- And what do you want from me? How can I even be sure that you’re not sending me to my death? Aren’t you mad at me for tried to marry Rafael to myself?

- I’m angry. Of course. But you see, no matter how much I want to kill you now, this body is still resisting me to give in to my base feelings. Apparently Thea doesn’t want me to hurt you. But believe me, if you betray me, no Thea will save you.

- This is all too confusing. - She shook her head, as if shaking the thoughts out of her head. - So what do you want from me?"

- I want you to go to Riliya and bring Raphael here. – concluded Temi.

- Why don’t you do it yourself? Or someone else? Why me? - She was perplexed.

- Because to me, you’re the most useless creature here. - Artemis shot her a shot. – Because I don’t feel sorry for you... If the portal suddenly tears you to pieces... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Giselle’s heart stopped in an instant. She didn’t know if Artemis was joking or not.

"And I thought you were kind to people."

- Ha... - she exclaimed, listening to herself. - I thought you’d just keep quiet and pretend to be offended.

Giselle timidly and imperceptibly took a step back. Artemis scared her.

- You should know what kindness has led me to.- She just shrugged her shoulders.

"You shouldn’t blame her for Raphael manipulating her. We’ve all made mistakes in the past."

- Blah blah blah... - She mimed a talking hand. - You’d better occupy my ears with something more useful than that girl’s excuse.

"I’ll help you open the portal."

- It seems like today is your lucky day, girlfriend. – Temi grinned. – Our mutual friend, with whom we all share the same man, is against you dying so easily.

She smacked her lips, as if regretfully stating this fact.

- Stop shaking already! Annoying! - She threw up her hands and shouted at Giselle. – We will open a portal so that you can get to Riliya. Unfortunately, the situation around us is changing too suddenly and we did not notice how we found ourselves in a complete environment. Those witches again...

- Tell me everything I need to know and what I need to do.

Giselle saw Artemis tossing and tearing and could understand that something was happening that she did not know, but that was very significant, almost like a matter of life and death.

Artemis briefly explained that two days ago, unexpectedly for everyone, none of the inhabitants of Abion Castle could leave the castle. It came as a real shock to everyone. There was no way to go beyond the maze, but moreover, even the portal could not be opened.

They were locked up, and the walls of the castle were surrounded by hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of witches, but they were prevented from entering by the same maze.

- And then how can I get through the portal if it can’t be opened from the inside? - she asked in disbelief.

- Not impossible, but just not enough strength. I lose my concentration in the first few seconds and the portal goes out. But, as I expected, Thea won’t be able to send you to your death and will intervene. She’s too kind, even to you. With her help, I think... I hope we have the strength to get you out of Abion. You have to bring Raphael, or we’ll all die.

- And if it doesn’t work out? What if the portal goes out and I don’t have time to cross yet?

- Then you will die, it’s obvious. - She shrugged her shoulders. - But if you do that, I’ll forgive you for all the things you’ve done in the past. Use this as a chance to start over from scratch. That’s what you wanted, and that’s what you told Amanda about, isn’t it?

- It is difficult to decide to start a new life, putting it on the same scale as death.

- You’ll die here if you stay. - Artemis replied. - You’re the only person here who doesn’t have any abilities. Therefore, this is your only chance to survive. Just go through the portal and never come back here.

- Is it that serious?

- War is never a joke. We have to make our own choice and yours is waiting for your decision now.

- You’re talking about a choice, but I don’t have one. - She smiled sadly. – One way or another, I may die....

- And we have no choice, no one has asked us if we want to participate in all this. Look at it differently. You can save yourself if you trust us. Choose one.

- OK. I will do it. - Giselle replied, still uncertain.

- Fine, then I want you to give this to Raphael. - She held out a letter wrapped in a lock of her hair. He will definitely recognize her by her scent.

Giselle stretched out her hand, taking the letter, and immediately the room trembled, as if the ground began to move away from under her feet. She screamed and fell to her knees, clutching her head in her hands.

Artemis grabbed the edge of the table, but she was still on her feet. It was something very disturbing. It’s not a good sign....

- Get up. - She ran up to Giselle and grabbed her by the elbow. – Hurry up, let’s go.

Another tremor crashed down on the palace. There was no time to deal with what was going on around, she had to send Giselle as soon as possible, otherwise there might not be such an opportunity anymore.

She dragged her through the corridors, passing screaming scurrying people who fled in horror.

- This way. - Nicole jumped up from the crowd and waved to Artemis, attracting her attention.

When they reached the council chamber, they went inside and Nicole sealed the door with a spell.

A place where no one could dare to do magic before was now like a coven of witches.

A small coven.

Power crystals were laid out in the corners of the room, and a magical pattern was drawn in the very center. Adeline and Nicole were standing on opposite sides, holding their wands ready, when Artemis approached.

- You’ll have a couple of seconds to cross over. I’m afraid we can’t do much more. - she said firmly. – You can do it!

Giselle nodded confidently, standing in the very center of the pattern drawn on the floor.

The power stones sparkled with a red light, as if heated in the sun and created visible interference in the air.

"Are you ready?" - She asked herself.

"Let’s do it!" - Thea replied.