"I'm sorry, do what?" Meera exclaimed.

Even the Scribe looked up at the Warlord at that but was quick to look down once Narikas' gaze shifted to her. His gaze rested on her before he finally looked back at Meera.

"You heard me correctly," Narikas said. "The queen has been missing for over a week now. You've heard of the queen, haven't you?"

Meera nodded.

"My brother has over forty wives, so I must be sure we're talking about the same woman."

"If you mean Queen Nisaya the Mistweaver, then yes, I know about her, and I've had the displeasure of meeting her constructs."

"Yes, well, you're not the only one. The Mistblades have been assaulting friend and foe alike. Anyone that comes across their path is seen as a threat, whether they be Azerian or not. They have been doing nightly raids on the border villages. They go from village to village, ransacking people's homes. Anyone that so much even puts an iota of resistance is cut down. We're finding entire villages being abandoned. Even my soldiers have been attacked by our so-called protectors." He scoffed.

Then we find the mistress. The Mistblades' words came back to her. They were constantly repeating this. "You don't approve of them?"

"No, I think it should be people, flesh and blood, that should protect their own," Narikas replied. "The mist wall was a good idea, and when Nisaya proposed it, Rokibor made her the ruling queen. But when she said she could even fill it with constructs that could help protect us, like a living shield, all I saw was a noose around our necks, which would tighten one day, and that day has arrived. With the queen missing, her wall and her beasts have both gone mad."

"Yes, I remember a bunch of men talking about how the expanding border wall will be seen as an act of war."

"Not seen. It already has. We've gotten letters of warnings to stop from three kingdoms already. They're telling us to stop grabbing their lands and to return the border wall to its former position or else."

"But you have two formidable armies and those constructs, not to mention those Bleeders."

"Yes, even with those, we are not invincible as my brother believes. He thinks the Mistblades alone could handle Rothrium, and I can take care of the other two kingdoms. But the border is expanding on all sides, even the north."

Meera knew Tamas had mentioned something about the northern kingdom. "And that is bad?"

"No, that is how we lose the kingdom and our lives," Narikas said in a grave voice. "Have you heard King Draros of the Marith Kingdom?"

That was it. Those were the names Tamas had mentioned, and how not even he, the Shadowsteel Warlord, would dare to go to open war with him. Meera played dumb and shook her head.

"Well, people think me a monster, but he is a true monster. A monster on the field of battle. Any kingdom that dared to raise a sword against his has been turned to ash. My grandfather was the only man to have tied with him, and that too because it would have meant utter annihilation of both sides. Since then, there has been an accord that our two kingdoms will not raise arms against each other."

"But now, you are inadvertently taking over his lands, an act of war," Meera said.

"That's not all…" he sighed. "Our Mistblades have been raiding his villages, not just the ones that fall inside the border wall but also his. So, if you were a villager who had just had his home attacked in the middle of the night and most of his family killed by a man made of mists, what would you do?"

"Run to the king for help," Meera replied.

"And that's precisely what they did, which led to this." He brought out a scroll from his belt.

"I'm guessing that is bad news."

"Terrible news. These are summons to the ruins of Karai tower, where the last war between us ended forty years ago." He paused and looked at the scroll in his hands. "Summons that my brother answered by doing this."

He held one part of the scroll and let the other drop. There was a purplish stain stamped with a boot heel, most likely from wine. Even Meera knew that was bad.

"It would have been bad if the royal messenger had reached the aviary so they could deliver this message to the old warrior king."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

What sort of birds do they use as messengers that could carry a scroll that big?

"It was lucky that the royal messenger handed this to my spy at the aviary." Again, Perilla paused as she wrote, and Narikas didn't miss that. A strange game was being played here. If Meera had to guess right, Perilla was not supposed to know all this or write this conversation down.

"He brought it to me, and I went in my brother's stead. I went with a retinue of twenty soldiers as the summons stated. I would bring twenty, and so would he. There was only one problem—the border wall had absorbed Karai Tower. It now lay dead center of the home of the Mistblades." Narikas shook his head. "Tch. Such a pointless waste of life."

Meera frowned. "But aren't you a warlord? Isn't war just that? A pointless waste of life."

"Just because I am a Warlord doesn't mean I cannot condone its atrocities."

"Yes, but you are partly responsible for creating said atrocities."

Meera had gone too far as the room grew dark again, and even Perilla shifted nervously on her feet. Meera tried to recall her chakrams desperately, but again, they didn't answer her call.

Narikas leaned forward. "I do what I must. Not because I want to. And you do not know anything about me, so I suggest you listen instead of passing judgment."

"Yes, sorry," Meera squeaked, and the darkness receded into the angry prince.

"As I was saying, to get to Karai Tower, we both had to step into the mist wall. The Mistblades were on us in a flash. It was a brutal fight to get to the tower. I lost half a dozen good men getting there and about half as many getting back. Guess how many men King Draros lost getting to the tower?"

Meera refrained from making any remark that would get her in trouble again.

Narikas held up two fingers. "Two. He lost only two men getting to the tower, while I lost six, and we knew what the Mistblades were and what skills they have. This man knew nothing of them, yet he only lost two men. That is the man my brother would have scorned."

Meera couldn't hold herself back. "But isn't he an old man? And couldn't he have brought more men?"

"He's a man of his word. A man, nay." Narikas shook his head. "He's a Druvis who had been sleeping till now, and we just poked him. And that Druvis is angry. Angry that King Rokibor didn't come himself. Angry that we are breaking the old treaty and taking over his lands. What made him angry the most was that we are hurting his people. So, he gave us ten days to pull back the border wall, of which three have already passed. And, of course, to stop our Mistblades, or he will bring the might of his kingdom through the mist wall and finish our kingdom off for good."

"Can he do it?" Meera asked. "Bring such a large force through the wall."

Narikas had a faraway look in his eyes. "If anyone can, it will be him. That is not all. The other three kingdoms have joined forces with Draros and issued the same ultimatum. We would have had difficulty taking on Draros alone, but with the other three, we're staring at utter annihilation. So, long story short, you have a week to find the queen for me and bring her here."

"But-But why me? Don't you have thousands of soldiers at your disposal?"

"I do, and I have many people looking for her undercover. As they say, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Officially, the queen is not missing, as per the king. She is in her chambers, fighting off an illness. All this seemingly erratic behavior of the Mistblades must stem from the illness, and this threat of war is a good excuse to conquer all our neighbors in one stroke."

"I'm sorry, but has he gone mad?"

"He very well might have because no one has seen the queen since their visit to his prison." He pointed at Tamas. "And the chambers she's resting in are empty."

Meera frowned. "How—"

"I have spies of my own."

Again, Perilla twitched. Well, who wouldn't the prince just admitted to spying on his brother.

"As for why, I need you to find the queen. Well…I can't openly question my brother and search for his wife when he says she's fine. So, I need an outsider. Someone who needs to find her brother. So, you find my sister-in-law and help me save my kingdom, and I will tell you about your brother."

"Even if the fate of the world is at stake?" Meera shot back.

"Your only part in the prophecy is to die."

Meera tried to control her shocked expressions but failed.

"Yes, I know of the Prophecy of Doom. Now, let's not waste time. Neither of us has much of it, given where your brother was headed."

Meera gritted her teeth and nodded. "I'll need my things back."

Narikas looked at the Scribe and nodded. Perilla scribbled something in her book, and a smaller black box appeared. It hovered to Meera's feet and disappeared, leaving behind Meera's chakrams, Hoard Belt, and necklace. She jumped down and quickly put on her necklace.

Her Armor of Mirrors spread out from the central golden gem. In a moment, she was wearing her black and gold armor again. She reached down to pick up her belt, and her chakrams zipped to her arms. Once her belt was at her waist, did she feel whole again.

"Your Varshan looks will cause a problem, so use this when you get in trouble." He flipped a small disc to her. She caught it. It was round and made of gold with the sigil of a crowned bird with long tail feathers. "That will mark you as one of Rokibor's spies. Though, don't go flashing it about everywhere because if you're caught, it will mean certain death, and I will deny knowing you."

"Thanks. Where should I begin?" Meera asked.

"I would've said to ask your friend what happened that night at the prison, but he's useless, and my brother's Bleeders have silenced the warden. So, meet up with the only person in the kingdom looking for the queen, Crown Prince Delkoris. He doesn't believe that his mother is sick, or maybe he knows something about what happened that night at the prison and is not forthcoming with me. Right now, he is in the city of Nelees. My contact in the city has strangely gone silent. You are to make contact with the prince and report back to me. You will be given a kingdom map and are free to take a horse."

"Thanks, I already have one."

He frowned and nodded. "Well, that leaves one last thing. Making sure you don't have a change of heart." He raised his hand, and darkness played on his fingers. She broke into a cold sweat as such terrible dread fell on her.

What is he going to do to me?