Regina stumbled as her surroundings materialized around her, but this time she managed to keep her feet. She still felt a bit nauseous, but she was determined to make it pass quickly without giving in to the feeling.

  It still took a second until she really registered the world around her, because she’d finally slammed back into her psychic link and it was a little overwhelming. Not as bad as being ripped away from it, especially because she’d known to expect it, but still disorienting. She reached out mentally and projected her presence; she should probably send more than that, but it felt like too much right now.

  “Mother?”

  Ina reached out to catch her shoulders, and Regina leaned into her touch for a moment before she straightened up fully. “Hey,” she said. “I’m back.”

  A quick glance around her showed that the temple housed a few more people, but otherwise not much had changed. They’d left the body of the mana beast here for now, presumably because they hadn’t had the capacity to worry about it. It wasn’t even on Regina’s list of concerns right now, either.

  It was reassuring to be back, but she couldn’t help but worry she’d made the wrong decision. Leian had offered her the choice, and she’d decided to return here directly. Tim and the others would be concerned. Still, judging by what she could feel from the psychic link, it was good she hadn’t delayed any further. Their talk had already taken longer than she’d anticipated — but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to speak with Leian and gain more knowledge she wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

  She needed to determine how they should proceed with regard to the hidden chamber and what it contained, not to mention Leian’s advice to ensure the secret and news of their visit couldn’t get out. But it would take far too much time for her to go through everyone’s minds there anyway, more than she could afford, especially with transportation back to the Empire uncertain. She’d just have to rely on their isolation for now. Galatea would probably come to check on her, and in the meantime, she trusted Tim and the others to handle themselves.

  For now, she reached out to pull Max, Tia and Mia’s minds to her in the equivalent of a conference call, only more substantial. I’m back, and I’m fine, she said, preempting their questions. I trust you didn’t let the Empire burn down around us?

  Of course not, My Queen, Tia said. Her mental voice was a bit exasperated, but she could sense the worry behind it that had only been partially assuaged by sensing her presence again. But what happened?

  Leian took Galatea and me along on a trip to the south, to the old base, she said, then briefly recounted what had happened.

  Regina didn’t go into detail about her conversation with Leian in the Mirrored Halls. She was still sorting it out in her own mind, but she already knew she wouldn’t be putting this one into the psychic link. Only some of the information she’d gained from her, at most. For one thing, it felt private, and she wasn’t about to share the vulnerable details Leian had revealed of herself with thousands of other people. Besides, they had more important immediate concerns to talk about.

  What happened while I was gone? she asked. I presume the psychic link didn’t keep functioning?

  Unfortunately not, Max said soberly. We all got quite the shock. The court is on high alert and we only barely managed to avoid general panic once the news spread. The capital was almost cut off from communication with a few other places, since we relied on drones using the psychic link, and they might have overreacted. Ben decided not to put the army on alert, though. I’m not sure if Janis is coming home, we sent her the news and an order to put her security detail on alert, but haven’t heard back from them yet. I guess I’ll send them the all-clear now.

  It’s a good thing that the link’s back without any trouble now, though, Mia added. At least as far as I can tell.

  I’ll check to make sure there were no unforeseen problems, Regina assured them. For now, I’m traveling back to the capital. Please make sure everyone stays calm and that anyone who needs to know is informed that we’re safe. Don’t give them details on where I was yet, though.

  Of course, Mother, they chorused.

  Regina gave Ina another mental nudge of reassurance, extending it to the other drones present, then turned to leave the temple. She supposed she’d have them keep building it for now, even if Leian hadn’t said much about it. A thank-you would have been nice. Then again, I guess she had other worries.

  For now, she focused on the psychic link again. Regina reached for Jem and several of the senior Keepers, asking for a report on the state of the link and the mental health of her drones. Jem assured her everything was fine under the circumstances, and they’d get back to her with a more detailed report.

  She’d barely stepped out of the temple before several men surrounded her, getting a bit closer than she would have wished for. Regina gave them a stern look.

  “Our deepest apologies, Your Imperial Majesty,” the current commander of the Star Guard detail, a human captain named Woods, bowed. “I will assume full responsibility for this failure in our duties.”

  “Give me a little more space,” she said irritably. She knew she shouldn’t take her feelings out on them, but Regina was feeling a bit worn right now. “And this was not your fault in any way, Captain,” she added. “You could not have foreseen my departure.”

  He stepped back a little. “Of course, my apologies,” he repeated. “Thank you, My Empress. If I may be so bold as to ask, is there a chance this will be repeated? Is there still any threat to your person?”

  “Not at all,” she answered curtly. “I was not in serious danger, anyway. But we will be returning to the palace straight away. Please coordinate with the Guard forces there.”

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  “Of course, Your Imperial Majesty,” he murmured.

  One of the drones in the unit had already called their mounts over, and it didn’t take long for them to get ready for departure. Regina took the highest-level Winged Drone Mount, though none of them were sentient.

  She barely noticed their departure or the first leg of their trip, since she was too focused on the psychic link. There was still a lot to do and to sort out. If nothing else, this little excursion had shown a few vulnerabilities that they needed to address.

  And she needed to consider how to handle the base and everything else in the south. This material, Flame of Ruin or whatever, seemed important and potentially dangerous but also, as such, not immediately relevant. It didn’t seem like anyone was actually able to use it, anyway. It wouldn’t help her defend the site if it came to that, either way. But she also couldn’t give it up, even without Leian’s words and her implicit promise to take care of this.

  Regina was going to need to sit down with Ben and Max and a few others and figure out the parameters of their operations in the southern lands. Whether to send new reinforcements, and perhaps some kind of structure so they could keep up a military presence indefinitely without inviting attack. Alliances with southern city-states would probably be important, even if she didn’t like the implications.

  There were also the dwarves, with whom they needed to finalize an agreement. Regina made a mental note to prepare a proper address to inform at least her ‘court’ about the matter, and perhaps a public statement as well. They should at least know the Empire was in talks with the dwarves; who probably wouldn’t object to that information becoming public since it would also give them more potential weight in the south, anyway, either.

  At least now that she actually knew what there was to protect in the southern base, she could finalize some plans.

  And in a little while, she could send Tim and the drones with him home. Not only had Regina missed him, they really deserved it after what they’d accomplished.

  Regina focused on the southern-most edge of her psychic range, quickly cycling through a few drones scouting the mountains, then to the larger collection of their minds. Her abrupt disappearance had also not done their forces here any favors, but she noted that they’d been smart enough for a tactical withdrawal and to hunker down, remaining on the defensive for a while. There had been no major battles, since they’d cleared out the monsters there already. All in all, it could have gone a lot worse. Regina did a quick sweep to ensure there were no particularly dangerous monsters remaining near them, then focused a little more on the strategic situation.

  They’d set up a small chain of outposts by now, in carefully chosen locations. Each still needed substantial forces assigned to them, since the threat of monster attacks was constant. Still, things were largely quiet, for the most part. The road they were building, combining more normal paths up slightly-less-steep parts of the mountains with digging tunnels, was progressing nicely. At this point, it would be pretty easy to get into the middle of the mountains. Not that the road really led into the heart of the mountains; they still avoided the most dangerous areas, for obvious reasons.

  She presumed the dwarves would also want to set up or perhaps reclaim settlements along this new route, coming from the other direction. Working together should make this simpler for both of them. And, although Regina didn’t like what it meant in other terms, having a region crawling with monsters so close was probably a good thing for the Empire in some respects — basically a source for monsters to fight so their soldiers could train and level up. In that sense, completely clearing the mountains would be foolish, anyway.

  The trip passed in a blur. Regina was starting to feel pretty tired, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest for a while yet. There were too many people to talk to and too many things to sort out. As much as she wanted to just take a few hours to reflect on her conversation with Leian, she couldn’t afford that right now.

  Finally, they reached Cera, their current destination. She’d considered just heading to Forest’s Haunt, but most of the government was still in the Cernlian capital. The drones didn’t take any time to circle over the city like they usually might have. Instead, Regina guided them straight to the royal palace. The rather abrupt landing knocked the wind out of her for a moment, but she quickly gathered herself and dismounted, only pausing for a second to make sure everyone in her escort came along. Turning, she strode to the back entrance into the palace.

  Perhaps surprisingly, Kiara was the first person she met. The young queen looked relieved. She must have heard Regina was fine, but clearly seeing it helped. “Welcome back,” she greeted with a bow. “We were worried.”

  Regina pulled her into a quick hug. There weren’t many people around anyway. “Thank you, Kiara. I’m fine, and I know you had it under control.”

  Before the conversation could continue, Max, Tia, Ben, Ira and June joined them. Regina greeted all of them as well with quick hugs. It felt a bit like being a plushy passed around, but she didn’t mind.

  “Do we have to worry about this happening again?” Kiara asked. “Or perhaps another attack?”

  Regina shook her head. “I doubt it. We should probably make contingency plans in case I’m taken out and the psychic link shuts down again, but there shouldn’t be any problems right now.” She paused, frowning. “Well, except perhaps related to what we found in the south. If word gets out, certain parties might be interested.”

  “That’s good,” Ben said sardonically, “I was not looking forward to marching an army through the mountains.”

  Regina smiled, but shook her head. “Don’t get too comfortable,” she teased him. “It might still happen.”

  Tia frowned, quickly turning serious. “Is that a real possibility?”

  “Let’s hope not. I don’t intend to wage war in the south.”

  “There’s another issue,” Ira spoke up soberly.

  Regina turned her attention to her. She could already guess, given the impression in the psychic link. “Yes?”

  “The eggs. They haven’t hatched while you were away. I think some are beginning to, now, but their hatching was definitely delayed.”

  “They are,” she confirmed. She could sense it in the psychic link, and quickly projected a sense of reassurance and welcome at the new drones.

  “Will there be any side effects?” June asked. She sounded concerned.

  Regina hesitated. “I don’t think so. The psychic connection to a drone is fully anchored shortly before they hatch. It makes sense that being outside the psychic range would delay or even stop their growth or hatching. But once it stabilizes, I don’t think there will be any further issues. They’re not aware before being hatched, after all, even the sapient drones.”

  “So, you can’t just transport wagon loads of drone eggs south and have them hatch there to grow an army,” Kiara mused.

  Regina pulled a face. “Not something I would do anyway, but no, that wouldn’t work.”

  The hive was pretty sharply limited by her psychic range, for that and other reasons. It was a good thing her range was still growing.

  She’d been staggering the hatchings across the day, anyway, so there weren’t that many affected. For now, she would make time to visit the nursery soon, and add more eggs to their little hoard. The number was getting low, and she was starting to feel a familiar tightness in her core.

  Maybe some food first, though. “Can we continue this conversation over dinner?” she asked. “I haven’t eaten in ages and I’m famished.”

  That quickly derailed the conversation, and they followed Regina further into the palace, although she could tell several of them were already preparing to discuss important affairs of the Empire.

  It was a good thing Janis was coming back, actually. Maybe she could pass off some of the work of sorting out this mess to her.