Meera blasted through the foliage and kept low to the ground as she swerved through the trees. The blinded dragon wailed. Either he or his partner lit the night with flames. His roars were so fierce that she felt her bones quake. She hoped the second dragon would stay back to tend to the one she had blinded so she could escape properly.

  She picked up the speed, and despite the roars, she heard hurried footsteps. She picked up the pace and blasted off towards the witch and the cultist. They were a strange trio. By rights, they shouldn't even be working together, and truth be told, she was waiting to see who would betray her first.

  At this point, any of them could give up Meera to the dragons or the sorceresses. Thanks to some painful lessons, she knew not to trust anyone too quickly. However, her money was on Lainor to betray them both, and for obvious reasons. For one, he had already done so before, and two, he stood the most to gain from it, but he looked like Aksha, so that should put his thoughts of betrayal to rest for the moment.

  She found the unlikely pair running full tilt away from the dragons. Kalrina was wearing mirror jewelry she had created, so Meera used Mirror Step and landed right in front of her.

  "Boo," she said and made the pair of them jump back.

  She laughed as they both cussed and got their breathing under control. She saw the look in Lainor's eyes, which said he wanted to do more than just curse her.

  "I don't think I should remind you that this is not the time to play silly pranks," Kalrina huffed.

  Meera shrugged. "Thought I'd lighten the mood a little."

  Lainor looked back and up through the foliage, no doubt for the dragons. "Did you do it? Did you kill the dragon?"

  Meera shook her head. "If I'd done that, you would've known by now. No, I only blinded it, and before I could do any more, the other one showed up, so I ran. It looks like the second one is taking care of its blind partner, which should give us ample time to run to safety."

  The cultist stared at her with wide eyes. "You blinded a level 700 dragon and sustained no injuries. How? There was almost a three-hundred-level difference between you."

  Meera wanted to boast. These dragons are not that strong, but maybe my training with Veridiana made that much of a difference. But instead, she chose to stay humble like her mother had taught her. "Veridiana taught me how to use my skills to their maximum potential. She used to say that if used correctly, the skill level is negligible. If you pair them correctly, and in the right moment, they can fell any giant."

  "Well done, dearie," Kalrina said. "Next time, use them even more effectively and take it out before it decides to come after us."

  "Huh?" Meera didn't need to look up to see the dragon. Its shadow darkened the already dark night, and it wasn't alone. The blinded one was with it as well. But they didn't blast them with flames, which meant they didn't know where they were. She put a finger on her lips, signaling the others to be quiet.

  The dragons flew overhead. The flapping of their wings ruffled the leaves, which rained down on Meera's group. They stood frozen on the spot, not daring to move from the threat of retaliation by the dragons.

  A thick drop of something green dropped with a splat on Meera's shoulder—dragon blood. A shiver went up her spine. She somehow resisted the urge to shriek and swat it away. The dragons flew on without incidence, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

  "This is gross." She swatted the blood away quickly.

  "Now, which way should we go?" Kalrina asked

  "The answer is obvious," Lainor replied. "We should run as far away as we can."

  Kalrina started as if she had noticed that Lainor was still there. "Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be on your way now? We got you out. Now go find your lovely harbingers of frozen death."

  "You know I cannot do that," Lainor said. "Not looking like this. I go off on my own, and I'll be dead with the hour."

  "But we have no use for you," Meera stated. "As harsh as it might be but you're not trustworthy, especially not after what you did in Drurith."

  "The girl has a point," Kalrina said. "Though, I'm surprised her soft heart allowed her to say such harsh truths."

  Meera clenched her fists. I'll be rid of her soon. She reminded herself.

  Lainor looked between her and Meera. "Listen, I did what I was ordered to do by my Hierarch. I held no grudge against you, and I still don't. Please, you must understand. Let me come with you till we're clear of this war-ravaged forest between the dragons and sorceresses. Then we can go our separate ways." He turned to the witch. "You know, you wouldn't have survived the fight against that ink sorceress if I had not distracted her. Please, I can be useful. I might not know the forest as well as you do, but I am a good tracker."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Meera nodded. "Okay."

  "Dearie, this is not a good idea," the witch implored.

  Meera raised a hand, telling the witch to stop. She knew it was a bad idea to trust Lainor, but this was her giving him a final chance. He was right about one thing. His survival depended on him sticking with them. If he failed them this time, Meera would take his head off herself.

  She nodded to Lainor. "Okay then, Lainor. Find us a way out of here and back to Drurith."

  "Back to Drurith?" They both asked.

  "That's the one place you can bet there'll be no dragons."

  The cultist's eyes flitted to and fro as if he were thinking something. Then he finally nodded. "Okay, I'll lead you back to Drurith."

  "I don't think it needs to be said, but please avoid any dragons or sorceresses because if we do run into one of them, we might have a casualty on our hands," Kalrina said. Her voice didn't have the usual playful tone, and instead, Meera was reminded of the witch she had fought in Cliffshield Valley.

  "Understood." Lainor fell into the lead.

  Meera meant to follow, but Kalrina gripped her elbow and held her back until Lainor was several yards away. Then she spoke in a hushed whisper. "What game are you playing, dearie? Why Drurith?"

  "Like I said, Drurirth is the least likely place to have any dragons left."

  The witch crossed her arms. "And…"

  Meera sighed. I might as well tell her the truth. I'm going to need her help when we get there.

  "And it's the most likely place to have a Gateway Mirror to Ealisto."

  "Ealisto?" Kalrina frowned. "You're heading to Ealisto? Your brother is on that frozen hellhole?"

  "Maybe. I'm not sure. None of the sorceresses I talked to knew for sure as he had to make a quick getaway before they, you know, put him in prison as they did us. Though, I doubt they would've been able to hold him there."

  Kalrina snorted. "Indeed."

  "And Eryx had said that Silas and Cossus were on Ealisto and heading towards Winter's Embrace, so they know something that I don't. If I can't pick up Neel's trail on Ealisto, then I'll follow them because they sure as shit know something." Meera motioned with her head. "Let's go. He's getting quite far ahead."

  Kalrina drew a deep breath. "Looks like my need for revenge will go on wanting."

  This made Meera pause. Kalrina had an unfortunate story, and if she were in her place, she wondered if she, too, would have been so consumed by revenge that she would do anything to see Aksha dead. But as she was now, Kalrina would be courting death if she made a move against one of the strongest sorceresses.

  She placed a hand on Kalrina's shoulder. "Aksha's time hasn't come yet. You're not ready to face her."

  Kalrina gave a slow nod but said nothing. They walked in silence as they caught up with Lainor, who had one eye on the ground and one eye on the foliage above. Meera did the same as well. The battle between the sorceresses and dragons raged around the archdragon's body, but surprisingly none of it was happening on the ground.

  There were enough blasts and flames thrown around that they didn't need a lantern or light source to see in the dark. Lainor led them through the forest at a quick pace, stopping every so often to survey the treeline or the ground before taking off again.

  Meera could've just as easily asked the witch to take them back to Drurith, but this was her chance to test Lainor and see if he would betray them again. If he took them in the wrong direction, she had no doubt that Kalrina would kill him herself. After going for a while, they paused and took shelter behind a great tree as a squadron of dragonlings flew overhead, who didn't want to move on. With nothing better to do, she pulled up her latest notifications. After all, she had stolen a couple of skills from the Shade Wing Dragon.

  *ding!*

  [Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill, Shadow Bind. Shadow Bind – Type: Active. You can conjure tendrils of shadows to ensnare and immobilize your foes, rendering them helpless and easy prey. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

  *ding!*

  [Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the general skill Nightfall Surge. Your skills, whether they be offensive or defensive, gain a boost during nighttime or in the dark. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

  Shadow Bind was the weaker version of her Nightstalker Bindings. There was no point in taking it, and the passive skill was too good to pass up. It would pair up nicely with Dusk Veil. She could hide in the shadows and gain another boost to her skills.

  *ding!*

  [You have acquired the skill Nightfall Surge – Level 1]

  Soon, the dragonlings flew away, so they slunk away in the darkness. All was going well, and they had left the battlefield behind. Just when it looked like they would get away without incident, things took a turn for the worse.

  Lainor stopped abruptly and bent to the ground. He left around on the ground with his good hand. "I can't see properly in the dim light, but I think these are footprints."

  "Here?" Kalrina asked. "No sorceress would dare to venture this far from the keep unless it was a deserter."

  "No, it's not a deserter," said an oddly familiar feminine voice. "We made sure to kill them all."

  Then, a group of dozen white-robed individuals stepped out from around the trees, along with the woman, who was none other than Neserin, the cultist girl who had infiltrated Akhessai with Lainor and the girl Meera had helped escape.

  Meera shared a look with Kalrina, and an understanding passed between them that another fight was at hand, for they were none other than the Cult of Aetheron.

  "Now, why is one of Aksha's daughters helping the champion's sister escape?" said a man beside Neserin.

  Everyone was quiet for a moment, and Lainor held Meera's full attention. One wrong move; if he even looked like he was about to utter a word, his head would fall before a sound escaped his lips.

  Then Neserin leaned forward, squinting, and began to laugh while she clapped. "Oh, this is too rich." She turned towards her comrades. "That is not one of Aksha's brood. No, that is…Brother Lainor."