“I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you.” His voice was rough and strained with emotion.
“I’m fine,” I said, looking up at him.
There was a sudden flash of lightning, and a dark form arose in the middle of the courtyard. I looked on in shock as the shadow moved slowly toward us. A hideous creature that was unmistakably a woman with blazing red eyes and a tattered black robe floated a few feet off the ground. It was more wraith and shadow than any real form. Rafe moved instinctively in front of me, shielding me from whatever that thing was.
The wraith spoke, its voice a rasp. “Finally you have released me from my prison, young fae-mage.”
“Who are you?” I whispered.
“Lilith!” said Uncle Gabriel in a barely audible whisper as he came to stand beside me. He looked at the wraith, alarm obvious on his aging face.
“Yes, Gabriel,” said the shadow wraith.
“But how?” I had never seen Uncle Gabriel look so upset. “Azaren killed you.”
The creature Uncle Gabriel called Lilith spoke, its voice like nails screeching against a blackboard. “When the pegasus was brought back from the threshold of the otherworld, the fae-mage inadvertently opened a portal for me to come through. I have been waiting for this for a long, long time.”
The wraith screeched and flew at me, trapping me within shadows that clasped around my throat. I fell backward, hitting my head on the stone floor. I thrashed and kicked, struggling to breathe as I felt the life slowly drain out of me. It was like a huge, crushing weight was sitting on my chest, and rotting shadows squeezed my throat.
“Heir of Azaren,” rasped the specter, “you shall pay for the crimes of your father.”
Uncle Gabriel and Rafe looked on with terrified expressions. From the corner of my eye, I could see Rafe moving forward to help me, hands raised to attack Lilith.
“No, Rafe!” I heard Uncle Gabriel call out. “Do not strike the wraith. You could harm Aurora instead. Lilith is made of shadows; your magic will only pass through her. Aurora must do this herself.”
I had not come so far only to die here today. My mother had died for me so that I would be safe. My father had defeated this thing once, and I was more powerful than my father ever was. The thought gave me the strength to concentrate harder, blocking out all sensations, even the feeling of not being able to breathe. Slowly, I opened myself to the magic around me and let it flow into me.
The white light within me started to glow and move outward, creating a shield around me. I concentrated on pushing it out from the center of my chest. White light coursed through my veins, and I started glowing all over, the light of my magic piercing the shade that held me in its grip. Much to my surprise, I didn’t create a shield around me; I was the shield.
Lilith shrieked as if she were in pain, and the shadows let go of me as sheets of white light emanated from my body and pushed Lilith away.
The dark wraith queen rose over us, hovering just out of reach. With hollow eyes flashing the color of blood and shadows swirling, she spoke again. “Your power is very strong, young fae-mage, but once I have regained my body, not even you will be able to stand in my way,” Lilith shrieked and flew away in a haze of darkness and shadows.
My shoulders slumped as my light dimmed. I searched my pockets, and, finding my amulet, I put it back on.
The light went out.
Rafe came and put his arm gently around my waist, helping me to my feet. “Come, my love, let me take you home.”
Rafe gathered me up in his arms and gently put me onto his horse sidesaddle. He jumped up behind me and held me in his arms the whole way back to the Summer Palace in silence.
At some point I must have fallen asleep in the saddle, and I soon found myself resting on a soft bed in my room at the palace. I had no idea how long I had slept. Penelope had healed all my injuries, but I still ached all over, and the burned skin would take a few days to heal completely. But for all intents and purposes, I was fine and, most importantly, still alive.
I had a bevy of visitors in my room, from Kalen and his incessant chattering to the king, who came to tell me he was pleased that I was still alive. Kalen hovered around the whole day, and Penelope had to keep sending him away, saying that I needed to rest.
Rafe never came to see me, but Vivienne did.
She came into the room in a bustle of green silk skirts and promptly hugged me. “How could you not tell me any of this?” She settled herself beside me on the bed. “I could have helped, you know.”
“You’re not angry with me?” I asked tentatively. I was relieved; at least I still had my best friend.
“I was.” Vivienne pouted her lips. “But only because you didn’t tell me. You are my best friend. I don’t care that you’re a princess and a fae-mage who can kill me with a simple swipe of your hand. Although my mother wants me to change roommates because she thinks you might murder me in my sleep.”
We both fell into a fit of giggles, and I hugged Vivienne again. It was good to have her here and finally know the whole truth.
“So is it true that you killed Morgana’s whole Shadow Guard all by yourself?” asked Vivienne, wide-eyed.
I nodded faintly and silently cringed. I was not proud of what I had become, someone who everybody feared.
“That is nothing short of amazing,” said Vivienne. “It was thought that the
