My blood chilled. They were killing people, and it was my fault; they were here for me. I didn’t know what to do. Should I give myself up? What if they kept killing these poor fae folk? They had done nothing wrong except allow me to stay.
Sharp hands grabbed me from behind. I tried to struggle, but it was useless. Whoever was holding me was too strong for me to move. I kicked and screamed, but nothing helped.
“Is this the girl?” I heard the guard who held me ask someone. I craned my neck to see Oblek walking toward us. He looked at me with so much malice that I had to look away.
Oblek stopped. “Yes, that’s her.” He fixed his dark gaze on me as he came closer. “You thought you could escape me, little girl. I told you the next time you tried, you would be sorry.”
“How did you find me?”
He looked over to the trees, and I saw Finn walking toward us. I couldn’t believe Finn had given me up to Oblek. I knew he didn’t like me, but why did he hate me so much as to do something that caused such destruction to his own kind?
Oblek grabbed me by my arm. “Tie her up. We’ll take her to the queen.” He turned to Finn. “You will be well rewarded, fae.”
Suddenly, there was a flash of white light. It shot past me and hit Oblek. He staggered backward, releasing me as he fell to the ground.
I was free.
My eyes darted across the forest to the other side of the clearing. A shadow moved through the trees—the Black Wolf. With his dark, tousled hair, shining gray eyes, and ebony cloak rippling about him as he walked carefully and purposefully toward the guards, he looked like a sleek black panther ready to pounce on its prey.
Rafe held out his hands, and the air quivered before him, the human guards crumpling like toy soldiers. He now had the undivided attention of the Shadow Guard, and they slowly and confidently started closing in about him.
For a split second, he looked over at me, his gray eyes hard set and brimming with anger. “Run!” His voice was powerful, one you immediately obeyed, even if you didn’t want to. “Run, Aurora, now!”
His weapon glistened in the moonlight as he drew it from its sheath and prepared to meet the Shadow Guard. His sword flashed and swirled like it had a mind of its own. I thought I saw a light surrounding him, and it flickered lightly with a faint blue hue.
Just then I heard Kalen shout, “My lady, over here.”
I turned toward his voice. He stood among the trees on the other side of the clearing, holding the pegasus that looked like it would bolt at any minute.
I ran toward Kalen, my heart pounding in my chest. The pegasus had started putting up a fight; it obviously wanted to hurry away from the loud sounds.
The other fae and Finn had disappeared into the trees. Oblek had managed to revive himself and stood up unsteadily.
Rafe’s sword had fallen, and red and white jets of light shot back and forth between him and the Shadow Guard. How long could he keep this up? I had to do something, help him, or he could die.
“Try to get on,” said Kalen, holding the pegasus. “If you really are of the royal house of Elfi, the pegasus will carry you.”
The pegasus still showed no signs of calming down, and it was taking all Kalen’s strength, such as it was, to hold her. She seemed to want to run free, but she was pulling in the direction of the fight instead of the other way around. I tried to calm her down and put my hand on her neck.
My palm tingled faintly. Suddenly the pegasus stopped and was completely still. And then something extraordinary happened. I heard a soft, musical voice in my head.
“Climb on, and I shall carry you, Princess.”
I looked around, and back at the pegasus. Did she just speak to me in my head? No! That was impossible! But supposedly, so was magic.
“Yes, it’s me,” the voice said, “and we don’t have much time. Do you want to help your friend or not? I’ll explain later.”
“Okay,” I said in my mind, tentatively pushing out the thought to the pegasus. I hesitated for a brief second. Kalen gave me a boost, and I jumped onto the pegasus’s back. Kalen looked at me with his mouth open wide. I guessed I was of the royal line of Elfi after all.
“Go,” said Kalen. “Get to Eldoren, and go straight to Silverthorne Castle. Tell your granduncle everything that has happened. The duke will know what to do.”
“We must help him,” I said out loud, looking over at Rafe.
“Do not worry, my lady,” said Kalen. “Rafe can take care of himself. You get out of Illiador as fast as you can. He will meet you there.”
I nodded as the pegasus reared once and cantered toward the clearing. I held on tight and concentrated on staying on. But the pegasus ran straight at the Shadow Guard.
“You’re going the wrong way!” Kalen shouted behind us. “You need to get away from this forest fast.”
“I hope you know how to create a shield,” said the voice in my head. “You’re going to need it now.”
“I can’t,” I gasped out loud. “I have no magic.”
“You may not know how to use your magic, but you do have it, or you would not be able to speak to me with your mind. For now, I will shield you. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
“You have magic?” I asked.
“I am a pegasus, protected by the old magic
