- You’ll have a couple of seconds to cross over. I’m afraid we won’t have enough strength for more. - she said firmly, trying to inspire Giselle’s confidence. – You can do it!

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

The power crystals 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.

Nicole and Adeline fired their wands at the same time, sending all their powers into the center, causing the pattern on the floor to light up, drawing even more power from the power crystals.

Temi closed her eyes, hiding in the back of her mind, seeking Thea’s support there, who seemed to put her arms around her shoulders, giving her her strength. And there was so much warmth in it. Artemis felt this energy itching under her skin, trying to get out, as if it came from somewhere inside her.

She abruptly threw up her arms and a column of light, fluttering her thick curls, rushed to meet the combined magical streams of Nicole and Adeline, scattering into numerous bright rays falling on the power crystals and again generating a reverse flow of energy through the pattern on the floor. It was a looped magic rite so as not to lose control of the forces until they transported Giselle to the other side.

Without wasting a second, Giselle rushed into the funnel, tightly closing her eyes, and when the hem of her dress disappeared behind a trembling veil, the portal closed, returning all the magic to the crystals, causing them to burst with a bang, creating a powerful gust of wind that happens after a strong explosion.

All three of them were thrown to the sides, and they collapsed on the floor exhausted and magically exhausted. And everyone could only hope that their plan had succeeded, that Giselle had managed to leave Abion after all.

Dexter helped Artemis up, while the other two witches were helped by Urum and Klaus.

Leaning on his forearm, Artemis could barely catch her breath. Her chest was painfully constricted, as if there was no air left in her lungs at all, her strength had left her too quickly.

- It’s a magical veil. – she concluded, literally speaking in a whisper of impotence. - They’ve trapped us.

Dexter didn’t need to be told exactly what Artemis meant. It has been a favorite means of protecting their kingdom for a couple of decades. The only difference was that it protected them from intrusion, and now they were being held hostage in their own house.

- And then how can we fight them if we can’t get out? - Klaus cut in.

The werewolves, having already completely recovered, trained day after day, dreaming only of when they would be able to join the fight, but this scared Adeline.

She was afraid to let Klaus go, afraid of losing him, but she was also worried about meeting her own people. After all, now it turns out that she chose the side of their opponent.

But she couldn’t say that her confidence wouldn’t waver the moment she came face to face with those she had lived with all her life.

- It’s simple, they will come here themselves, it’s only a matter of time. There’s no way Lillian hasn’t already developed a plan. It was the same in the past. In one day, she and her

followers destroyed an entire race of great wizards. It was an incredible power that witches possessed. And only now did I realize that even then she was using black magic to achieve her goal. There is no other explanation.

- Nils has organized a patrol around the perimeter. - Dexter added. He helped Artemis to sit down on the bench. – You will stand in the second line of defense, since we are sorely short of witches and only one half-dead magician. Thanks to Adeline and Nicole, traps have been created that will be able to delay the offensive and regroup in case of danger. Our people will stand along the entire border of the maze and take over the first battle.

Artemis nodded. This plan was designed so that they could maneuver based on different situations. Vampires were faster and more agile than anyone except Klaus, but that was what bothered her. How far did Lillian’s experiments go, and how many bliars did she manage to create? Even the fastest and strongest vampires could be weak against them, but she wasn’t going to say it out loud, so as not to destroy their fighting spirit.

The rumble and sharp trembling underfoot made everyone tense up. This was not the first time this had happened, but it had an enviable frequency throughout the day. The witches tried to overcome the maze by destroying it with spells, but so far they have not succeeded. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Raphael made sure that the carnivorous vegetation absorbed all magic and witchcraft. But how long will it last? Everything has a limit, and Lillian’s sophistication had no limits.

Artemis didn’t have high hopes for Giselle, still not trusting her. She could imagine in her head how, feeling free, Giselle would run to find her father to complain to him.

But Thea disagreed with her, literally making her head hurt from her positive thinking. She cherished the belief that Giselle was able to improve and would not betray them.

She knew how much Giselle was in love with Raphael, but she wasn’t such a terrible person to kill so many innocent people. All her pathos and composure were ostentatious, although they caused the execution of some servants. However, that was in the past.

"We have Jen." - Thea exclaimed enthusiastically in Artemis’s mind.

"Why haven’t I seen her yet?" - She mumbled to herself, but justified it by saying that Jenine did not know Artemis and would not be able to recognize Thea in her form.

But Thea was right, at least one more witch was among them.

- Dexter... - she called out to him as he was deep in conversation with Cornel and Urum. - I need to find a maid named Jenin.

She grabbed the wall with her hand to get up and Dexter hurried to her aid, extending his hand for support.

- Janin? - He repeated it thoughtfully and frowned, and his attention wandered, as if he was trying to remember something.

- Jenine is my sister. - Adeline smiled, inspired by the meeting with her sister, whom she had not seen for many years.

And no one seemed to notice Klaus at that moment, who looked very tense, as if he was tormented by internal torments and thoughts that he was afraid to say out loud.

He thought back to the day Jenine had helped him and Thea escape. Her doomed face told him a lot. His palms involuntarily clenched into fists, realizing that she was unlikely to be alive and Dexter’s long silence was proof of that.

Raphael’s short temper would not allow him to let her live after such an act, not to mention the fact that she had been hiding her identity under his nose for so long. But there was something else he hadn’t said until now...