“What you did last night with the gorgoths was amazing,” I said to Kalen as I rode beside him.
“Maybe, but I had no idea what I was doing.” He shrugged, staring into the distance. “I guess my mother removed the spell that contained my magic. I could sense the feelings of the gorgoths, and in a way I could communicate with them through thought. I could feel their internal struggle—they would not willingly attack a member of the royal Night Court. They are being controlled by a powerful spirit-fae.”
I nodded. “Andromeda.”
He shook his head. “No, the image I got from them was of a young fae girl around our age with golden hair.”
I sucked in a breath. “Skye!” I couldn’t imagine my friend being the cause of so much destruction and pain. But she was Andromeda’s daughter, and the power she must possess to be able to control so many gorgoths made her a dangerous enemy.
“I don’t understand,” I said to Penelope, maneuvering my dappled gray mare closer to her horse, which plodded along behind the others. “Why is Kalen’s magic so different from anything I have seen before? I have never seen anyone control gorgoths like that.”
“This is exactly what I was afraid of,” said Penelope. “Kalen may have gotten his shadow powers from his Night Court bloodline, but he has spirit magic because of me.” She adjusted her reins and brought her horse closer to mine. “The Day Court spirit-fae have an affinity for all magical creatures, giving them the ability to control them depending on the power of the fae who wields it. You know how unpredictable spirit magic is at the best of times. But coupled with the royal bloodline of the Nightshades, Kalen’s powers may evolve into something we have never seen before. There hasn’t been a Night Court prince with spirit magic for centuries. The last Nightshade to have spirit powers was Rhiannon, Tristan and Kalen’s grandmother. But even she could not subdue a pack of gorgoths like you said Kalen did last night. Once Kildaren hears about this he will want to train Kalen himself. He will want him to return to Elfi and join his court.”
“Then we will have to keep him away from Elfi,” I decided. I didn’t want Kalen to fall into Kildaren’s clutches. I knew what a snake Kalen’s father could be. He was cunning and callous and would just as easily replace one son for the other if he thought it suited his purpose.
Penelope nodded as she rode forward to talk to Tristan.
“I guess we can’t take the horses with us through the portal,” I stated to Rafe, who had just ridden up to join me.
Rafe shook his head. “I’m afraid not. The passage to the portal is small, but it will save days of travel over the mountains.”
It was noon by the time we got to the base of the mountains. We got off our horses and tied them to a tree, proceeding deeper into the forest on foot. Rafe would send his guards to retrieve the horses later.
He led us to a densely wooded area and moved some bushes apart to reveal a small cave. “The portal is through there.” Rafe pointed to the cave. It wasn’t a big opening; we would have to bend to get inside. “It will take you straight into the Goldleaf Forest. From there you won’t have any problem finding your way.” He looked at Penelope. “The Silver Swords will know where Morgana’s army is camped. They are your best chance at getting into her camp. We have our own people stationed as spies within her army; they will assist you.”
“Thank you, Rafe,” said Penelope. “We will stop in Pixie Bush. I have friends there who will help us acquire fresh horses for the rest of our journey.”
“Be careful,” Rafe warned. “You are walking right into Morgana’s territory. Pixie Bush may not be as you remember it.”
Penelope nodded.
A lump formed in my throat. “Protecting the Eastern Pass will be dangerous too. Be careful.”
He flashed me his charming Ravenswood smile. “Aren’t I always?”
I shook my head. “No, not really.”
He chuckled as Tristan inspected the cave entrance and unexpectedly turned to Rafe with his arm outstretched. “Thank you for taking such good care of Kalen for so many years. My brother and I spoke at length last night, and I can see why he holds you in such high regard. He told me of everything you have done to help the fae, and that even though you are a mage, you are not like the rest of them. You didn’t have to come looking for us yesterday, but you did, at risk to your own life, and for that I am grateful.”
Rafe smiled. “I don’t think you or your brother needed my help last night. But I was glad to be of assistance.” He grasped Tristan’s forearm. “Train him well. I’ve seen what you did for Aurora, and if you can train her, I’m sure Kalen will be a breeze.”
“Hey!” I said, my hands on my hips.
Rafe grinned and Tristan scowled at me before they turned back to each other.
“I should be the one thanking you for your help in restoring my throne.” Rafe inclined his head. “I am forever in your debt, Prince Tristan.”
Tristan smiled, his midnight-blue eyes sparkling. “And I in yours, Prince Rafael.”
“Seriously?” I said, standing beside them staring with my mouth hanging open and my hands still on my hips. “You two are going to be friends now?”
“Maybe,” said Rafe, winking at Kalen. He bowed to me. “Goodbye, Princess Aurora,” he said formally, and my heart constricted in my chest. “I’m quite sure we will meet again. It seems I can’t avoid you, however much I might try.” He turned and disappeared into the trees, just as he had done so many times before.
“Nice fellow,” said Tristan, turning toward the cave entrance.
I glared at Tristan, and Kalen suppressed a chuckle. This was just great! Now the two of them seemed to be getting along swimmingly, but neither of them wanted anything to do with me. Although if Tristan was warming up to Rafe, it was some progress at least.
We entered the small cave in the mountainside. It narrowed into a passage that resulted in a dead end. As we neared it my hand lit up, illuminating the rock face within the mountain.
“You can see the part of the rock that holds the portal if you look closely,” said Penelope, pointing to the wall, which shimmered when the light hit it. It was an artfully concealed fae portal created by a powerful Ancient Fae. Without knowing it was there, it would be easy to miss it. “There are very few of these permanent portals left in Avalonia. Only the ones created by the strongest Ancient Fae have survived the test of time.”
I nodded. Rafe had explained this to me when I first came to Avalonia, but I had never seen or used one of these portals before. Except for the tapestry in Redstone Manor, through which I had come into this world.
“I’ll go first,” said Tristan, stepping up to the wall. He took a confident step forward and disappeared into the mountain.
We waited a few moments and followed.
Time stopped, and for a second that felt like a lifetime, it seemed like I was floating in nothingness. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes I was standing at the mouth of a small cave in a clearing, surrounded by an ancient forest. This was no longer the Willow Woods in northern Eldoren. We had crossed over the Cascade Mountains in seconds, into the Goldleaf Forest in the kingdom of Illiador. Usually the journey through the mountains would have taken us days, maybe even weeks.
I looked around at the massive oak and hawthorn trees towering above us toward the sky, the tops of the huge branches swaying in the spring breeze. On the surface everything looked the same.
But something was different.
Once a cheerful, bright forest with sunlit groves and sparkling waterfalls, the Goldleaf Forest was now eerily quiet. No birds chirped in the tall trees; no animals rustled in the bushes or peeked out to greet us as we passed. There weren’t even any butterflies, and the Goldleaf Forest always used to be awash with them.
Tristan had already sensed something was wrong. He had his swords out and was scanning the surroundings, his razor-sharp senses attuned to the forest. I missed having my fae senses and strength. I used to be able to connect with the earth, the air, and
all the elements of this world, using them to shape my magic as required. Now it was gone, and I had to adapt.
I had started practicing my mage magic on my own, but there was so much I didn’t know about it. I had only finished a few months at the academy, and a fully trained mage took four years of intense study and training to reach the level of a warrior-mage. I needed a mastermage to teach me, but without professor Dekela and my granduncle, there was no one who could train me.
“This way,” said Penelope, appearing beside me and starting down a path deeper into the forest.
I followed Tristan, Penelope, and Kalen through the decaying trees, along a path toward Pixie Bush. The forest was still. Dried leaves crunched beneath our feet and twigs snapped as we made our way deeper into the Goldleaf Forest.
I thought back to when I had first come here, and how warm and kind Uncle Gabriel was to me, taking me into his home and giving me a family. Without him I was lost, and the world didn’t make sense anymore. He was the only one who had my best interests at heart. Everyone else had an agenda, something they wanted from me, or something they needed me to do for them. Uncle Gabriel only ever did what was best for me. It took losing him to realize how important he was to my life. Even in the few months that I had known him, when he was around, I felt safe, at home.
Penelope let out a gasp, snapping me out of my reverie. I looked up to see a sight that brought tears to my eyes.
Pixie Bush was gone.
The once-prosperous fae village was a charred mass of blackened leaves and rotting wood. The tiny cottages were reduced to heaps of burned wood and ash. The once beautifully flowering underbrush was now just mud and dirt.
I saw something black and shiny glitter when the midday sun forced its way through the towering trees, and I bent down to pick it up.
“What is that?” asked Tristan, coming over to me.
I held it up and dropped it as soon as I realized what it was—an arrowhead made of blackened iron.
Tristan bent down to inspect it but was careful not to touch anything. “There are more of these littered all over the village. Morgana must have been working on these weapons for some time.”
Penelope nodded, her face a mask of pure anger as she gazed at the destruction all around her. “They came for me,” she said, almost to herself. “They knew I once lived here. They must have wanted information on my whereabouts.” She ran her hands over her face. “Now all these poor innocent fae have suffered because of me. And I wasn’t here to help them.”
My blood boiled at the thought of Morgana’s soldiers storming into Pixie Bush and torturing and murdering the fae. Her words ignited within me a burning desire to rid Avalonia of Morgana and her evil. This was no longer about me taking back my throne, or making my parents proud, or even avenging their deaths. This was much more.
I had been brought into this world for a higher purpose, and it took losing my fae powers for me to realize I was made the Dawnstar for a reason. It was meant to be used for the greater good; it was meant to save this world from destruction. It didn’t matter that I was not stronger or more powerful than everyone else. It didn’t matter if I ever sat on the throne of Illiador. The only things that mattered were stopping the darkness from engulfing this world and preserving the light from being destroyed forever. There had to be a way, and if it took everything I had, even my life, I would find it.
I went over and put my hand on Penelope’s shoulder. “Have faith, Penelope—all is not lost yet. We will make this right.”
She shook her head. “All those innocent lives . . . gone. We will never get them back.”
“I know, but we can make sure this never happens again.”
Kalen’s eyes flashed with determination as he looked at his mother and turned to me. “We will find a way to get the Dagger back, Aurora. And when we do, we will make them all pay for what they have done.”
“Well, you will have to get a move on,” said Tristan, his swords lighting up with silver fire. His eyes scanned the trees as his fae senses picked up something I did not. “Someone has betrayed us. We’re surrounded.”
The forest was still; no one moved. It was as if time itself held its breath.
From all around us, dark forms started to emerge one by one from behind the trees. Shadowy figures in black robes took shape with elongated canines and dark black pools for eyes.
My blood chilled as I recognized who they were, or rather what they were.
Drakaar! And along with them, a host of uniformed soldiers wearing the crest of the black rose—Morgana’s minions. All of them had bows in their hands with black-tipped arrows pointed directly at us from all angles. Even the immortal fae couldn’t withstand an onslaught of this many arrows. A fae shield would not stop them.
A familiar face, large with a patch over his eye, stepped forward and away from the group. His hideous scarred face grinned at me, showing his blackened teeth. “You just don’t die, do you, Princess Aurora?”
How did he find me?
“Sorry to disappoint you,” I said through clenched teeth. My hands balled into fists, but I dared not move. One word from him could release those arrows. “What do you want, Oblek?”
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” Oblek said.
“I’m quite sure your concept of friendship severely differs from mine,” I said tartly.
“I’m sure it does.” Oblek waved his hand as if dismissing me. “But it’s not me you have to worry about. The general wants to see you.”
“And who is this general?” I asked. We needed more information. We were completely in the dark about him and his plans. My mind raced as I glanced around. There seemed to be no escape—we were completely surrounded. Who could have betrayed us? No one knew we were here except Rafe and Captain Raingate. I didn’t want to believe either of them could have given us up to Oblek.
Oblek laughed. “You will find out soon enough.”
“Why not just kill me here and get it over with?” I said, putting my hands on my hips. Without my magic I would not escape this time. And with my friends’ lives in jeopardy, Oblek knew I would give myself up to save them.
Oblek rubbed his bearded chin. “As much as I would love to kill you, I can’t. It seems the general has a use for you. And I am to bring you to him alive.” He looked at Penelope, Kalen, and Tristan and raised his chin to them. “They are not needed, so we will have to get rid of them.”
Tristan smiled but didn’t put down his weapons. “Is this general such a coward that he cannot face us himself? He sends you to do his dirty work?”
“Ah! Prince Tristan. The general is not foolish enough to go up against the Dark Prince of Elfi on his own.” Oblek smiled. “That’s why he sent them.” He nodded at the trees, and two warriors stepped forward.
I gasped and Tristan’s eyes narrowed. These were not Morgana’s mages nor Drakaar; they were unmistakably fae. Dressed in black fae leathers with long dark hair secured by a band at the nape of their necks, they had eyes that glowed red like the demons with which they were allied.
“Dark fae,” Tristan growled under his breath.
I had heard of such creatures, the offspring of a fae and a demon as powerful as a High Fae warrior and just as deadly. But every book I read had told me they were extinct, and even before that time, they rarely survived past childhood.
Oblek laughed. “You weren’t expecting that, were you, Prince Tristan? The general has found a way to breed a whole legion of these dark fae soldiers especially to take care of you and the fae queen’s scanty band of Elite warriors. With you out of the way and Princess Aurora’s powers gone, no one will be able to stop the general’s plans.”
Demon-powered fae. Great! As if we didn’t have enough people to fight. Tristan would have his work cut out for him if he was going to fight those two.
“Rafe will stop you,” I said, trying to sound as positive and unafraid as I could. “And so will Santino.”
Oblek’s lips formed a cruel sneer. “I do
n’t think so, Princess Aurora. It was your dear King Rafael, or should I say the Black Wolf, who betrayed you.”
“Well, that wouldn’t be very nice of me, would it?” said Rafe, sauntering through the trees, his black cloak billowing around him as he walked slowly and steadily toward us.
A bunch of archers trained their arrows on him.
What was he doing here? How did he know?
Rafe held up his hands to show he was unarmed. “It astounds me how easily you can tell a lie, Oblek. But your little spy doesn’t seem to have your abilities. Danica confessed she works for you.”
“Danica,” I hissed. Why wasn’t I surprised? I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to look away from my attackers.
Rafe paused, his eyes taking in all our positions. Penelope was standing beside me, and Oblek had arrows positioned on her too. If we made one wrong move, one of us could die. I had seen the destruction weapons of blackened iron had wreaked on the fae in the village of Pixie Bush, and I wasn’t going to take any chances with my friends’ lives.
“You can’t help them this time, Rafael,” said Oblek. “That is, unless you brought an army with you.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “Who says I didn’t?”
Oblek laughed. “I’m onto you, Black Wolf,” he spat. “This whole area is surrounded; we know you came alone.”
“That would be quite remiss of me, wouldn’t it?” Rafe quipped, his tone flippant. He was toying with Oblek and enjoying it.
Had he really come alone? Rafe was not stupid—he must have a plan.
While he was talking, he moved slowly closer to me.
“Rafe,” I said softly, “what are you doing?”
“What I always seem to be doing since I met you, my dear,” said the King of Eldoren, his lips curved up in a half-smile. “Getting you out of a tight fix.”
I glared at him. “I’m handling it.”
“Enough talking,” Oblek said and pointed his finger at me. “Kill the others and take the girl,” he ordered. “The general is waiting.”
It took only seconds for the arrows to be loosed from their bows. I heard the sharp twang of bowstrings as the arrows flew at us from all angles. I called forth my mage magic and threw up my hands, engulfing all of us in a mage shield. At the same time, Rafe created another shield that covered mine and took the brunt of the attack. Our shields merged together as one and held. The arrows stopped in midair, falling to the ground.
The Return of the Dragon Queen Page 18
