"What happened?"

"Some say he's gone forever," Uncle Gabriel replied, "but it has also been said that he is still alive, trapped in his magical prison for all eternity."

"Who trapped him?" I asked.

"Auraken Firedrake, the first fae-mage," he said. "No one knows for sure what really happened, but the legends say that Auraken defeated Dragath in an extraordinary magical battle that shook the foundations of our world."

Aunt Serena laughed at this. "Dragath is only a bedtime story told to children around campfires at night to scare them, Father," she said.

"Maybe," said Uncle Gabriel. "But know this: Dragath may be gone, but the Drakaar are not, they practice a dark magic older than any known to us. Lucian and Morgana are using the threat of the Drakaar to strike fear into the hearts of any that oppose them. After what happened last time Morgana was opposed, everyone is too scared to go against her openly."

I remembered the horrific story Erien had told me about Morgana in the library, when she seized power after betraying my father, and the nobles opposed her rule. How Lucian, on Morgana's instruction, massacred thousands of families until they all accepted her as queen.

"All the other kingdoms in the treaty have been given a few months to recognize Illiador as the high kingdom and Morgana as high queen," said Aunt Serena.

"And if they don't?" I asked. I knew I wasn't going to like the answer.

"If they do not," said Uncle Gabriel, "Morgana and Lucian will wage war on all the other kingdoms, including Eldoren."

"And our kingdom will have to go to war after a hundred years of peace," added Aunt Serena softly, with pain showing clearly in her eyes.

"Right now, the immediate danger is that Maradaar has already joined Morgana's army," said the duke. "At the moment the northern kingdoms of Andrysia and Kelliandria are in the most peril, as they are located in between Maradaar and us. The Drakaar will attack there first, and unless the dwarves of Kelliandria come to their aid, Andrysia will not stand a chance. I must convince the dwarf king to come out of the mountains and take up arms against Morgana and the Drakaar."

"What about the fae, or the other kingdoms?" I asked helpfully.

Uncle Gabriel shook his head. "Brandor is weak; they barely have enough warrior-mages to protect their own kingdom. And Rohron has no real leader; they will not help."

"And the fae?" I prompted.

"The fae rarely interfere in the wars of the mages. Although they are part of the treaty, they are not bound to come to our aid," finished the duke.

I shook my head. I was so caught up in my own little world that I did not, could not, fathom the enormity of the situation.

How was I supposed to deal with Morgana and Lucian when I couldn't even deal with a few bandits? Everyone seemed to have such hopes pinned on me, and I had just demonstrated that I was not fit enough to be what they wanted me to be. What exactly that was, I wasn't really sure. They seemed to be planning to oust Morgana from the throne and make me queen. Was that why they wanted me to stay-to use me as a way to threaten Morgana's claim to the throne of Illiador?

The whole concept of being a princess who had to fight to regain my kingdom was so absurd. I was no hero. I was in a strange and unfamiliar world where I had absolutely no idea what was going on. And, although I supposedly had all these great powers, they were of no use until I learned to control them. At the rate I was going, that was going to take forever, and time wasn't exactly on my side right now.

"Now," said Uncle Gabriel, "I will have to travel to the northern kingdoms and speak to Queen Maya of Andrysia and make sure she doesn't accept Morgana as high queen."

"They will be scared, Father," said Aunt Serena.

"That is why I must go, and I will go alone. If I can assure them of our friendship and pledge my word that our ally, the dwarf king Ranthor, will join forces with them if they are attacked, then they may stand strong. But first, I will have to go and see Ranthor; he will not agree so readily. The dwarves have long since distanced themselves from the wars of men and mages, and Ranthor himself has not left his stone fortress in over twenty years. I will leave at first light. It is best that no one knows of my quest." Uncle Gabriel paused, and looked at us seriously.

I nodded affirmatively, and so did Aunt Serena.

"Good. Now that we understand each other," my granduncle said, "we come to the other problem."

"Which is?" I asked. Now what?

Uncle Gabriel turned towards me. "You cannot live in Silverthorne Castle alone, and I think it will do you good to be around people your own age, mages like yourself. You need to learn to wield your magic, as I will be unavailable to teach you for a while."

"Where will I go?" I asked, suddenly afraid to go out into this world alone again. Here in Silverthorne Castle with my granduncle and Aunt Serena I was protected and felt safe. Out there, Morgana or Lucian would find me.

"Evolon," said Uncle Gabriel.

"Evolon!" I repeated. I hadn't expected that. "The best school for mages in the whole of Avalonia?"

Uncle Gabriel smiled. "Well, yes, I guess Erien has already told you all about it. He is very fond of his school," he said. "Evolon is the best, and you must go there if you want to truly learn to use your gifts and powers. There is only so much I can teach you here, and above all you need to learn some discipline, young lady."

"But what if someone tells Morgana I'm there? Won't she send Oblek or someone else to capture me, or try and kill me, again?" I asked.

Serena got up from her chair and came over and put her arm around me. "We will not let that happen," she said, "but it's better to be safe. That's why you will take up a new identity and a new name."

"What! Change my name? I don't want to," I said, mindful that I was sounding childish. It was for my own good, I knew that, but I still didn't want to do it.

Uncle Gabriel ignored my outburst. "You must blend in with the students in Evolon, Aurora. You will be a goddaughter of mine from Andrysia who has come to study at Evolon. No one will suspect anything, and, in any case, I have acquired the help of Penelope Plumpleberry who, as a great favor to me, has agreed to leave her home in Pixie Bush and come and teach as a professor of Healing and Ancient Studies at the academy. So you will have her watching out for you. She already knows part of your secret, and she is a powerful fae. Few will have the courage to cross her."

I smiled at that. I liked Penelope a lot, and I was glad that I would have someone to talk to, who knew whom I really was. I wished Kalen would come too; I missed his brisk chatter.

"Evolon is also a magically protected place. As long as you are within the walls of the academy, Morgana and the Shadow Guard will not be able to find you," added Uncle Gabriel. "Of course it goes without saying that you must keep your amulet on at all times. No matter what, do not take it off. No one will pay much attention to you, and they will just think that your magic is not strong enough for it to be sensed as yet."

I nodded. Evolon!

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad; after all, even Erien went to school there, and Penelope would be teaching as well. At least I would have someone to talk to, since I was apprehensive about making friends. But now I would have to lie to everyone about who I really was. I even had to change my name. It would take some time to get used to it.

The next day Aunt Serena woke me up early. My things were already packed, so we had a quick breakfast of hot chocolate and cinnamon-nut bread-with dollops of strawberry butter smeared all over-while we got ready to leave for Evolon. Snow would not be going with me. Uncle Gabriel had said that having her around would raise too many questions, and I was supposed to blend in. I went down to the stables to say good-bye. I really hoped I would be able to see her again soon.

Uncle Gabriel rode with us out of the town with an escort of castle guards. When we reached the edge of the woods, he held up his hand and ordered the guards to go no further. Uncle Gabriel led his horse further into the forest and gestured for us to follow while the guards stayed back, guarding the perimeter.

"Aren't the guards coming with us?" I asked. Was Uncle Gabriel sending me off with only Aunt Serena and Erien for protection? What if we came across bandits or Shadow Guards?

Uncle Gabriel stopped his horse and got down in a small clearing. I followed, as did Aunt Serena and Erien. He must have sensed my distress, because he lowered his voice and put an arm around my shoulder. "Do not worry so much, my dear," he said kindly. "The guards draw too much attention. But I would not send you on such a journey without adequate protection."

"You're coming with us?" I asked hopefully.

Uncle Gabriel shook his head. "No, my dear, I cannot this time, but I have sent for someone who is more than capable of protecting you all and seeing you safely to your destination."

"Who?" I asked confused, looking around.

I followed Uncle Gabriel's gaze to a tree at the edge of the clearing. My heart leapt in my chest, and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.

Rafe was leaning lazily against an old willow tree. His arms were crossed, and he was staring intently at me. He was wearing his signature black cloak and mask, but I had no doubt who it was. He smiled, and I was elated. I was so glad he was back; it was wonderful seeing him again. If Rafe was going with us, I was positive that I would be absolutely safe.

Rafe pushed himself away from the tree and walked over to us. "Gabriel," said Rafe, inclining his head to my granduncle.

"Rafe," said Uncle Gabriel, "thank you for your help. I hope I don't need to remind you to make sure no one finds out her true identity."

Rafe nodded. "I shall take care of it."

"Good," said Uncle Gabriel. "Then I think you should be on your way."

Aunt Serena hugged her father, as did Erien. Finally Uncle Gabriel turned to me.

"Remember what I've told you, Aurora," he said seriously, giving me a leg up onto my chestnut mare. "Keep a low profile in school, and keep your amulet on at all times. We do not want anyone sensing the extent of your powers."

I nodded.

"There is something else," he went on. "I have not informed Penelope Plumpleberry that you are a fae-mage. For now, let us keep it like that."

"Why? I thought you trusted her."

"I do," said Uncle Gabriel, "but powers like yours can scare even the most loyal of people. The fewer people who know of your special gift, the better."

"But Rafe knows?" I said.

Granduncle Gabriel nodded. "I explained this before," he said. "He knows because I trust him, and, as you can see, he helps me out once in a while."

"Tell me who he is, please?" I asked softly, bending down slightly off my horse, hopeful that he would give me some sort of answer.

Uncle Gabriel smiled mischievously. "Why, he's the Black Wolf, my dear," was all he said.

I huffed at his vague answer, but nodded nonetheless. It was obvious he was as close-lipped about Rafe's true identity as everyone else, and I figured Rafe was right, it didn't matter who he really was; what really mattered was that he was here, and I was going to spend the next few days with him. Despite my situation, which had me running, hiding and afraid for my life, I grinned. I was happy. I was with Rafe, and that was all that mattered, for the moment at least.

"Take care of yourself, little one," Uncle Gabriel said, waving me off.

Rafe leaped up onto his black monster of a horse, and I had to struggle with the reins of my mare, who had decided that all she wanted to do was follow the big black stallion. I rolled my eyes and giggled to myself. Like rider, like horse.

I waved a final good-bye to Uncle Gabriel as we rode through the Willow Woods and onward into the world beyond.

14.

Journey to Evolon We rode in silence through the forest, stopping only to rest the horses and fill our leather water flasks from small forest pools. Rafe seemed preoccupied and kept to himself most of the time. Erien and Aunt Serena didn't seem like they wanted to talk, so I just followed and wondered if I would get a bed to sleep on that night.

It turned out I was not going to get my wish. As the sun set behind the trees, the quiet woods became a menacing maze of dark shadows and hidden dangers. Rafe led us to a small clearing, which was sheltered by an overhanging rock. He and Erien set up camp while I helped Aunt Serena water the horses and tie them to a tree. Aunt Serena unpacked our food of bread and salted meat slices while we sat around a small fire that Rafe had lit. The castle cook had also packed some pigeon pies. I loved those, so I wolfed down a few, along with some sort of smelly cheese.

"Do you think we should put out the fire, Rafe?" said Aunt Serena.

"That will not be necessary. The forest gets cold at night. I will keep watch," said Rafe, sitting himself down against a sprawling willow with his sword across his knees. "Get some rest. It will be a long ride tomorrow, and we have to make one stop before we reach the town of Greystone."

"Stop?" I asked. "Where?"

"You shall see," said Rafe with a half-smile.

I smiled back at him and lay down on the soft forest floor. I was so tired, and my thighs were aching terribly. We had to sleep on woolen blankets that we spread out on the ground. It was cold in the woods at night, and we slept close to the fire.

"Rafe," I said, turning towards him.

"Yes, Aurora."

"Thank you for everything you've done for me," I mumbled. "I really don't know what would have happened if you didn't save me from Oblek and the Shadow Guard."

"You don't need to keep thanking me, Aurora," said Rafe. "I'm glad to help. I owe your father a debt for saving my life. I'm just returning the favor. Now get some rest, because we still have a long journey ahead."

"Okay," I murmured, as I turned over on my blanket. "Good night."

"Good night, Aurora."

So it wasn't because he liked me that he kept coming back. It was part of some sense of duty he had. My heart sank as I gazed into the darkness of the woods, my eyes shutting. I had to face the fact that Rafe was not interested in me in any romantic sense. He was only doing what he thought was right. Exhaustion took over and I quickly fell into a fitful sleep.

Waking up in the forest, at the first light of dawn, was an amazing experience. Muted sunlight filtered in through the rustling leaves. Birds chirped away to their hearts' content, and dewdrops nestled like shimmering crystals on the foliage and even on my hair and clothes. I lay in my makeshift bed and stared at the brightening sky.

"Good morning Aurora," said Rafe. He was already packing things into the saddlebags. "Did you sleep well?"

I blushed and smoothed my hair. I must have looked a complete mess. But Rafe was smiling, and I couldn't help smiling back.

"Yes, thank you," I muttered, still sleepy.

"We must be on our way," he said.

Aunt Serena and Erien were also awake and packing up their belongings.

"Do you need to freshen up, my dear?" said Aunt Serena. "There's a small stream just behind those bushes."