- I sent two messengers to Riliya and the Northlands last night. - he began, returning to his seat. – And today we received their disemboweled bodies.

Waves of curses, anger and a couple of female gasps ran through the hall. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

- We are surrounded. - The short and concise phrase marked the fact that even the Duke himself was confused.

- We’re safe as long as no one leaves the palace grounds. - Said a middle–aged man who looked like he used to be a significant person under the king.

- Isn’t it funny to you from the very thought that vampires hide in the walls of their castle like rats? - Dexter snapped at him. - While some pathetic witches are plastering the walls of our palace, we are sitting here and cowardly tucking our tails between our legs. I have never remembered such a thing in the history of our kingdom.

- The king was with us. - Another man added.

The uncertainty in the crowd was clearly visible. No one wanted to die and many were wary of the latest news about the number of dead vampires in fights with witches.

- They use black magic. Even our superiority in strength and speed can hardly compete with this.

- Do you think you need a king to cover your puny ass? - Dexter snapped. - As long as you have hands, you will fight. When there are no hands left, fight with your feet, teeth, but snatch victory, defeat the enemy. I don’t even want to hear anything about fear from your lips.

There was a brief pause in the confined space as he cast a meaningful glance at Amanda, who only returned his slight smile.

- Your princess fought valiantly and bravely, for which she paid with a part of her precious body. And what about you? Are you so cowardly that you’ll hide behind her back and let her die for you? Didn’t you swear an oath to the king? So maybe we should behead you here and now so that you don’t feel afraid?

- It’s only a matter of time before they can lure us out. - Artemis interjected, taking all the attention to herself. - We’ve been preparing for this for two years, but the witches knew about the upcoming war long before I was born. Would they have put their lives on the line and come to the walls of Abion if they didn’t have a trump card up their sleeve?

- That’s the thing, we don’t know about their trump card! If we just go out to them, they will be ready for it, they are waiting for it.

- But we also have trumps. They don’t know that you have witches and werewolves on your side. The Faerie Queen has promised to support us in this war. The elves have provided us with their weapons. The Magicians will fight for all of us. We are not alone. We shouldn’t be afraid. We just need to use the portal and send the messengers again. Your king will never allow your race to be destroyed.

- Then do it, witch. - The vampire’s sharp words did not reach Artemis’s heart.

- We need a messenger. Anyone interested? - she asked.

- I will personally deliver the message to my king. – said an elderly man who did not stop arguing with Dexter and Temi.

It was obvious to the naked eye that he was trying to escape in order to save his pathetic skin.

- Let him go. - The Duke spat out, as if renouncing the vampire, as he did the fiery Hell.

She turned gracefully, making a sweep with her brush, outlining the image of a circle in the air. Golden sparks shone on her fingertips, ornately elongating into filamentous fibers that circled and wrapped in a turbulent and powerful magical stream, forming a funnel portal.

She was breathing heavily, concentrating all her strength, trying not to lose the image of the place where the vampire was supposed to go, but she was worried that it took too much energy, more, much more than usual.

It was as if this very funnel was drawing strength out of her. Beads of sweat stood out on her temples, but she did not turn away and did not take her eyes off, continuing to maintain control over her magic.

Grinning at something, the vampire cast a dismissive glance at Artemis before taking a confident step into the portal, thrusting his head and a little body inside before the portal collapsed like a soap bubble in an instant.

Scarlet blood splattered on Artemis’s face, on her dress and on the floor, Like a volcanic eruption, scarlet liquid gushed from his severed body.

No one said a word at that moment, while Artemis stood as if dumbfounded, afraid to move from her place. Her body was numb, but inside she felt strong muscle spasms, painful currents.

At one point, the scene in front of her eyes stopped and only the vampire’s body, torn apart by the portal, remained.

- What the fuck?

Around her, the voices merged into a common mass, which she did not even try to make out, it seemed that her body was plunged into utter catatonia. Her arms were still stretched out at eye level, but there were no longer streams of magic flowing through them. Everything dried up, dissolved, disappeared. Completely.

- She killed him! - Someone shouted from the back of the hall.

- Temi, Temi. - A soft female hand touched her shoulder and lightly patted her, bringing her to her senses. – Can you hear me?

- I don’t understand... I don’t understand what, how... How did it happen? My powers... - she lowered her hands and her eyes followed, trying to find the reason for the failure in them.

- You killed him.

- How can we trust her?

- We will all die with such a leader.

- Everyone shut up! - Nicole’s loud scream stunned even Amanda, who rolled her eyes in shock.

Nicole stood behind Temi and her wand was ready to strike down anyone who tried to attack Artemis.

- How dare you accuse her of this? - She screamed so loudly that her throat almost hurt. - It’s the idiot’s own fault that he didn’t wait for the signal.

- It’s a little off, Nikki. – she was quietly besieged Temi, by the noisy lamentations of the vampires, who had lost all confidence in the girl, despite the fact that she was the wife of their king, which was still shocking news for them.

- Even at the moment of opening the portal, I felt that something was wrong. BUT I didn’t understand what exactly was wrong. This portal drew out all my strength and I gave it away, feeling that it was still not enough.

Her arms hung limply at her sides and she lowered her head, hiding her face behind a shock of brown hair.

- I didn’t want to kill him. - These words went through her heart like a blade, she wanted to convey to everyone that she was experiencing this loss just like everyone else.

Despite this man’s audacity, she understood his fears and misgivings and did not want him to die.

- Then why don’t you go into that portal of yours yourself? - One of the advisers asked with malicious malice and felt a steel grip of icy hands around his throat.

- One more word and you’ll follow him. - Milos growled in the adviser’s ear.

- I think we should try to use something else. – Amanda found a way out. – How can you open the portal again? No matter how scared everyone is right now, it’s scarier if we don’t inform the king about it.

Temi nodded and tried to open the portal again.

She used a long sword to stretch it through, but failed again when it split in two.

- Something is blocking my powers. – concluded Those. – It’s like there’s some kind of barrier that I can’t overcome. Nikki, can you help me?

They tried it together, but this time it didn’t work out, although it seemed to both of them that this time it took a fraction of a second longer to hold the portal.

- It’s too hard. How did you manage to stand it alone? - Nicole marveled, puffing and trying to catch her breath after her powers were sucked out of her body like water from a sponge. - I think we should try using power crystals.

- No,– Temi cut her off. – We will wait for Adeline’s recovery. In the meantime, we need to prepare this place. We will need a lot of strength to break this barrier.