"And push strikes too," I added, remembering my ordeal.

He frowned. "And you held your shield against so many magical strikes one after another?"

I shook my head. "At first it was one after another, but then, when they were not getting through my shield, they all struck together, maybe four or five at a time. I think they were trying to break my shield from all sides. I didn't have enough power to strike back, so I concentrated on holding my shield."

Professor Dekela was rubbing his chin, and his eyes were wide. "Are you trying to say that you held your shield against so many multiple strikes at a time for, what was it, about ten minutes?"

I nodded.

"And this is the first time you have created a shield against a real magical attack outside of class, am I right?"

I nodded again. What was he trying to say?

The mastermage rose. "That, my dear Rory, is quite impressive. There is only one mage I have seen who had so much power at your age." He stopped, a faraway look on his face; he seemed hesitant to continue on that subject. "Nonetheless, this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in my school. Use of fire strikes on one of my students, ambush on school property . . . these students have to be dealt with in some way."

There was a knock on the door.

"Ah, Penelope and Miss Foxmoor," said the mastermage, looking over at the door. I turned to see Professor Plumpleberry and Vivienne walk in.

Vivienne ran over and hugged me. I winced when she touched my arm. "What happened?"

"Damien happened," I said simply.

Penelope looked livid.

Professor Dekela cleared his throat. "I summoned your roommate and Professor Plumpleberry when I brought you here. They will take you back to your room, so Penelope can tend to your wounds. I expect you don't want to be alone tonight."

I nodded gratefully. I would never have asked. I didn't want to sound like a scared little girl, but I was glad that I didn't have to walk back to my dorm on my own.

"And there is something else," said Professor Dekela.

"Yes, Professor," I said.

"After you are feeling better, come and see me. I would like to arrange some extra classes for you. It seems you have a lot of untapped power, and it would be a shame for it to be overlooked." He glanced at Penelope, who I noticed nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Professor," I said gratefully, following Penelope and Vivienne out of the room.

As we walked along the flowering paths and down the main avenue of cherry blossoms, I told them what I had told Professor Dekela. Vivienne shared Penelope's anger, but they both agreed with me that, if the mastermage expelled Damien, it would definitely bring the Blackwaters down on my head, and I didn't want them snooping around into who I really was.

I felt humiliated. How could Damien do this to me, eight against one? He was always a coward, bullies usually are, and that's why he always had his cronies following him about. I was sure I could beat him one on one, even with my binding amulet on.

I decided that I was going to give more interest and time to my studies and training. I was suddenly extremely determined to be better than him. I knew I could do it, but I needed help. And now the mastermage of the university was willing to look into my studies personally. If I applied myself and worked hard, I was sure that I could challenge him to a public duel and beat him in front of the whole school.

I hardly slept that night. Nightmares of Damien and his cronies hunting me down plagued me every time I tried to fall asleep.

I woke up in a cold sweat. It was still dark, and Vivienne was sound asleep on the other bed in the corner of the room. A light sea breeze wafted in as moonlight shone through the little window and the trees threw rustling shadows on the bedroom floor. A shadow moved near the curtains, and my breath caught in my throat. Had Damien come to finish off the job, or had Morgana finally found me?

"Rafe!" I whispered, relieved beyond belief as the moonlight finally lit up his face. He wasn't wearing his mask.

Rafe came over, knelt down by my bed, and hugged me.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly, holding my face in his hands, his grey eyes glittering in the moonlight.

I nodded, lowering my eyes. Did he really care what happened to me, or was he just upset that he wasn't there to save me this time?

"What are you doing here?" I said, trying to keep my voice low. "What if someone sees you?" I glanced over at Vivienne's side of the room, but she was still sound asleep.

"Penelope told me what happened," Rafe said, holding both my hands in his. He spoke quietly, and Vivienne didn't wake up. "I had to come and see how you were. I thought I told you to stay away from the Blackwaters."

"I tried," I said indignantly, "but they cornered and attacked me when no one else was around. What was I supposed to do?"

Rafe muttered something about needing to teach them a lesson.

"You can't do anything about it, Rafe," I said. "Promise me you will leave it alone. The Blackwaters are powerful nobles, related to the king. If they catch you, you will be hanged."

Rafe laughed. "Don't worry, Aurora. I can handle the Blackwaters." He got up and sat beside me on the bed. "The only person I can't seem to handle is you. I wish you would learn to listen, especially when it's for your own good."

I tried to look offended, blood rushing to my face. I was lucky it was dark and he couldn't see my embarrassment.

Vivienne stirred in her bed.

"I should go," Rafe whispered. "But I want you to meet me tomorrow night in the cellar of your dorm house."

"Where are we going?" I asked, but only because I was curious. The truth was I would follow him anywhere.

"Well, you said that you wanted to learn how to use a weapon," Rafe said, smiling. "And I think it's about time you learn how to protect yourself, with and without magic."

My eyes lit up. "You're going to teach me?"

Rafe nodded. "I will see you tomorrow. Get some sleep," he said, getting up and moving towards the window. "And please stay out of trouble, for a few hours at least."

I smiled and, in a dance of shadows, he was gone.

I sat in my bed and thought about what he'd said. I finally realized that now was the time to enhance my training. Rafe was right. I had taken things too lightly so far. I was enjoying learning to use magic, but I'd never understood what having all this power really meant.

Damien and his friends were just students with limited capabilities. But Morgana, Lucian, the Shadow Guard, and especially the Drakaar were another case altogether. They were all experienced mages and sorcerers, and I would have to learn to do more than cringe under a defensive barrier if I was going to face them.

Ever since I found out who I really was, I had been trying to run from my destiny. But the reality was that, whether I liked it or not, I was the true Queen of Illiador, and I had a responsibility to my people to free them from Morgana's tyranny. I had to stop running. I had to turn and face my life head on. It wasn't enough being like everybody else; I had to be the best, and I was going to show everyone what I was truly made of. I was done with being a terrified princess, constantly waiting to be saved. I was going to be a queen, and, like Vivienne said, I had better start behaving like one.

22.

Queen in Training The next morning I got up, dressed early, and went down to Professor Dekela's room. He had requested to meet me before I started my classes. He was ready and having his morning cup of something steamy and hot, which smelled a lot like coffee.

"Well, Rory, you know why I have asked to see you. Your training is not satisfactory, although it is no fault of yours. I think that you need to be challenged far more. You have shown an extraordinary use of power for someone so young and inexperienced. I must say that I am not completely surprised. After all, you are Azaren's daughter," he said softly.

I nodded.

"I want you to cease worrying about the Blackwaters. I will keep an eye on them, and for now I will not expel them from this school. I understand that it is necessary to keep your identity secret. But now it is even more important that you learn all you can, as fast as you can. Your power must be properly directed and controlled. I also think you are ready to learn some more advanced skills, and unfortunately you don't have the luxury of time like the other students."

He stopped and leaned forward a little. "You may or may not know, but Morgana and the archmage are readying Illiador for war with Andrysia, and when and if that happens, even Evolon will be under threat."

"Why? I thought we were safe here. Uncle Gabriel said that you would be able to protect me," I said.

"Yes, that is true. We are safe for now. But the archmage has always been against me, and he wants me to give him warriors from the school to assist with his campaign. Naturally I said no, and he is obviously not too happy with me. He has given the king an ultimatum: give him an army of warrior mages of Eldoren or he will wage war on us too."

"Can he do that?" I gasped.

"Lucian has become very powerful. And he is the leader of the mage guild. Even in Eldoren, some are afraid to go against him openly," said Professor Dekela. He paused and looked me straight in the eye. "I am telling you all this because of who you are, or who we hope you will grow up to be. You must be updated on the politics of the kingdoms, as well as excel in your studies. Therefore, you will have classes with me every day after school. I don't want anyone getting suspicious, so we will just say I am tutoring you at the behest of your guardian, who feels that you are lagging behind in your studies."

I didn't like the sound of that. Damien would have a field day. Just the fact that I was getting extra lessons would make everyone presume that I was falling behind in my classes. But I had no choice. And I had made up my mind; I was going to show Damien that I was not afraid of him or anyone else.

"Professor Penelope and Professor Tanko will also give you extra classes in healing and warcraft respectively. One day you may be in a situation where you will not have anyone to protect you, and you will have to defend and heal yourself. Now return to your classes. I will see you in the evening," said Professor Dekela.

I nodded. "Thank you, Professor," I said as I rushed away. I was already late for fae studies, and we were going on a small field trip to meet a family of dryads who had moved to the woods just behind the gardens of the school, relocated from Illiador.

I had already met dryads with Kalen in Pixie Bush. Dwelling on that caused me to wonder how he was doing. It had been a long time since I had seen my friend or heard from him, and I hoped he was all right. I reminded myself that I must ask Professor Plumpleberry when she would send for him. I missed Kalen and his incessant chatter.

I missed Snow, too. Uncle Gabriel had taken the Pegasus with him, as his journey was long and tedious, and Snow had offered to take him more speedily to Kelliandria. I even missed Uncle Gabriel. He was strict, but when he was around, I felt safe.

That night after dinner, I lay on my bed, waiting for Vivienne to fall asleep so I could go and meet Rafe. I knew she would disapprove, so I decided it was best not to tell her.

"Aren't you late to go meet your boyfriend?" said Vivienne tartly, rolling over in her bed to face me. Vivienne was sharper than I gave her credit for.

I was startled. I thought she was asleep. "I don't know what you are talking about," I said.

Vivienne sat up in her bed and tried to light a candle. But her fingers only sparked and went out. "Oof," she said, throwing her hands in the air and giving up.

"Could you please light the candle?" she said sheepishly.

I laughed-poor Vivienne. She was an amazing person and very intelligent, but unfortunately she didn't really have much potential for magic.

I pointed my finger at the candle and it lit up. Vivienne was just sitting there on the bed, her arms crossed, glaring at me.

"What's the problem, Viv?" I said.

"The problem is that you still don't trust me."

"Of course I do," I said quickly. "I've told you everything."

"I saw him last night," Vivienne said.

"Saw who?" I retorted, but I had a pretty good idea who she meant.

"It's the Black Wolf, isn't it?" said Vivienne.

I nodded; it was no use lying anymore. I had to tell her the truth. "You saw him without his mask. Did you recognize him as anyone you knew?" I asked tentatively.

Vivienne shook her head. "No, it was too dark. I couldn't see his face clearly."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Although I wanted to know who he was, I didn't want him to get into trouble just because he came to see me.

"You are being very reckless, Rory," said Vivienne. "You're meeting him alone, in the dead of night, without even knowing who he really is."

"I know he has a dangerous reputation," I said carefully. "But Rafe would never hurt me."

"So it's Rafe now, is it?" said Vivienne, raising her eyebrows. She did that so many times that I was surprised they didn't stay that way.

I smiled and started pulling on my boots. "I've got to go. He must be waiting." I took my brown woolen cloak and opened the door.

"Be careful," said Vivienne.

"When am I not careful?" I called back, closing the door gently and hurrying to the cellar.

Rafe was waiting for me with the secret door open. I lit my hand and followed him through the passageway.

"I heard that you finally found out what was in the pouch," Rafe said as we walked through the damp passage. "I don't know how often I should stress that you need to be wary of the Blackwaters."

"I wanted to find out what Morgana was planning," I said. "Isn't it better that we know now?"

Rafe nodded slightly. "We would have discovered it eventually."

"But it may have been too late," I said. "Anyway, it's done. We know what she's after. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"You," said Rafe, "are going to do nothing."

I huffed at his answer but decided to keep quiet for now. I had to concentrate on learning to defend myself; that was my first priority now.

We came out in the study of the abandoned mansion. Rafe took me through the house and out into the garden overlooking the river. It was a beautiful night and soft moonlight lit the water, covering it in a sheet of silver. Rafe pulled out a sleek-looking sword, held it horizontally in both his hands, and presented it to me.

"I had it specially ordered for you," he said, as I took the sword from his hands. It was light and fast, a perfect sword for a person of my height and build. The hilt was beautifully inlaid with three large rubies, which looked like it would have cost a fortune. "It was forged by the dwarves of ancient Stonegate themselves."

"Thank you, Rafe. It's lovely, but I hope you didn't steal it?" I asked before I could stop myself.