This mind-talking was weird, but I was quickly getting used to it.
“It’s you they want,” the pegasus said. “I will draw their fire away from the Black Wolf to give him enough time to escape. But you must hold on tight. Whatever happens, do not let go.”
We were nearing the fight as the pegasus increased her speed to a gallop fluidly. It was like riding on air, and soon we really were—we were flying. The pegasus spread her powerful wings and shot into the sky like a hawk, flying directly over the clearing.
The Shadow Guards looked up, and their shields faltered. Rafe hit both of them squarely in the chest with powerful bolts of white light. They staggered and fell to their knees, but Oblek raised his hand, a ball of red fire growing in his palm.
“Now.” The voice in my head was calm. “Hold on.”
I closed my eyes and held on tightly to the pegasus’s neck.
Just then I heard Rafe shout, “No!”
I looked down for a second, in time to see a jet of red flames shooting toward me.
“Be calm,” said the pegasus. “You are protected.”
I felt a jolt hit my back, but there was no pain. I remained on the pegasus’s back, flying out of the forest. As we soared over the treetops I vaguely made out Rafe’s dark shadow disappearing into the summer night.
Snow
I clung on tightly to the pegasus’s neck as we rose up over the trees of Goldleaf Forest and flew toward the Cascade Mountains.
“That was very well done, Princess.”
I smiled. I had only just caught my breath, and my heart was still racing. I never imagined that pegasi could talk.
“How did you know who I was?” I pushed out the thought to her.
The pegasus answered in my mind. “When you touched me, I felt your power. You are unmistakably of the royal line of Elfi. We pegasi have our own magic; I could see who you were, just the same as if you were telling me.”
“Can you talk to everyone like this?”
“Only to the High Fae.”
It was an amazing and exhilarating feeling, racing through the sky on the back of a magical winged horse. The pegasus’s powerful wings soared through the air. Soon we had cleared the forest and were flying higher and higher toward the Cascade Mountains.
“Where do you want to go, Princess? I can take you anywhere you wish after we rest.”
“I need to go back and see if my friend Kalen is okay,” I said, “and Rafe as well.”
“That I cannot do, Princess. Illiador is not safe for you now. The Shadow Guard were everywhere. Pixie Bush is where they will search first.”
“But I need to know my friends are all right.” I was worried about them. But at the moment the pegasus was the only one who knew where we were. Without her I would be lost.
“Your friend, the little fae, will be fine. Do not fret, dear one. And the Black Wolf can take care of himself as well as the others. He will see to it that the fae are safe. I know of him; he may be a mage, but he is a friend of the fae.”
I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to be taken back to Pixie Bush. My only choice was to go to Silverthorne Castle and meet my granduncle, the duke. The pegasus seemed to think I was telling the truth. But still, I was not looking forward to meeting the duke under these circumstances, even though I wanted to discover more about my real family. At least if Rafe were with me he would help me explain everything.
“I would like to go to Silverthorne Castle in Eldoren,” I said politely. “Do you know how to get there?”
“Yes, of course. But why do you need to go to Silverthorne Castle? Better yet, show me why. It’s quicker that way.”
“What do you mean? How can I show you?”
“This is fae magic. Just put your palm on my neck and think about the events as they happened, and I will see them too.”
I closed my eyes, put my left palm on the pegasus’s neck, and thought about Redstone Manor, my adoptive parents, Christopher, Cornelia, Lord Oblek, the tapestry, meeting Kalen and Rafe in the dungeons, Finn’s treachery, our escape to Pixie Bush, and Mrs. Plumpleberry’s healing salve and sound advice.
“That is quite enough.” The pegasus shook her magnificent mane. “I will take you to Silverthorne Castle. But I must rest a while; the magic I used to protect us from the Shadow Guards’ magic has weakened me.”
“Okay,” I said, relieved that at least I didn’t have to ride through the mountains for days on end. I would have been traveling with Rafe, though, and it would have been interesting to spend more time with him. I shrugged the thought away. I guess it was not to be.
I was still a little apprehensive about where we would sleep that night because of the pegasus’s need for rest. Some people may like camping under the stars with wild animals around, but I did not. It was not really my idea of a good time.
I pushed out a thought to the pegasus. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
I hesitated. “What do I call you?”
The pegasus laughed, more like a neigh, but I could feel her emotions. It was amazing. “My name is Gwyneira, which means ‘white as snow’ in the old language of the fae.”
“May I call you Snow?” It sounded like a wonderful name for a pegasus.
“Yes, that is acceptable. I like the name Snow.”
I smiled. “Perfect!”
We flew higher and higher over the Cascade Mountains. The wind whipped my face and hair, but I didn’t care. The moon was full and bathed the mountains in its silvery light. Riding on the back of a pegasus gave me the most wonderful
