Chapter 94: Archmage Sonia

Location: Aether Kingdom: Courtroom

At the center of the long table was Queen Hadassah.. Around were the high elders in their seats.

A thin man in grey robes was standing at the front. He held a scroll with both hands and cleared his throat.

"My Queen, council elders, news from Valdris city!"

​"The Forsaken Lords now have the healer girl from the academy in their hands. With her blood, they have already awakened their queen’s dark army! Hours ago, their forces attacked the North part of Valdris city!"

​A cold silence fell on the room before Elder Borin leaned forward in his seat.

His thick grey beard moved as he spoke

​"If this academy girl really was the one who wake that whole army, then it is only a matter of time before they use her to wake their dead Queen,"

He paused and his voice dropped.

"By the goddess... we are all doomed."

Elder Vane turned toward Borin.

"Watch your mouth, Borin. Me and my household are not doomed. Speak carefully."

Borin shifted his eyes at him.

"May I remind you that our forefathers helped the people of Valdris lock that Queen away? If she wakes, she will come for every bloodline that put her in that chains... including ours."

Vane opened his mouth to say something, but Elder pack cut in from the other side of the table.

"Why should it bother us? Valdris is our enemy now. Let them deal with their own mess."

Another deep voice sounded from the other end.

"What did you reason with, your anus? Even if we are enemies with Valdris, the Queen of Death will not care. She will wipe out every hand that helped imprison her. Ours included."

The courtroom turned chaos with different voices echoing...

Queen Hadassah lifted one finger.

The tall woman standing beside the throne stepped forward. She was holding a long staff of black wood. She struck it hard against the stone floor.

​"Order in the court!" the woman shouted.

Immediately, silence fell at once.

Queen Hadassah cleared her throat.

​"Since her army is awake and they have the healer, we cannot take any foolish risk," Queen Hadassah said. "If that queen wakes up today, she will come for all of us."

She paused, took a short breath and looked around the table.

"Raise the barrier high. Increase the guards at every border. Every person entering or leaving must be checked and every cart of goods must be searched. Place extra security in the market square as well."

She then stood up.

"This court is adjourned."

Without another word she turned and walked toward the side doors.

A guard rushed up to her in the hallway...

"My Queen... Elder Corvan Dresh’s wounds have become infected."

Hadassah did not stopped walking. "Elder Corvan Dresh’s infected wounds are not my problem. For all I care, that man can rot in there."

She increased her footsteps, leaving the guard behind.

She stepped out into the open courtyard. Guards bowed as she pass by. She did not look at them. She head straight for the restricted stone building at the other end.

A guard rushed our from the corner post, bowed low, and pulled open the iron gate.

Hadassah entered. The guard followed behind her and stayed near the wall.

Hadassah walked inside, and the guard followed to open the inside stone door of the building. Once the door was unlocked, the guard moved back to the corner to wait.

As the door was opened, loud angry sound began coming our from the inside.

Hadassah paused before she opened the door slowly.

The roaring suddenly started to die down like the creatures inside already smelled her blood and knew exactly who was there.

She pushed the door fully open and stepped inside.

The long chamber was filled with them.

Skereel.

This was not the common Skereel. These were the dark-Skereel. They were created long ago for the final battle against the Queen of Death and her army.

Hadassah took a step forward. She slowly reached out and rubbed the head of the nearest one, then the next, then the next.

Each Skereel lowered their head under her hand and stayed quiet.

​If the worst came... and war reached her gates... she would open these doors and let them loose.

....

Location: Valdris: Old Starweaver mansion.

The sky was clear again. The strange smoke was gone and the fighting has ended.

Reynold was outside the gate with Aurion, Pyreus, and Thornox. The three dragons wings were folded.

He did not want to waste more time outside before the academy professors will found out he was missing and that his dragons were not in the stables.

Reynold walked to the Gift mother and gave her a hug. Then he hugged gift..

He turned to Alistair and pulled him into a hug too.

"You are doing good with the tavern and the stalls," Reynold said.

Alistair grinned and clapped his back. "Thanks, man."

Reynold climbed onto Aurion’s back. The dragon spread his wide wings and flew into the sky. Pyreus and Thornox followed behind.

Gift and Alistair ran back toward the mansion, laughing and shoving each other.

Gift’s mother stepped forward to close the gate.

But her hand stopped.

Someone was standing just outside, and looking up at the sky in the exact direction where Reynold and the dragons had flown.

Her face changed. She closed the gate fast and stepped outside.

In two silent steps she grabbed the figure and slammed him hard against the stone wall of the fence.

Valerius was completely shocked that an ordinary woman had pinned him down with so much strength.

He frowned in anger.

"What the hell, woman?!"

Gift’s mother held him there with one arm across his chest.

"Did your mother send you?"

Valerius frowned. ​"What the hell? Do I even know you?!" Valerius struggled against the wall.

​Gift’s mother flipped her hand and a clear, invisible barrier covered both of them, and hiding them from the whole street.

Then she waved her hand across her own face.

Her simple maid face vanished in a flash of light. Her real face and powerful body appeared.

Valerius looked at her and his whole body shook like he had seen a dead ghost.

​"Arch... Archmage Sonia?" Valerius stammered, his lips shaking. "How? We all saw your dead body!

Sonia shoved him harder against the stone fence.

​"The only reason I am not killing you right here is because it will blow my cover," Sonia said coldly.

She then flipped her wrist, and a glass sword formed right in the air. With one fast move, she drove the glass sword straight into Valerius’s shoulder.

​Valerius let out a painful hiss and clenched his teeth in pain.

​Sonia leaned close to his face and narrowed her eyes. "You deliver this exact message to your mother. I already lost a sister and a nephew, i will not lose another, and you better stay the fu*k away from him."