another mirror. Kalrina scowled at her. "I told you it wasn't me."

"You sure?" Meera crossed her arms. "Let's ask our jailor. Did she give me up?"

The daughter was quiet for a long moment as her eyes flicked between Meera and Kalrina. Finally, she nodded. "Yes."

"I knew it," Meera exclaimed. "So, all this training was what? You were feeling guilty?"

Kalrina sneered at Aksha. "So you can lie when you feel like it."

The clone stayed quiet and looked straight ahead, not meeting Kalrina's eyes or giving her a response. It was either she didn't care to respond, and it would be convincing, too, if not for the slight twitching of her right hand.

Meera exploded the rest of the mirrors, making the witch flinch from the sound. Towards the end, even Aksha's daughter winced from the loud sound.

Meera produced more mirrors and was about to use Mirrorplosion when she felt an opposing force drop them to the ground.

"Enough, dearie," Kalrina said through gritted teeth. "You're not the only one with Mirror Wing."

"Stop me if you can." Meera used Mirrorplosion on the grounded mirrors, further angering the witch. "For your kindness of putting me in here, I'll make sure you get a really nice sleep."

Kalrina took deep breaths. "Don't tempt me, girl."

"You're lucky I'm in here, or I would've done worse to you than Aksha," Meera growled. "I could've been free of this place by now."

"If you really believe that, then it's no wonder you're prophesized to die."

"That's enough!" the daughter barked. "Quiet down, and don't make me finish my mother's work."

Kalrina scoffed. "Save it, dearie. Neither of us believes you are capable of that."

"On that, I agree with the witch," Meera said.

The daughter's upper lip twitched, and for a second, Meera thought she would open a cell and come in to give them a piece of her mind. It would be highly foolish of her, as she was not her mother, so either of them could easily take her down.

But as it turned out, she was not foolish. Whatever anger was in her passed. Her face relaxed and she looked straight ahead.

"I see what you are trying to do, and it will not work," the daughter said. "I am the mirror image of my mother, so I will not fall to such pathetic attempts of you, riling me up so you can escape. The Conclave will announce your judgment in two days. So, drivel whatever filth you wish, it matters not, for you will be dead soon."

Meera locked eyes with Kalrina, and the same thought raced in her mind as it did Meera's. Two days…Whatever you're planning better work, witch.