On the day of the operation I flew high above the outskirts of the city to get a look at how many forces had been assembled for the raid on the city, and from what I saw there was no cause for concern about us not having enough numbers. The chief had come through. Assembled outside the western and southern entrances to the city were what looked from my vantage point like hundreds of Okwari riding their teewahs. They were gathered far away from the entrance gates, outside of the range of vision of anyone in the city, but with the teewahs' speed it would take them just over a minute to reach the entrance gates, not enough time for the queen's forces to lock down the city. Uraia was leading the forces to the west, and the forces to the south were being led by Clara. Everything was in place for the attack, all that was left was for me to give the signal, which I did by descending with Myra. Uther and his men that were attacking from the east advanced first. Being on horseback they were slower than the Okwari and the bandits on their teewahs.

When I began flying low over the city the reaction that it provoked among the citizens was greater than what we'd thought it would be. Looking down on the city I saw people coming out onto the streets and onto their balconies to get a look at me. Soon a festive atmosphere broke out amongst the crowds and they all staring cheering and waving at me. The militia that were patrolling the streets and guarding the entrances to the city also stopped what they were doing to look up to the sky. The plan to distract them worked perfectly, not only were they not on the lookout for any danger but because of the cheering of the crowds they couldn't hear the stampede that was approaching the city. When our forces entered the city the crowds grew quiet and moved aside to let them pass. The entrance gates were seized quickly and easily, allowing all of our forces to enter the city and make their way to the locations of the syndicates' headquarters, while at the same time Uther and his squadron of fifty men were riding up to the palace.

Uraia and Clara were meeting no resistance as they moved through the city. They had things under control so I went to join Uther and his men at the palace. By the time I descended to the ground with Myra at the entrance Uther and his men had already entered the palace and either killed or subdued the guards they'd encountered.

"Where is the queen?" I asked Uther when I entered the palace.

"We haven't found her yet."

"And VanBilt?"

"We've captured him, most of the palace is under our control."

"The queen couldn't have gone far!"

"There's an underground passage in the dungeon that leads to a pass behind the palace, I've sent men to search the pass."

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I wasn't prepared to wait for somebody else to find and apprehend the queen, the possibility of her getting away and denying me my revenge was unacceptable. I ran back outside, got back on Myra and had her fly around to the back of the palace. Uther's men knew where the exit of the underground passage was and were riding furiously to get there. I had Maya follow them, intent on foiling the queen's escape myself.

With the city under control, it was time for the mayor to address the townspeople, which he did from a pedestal that he'd brought with him when he'd entered the city days earlier.

"Attention citizens of Glendale! The woman that you saw flying over the city is your new queen, Alegra Luthera, daughter of General Isaac Luthera, who served with distinction in the king's army. She and the forces that have stormed the city have come to liberate you from the tyranny of the queen, the nobles and the syndicates. Do not fear them, embrace them, and embrace the opportunity that you have been presented with to rid yourselves of the illegitimate queen and her corrupt cohorts and usher in the era of Queen Alegra, the one chosen by the Overseer to lead this kingdom out of ruin."

The mayor's speech stirred the crowd and extinguished any hope the syndicates had of retaking control of the city. The citizens of Glendale were transformed into a mob and began attacking the militia that patrolled the city for the syndicates. The militia, outnumbered dozens to one, tried to flee but were surrounded on all sides and swarmed upon.

The queen emerged from a trap door disguised in the fields far to the south of the palace. Because she had made her escape on foot it was easy for us to cover the ground and be there waiting for her at the exit when she emerged. She emerged behind the guards, both of whom froze when they saw me waiting for them with Myra behind me.

"Both of you, lay down your arms and surrender," I said to them.

They did as they were told, leaving nothing between me and the queen.

"Queen Esmeralda," I said, approaching her with slow, methodical steps, "you had all of the people that you exiled to the north slaughtered, including my father, and were it not for pure fortune I would have been killed as well."

"It was VanBilt, the whole thing was his idea, you have to..."

Enraged by her pathetic attempt to save herself, I struck her with the back of my hand, knocking her to the floor.

"You'll both be made to pay for your crimes, I promise. Take them into custody and take them back to the palace," I told Uther's men.

I returned to the palace with Myra. The siege was over. Uther had taken control of the palace, and Uraia and Clara had taken control of the city. The kingdom was mine. Standing outside the palace I could hear the citizens cheering from the city below. I walked to the edge of the precipice that overlooked the city with Myra and looked down upon the citizens that were now my subjects. As soon as they saw me and Myra they began chanting my name and pumping their fists in the air.

"ALEGRA! ALEGRA! ALEGRA! ALEGRA!..."

My subjects were acknowledging me, and I owed it to them to acknowledge them in return. I removed my sword from its scabbard and raised it in the air, eliciting a huge cheer from the crowd below. Their queen had arrived, The Fire Queen had arrived.