After ambling through the woods for a while, a pleasantly shaded thicket of old beech provided a nice resting place for us. We ate our meager meal of bread and cheese with a few salted pieces of roasted meat that Erien had taken from the kitchens before we left. It was quite good, and the stream water was fresh and clear. I had never tasted water so sweet and refreshing.
“We should return to the castle soon,” said Erien, getting back onto his horse. “An emissary from Brandor arrived today, and Mother will be expecting us at dinner tonight.”
I struggled to mount the chestnut mare, who insisted on shifting every time I tried to get on. “Where is Brandor?”
“It is a neighboring kingdom that lies to the east of Illiador and Eldoren, stretching all the way to the Sea of Shadows. The emissary who came to meet my grandfather has been sent by the Emir of Sanria, one of Brandor’s largest trading cities.”
I had finally settled the horse and got on. “What’s an emir?”
“The emirs are princes who rule different parts of Brandor. The heads of each family sit on the Council of Five.”
“Don’t they have a king or queen?”
“No, they don’t, actually, because many years ago there was great internal strife in the land, and the nobility overthrew the king. But they could not decide which family would take the throne, and so the Council of Five was born.”
“So are they mages too?” I really wished I had a map. This world seemed to be so vast.
Erien gave me a sidelong glance. “Not necessarily. Most Brandorians are not born with magic, although the emirs do employ mages from time to time. But it is Illiador and Eldoren that have the highest population of mages in Avalonia. It’s only in Elfi that mages are few and rarely seen.”
I tried to create my own map in my head as my horse plodded along beside Erien’s. It was starting to get dark, and the orange-pink sky was steadily growing dim as we rode along a long worn-out path, back to Silverthorne Castle.
“Elfi is the kingdom of the fae, right?”
Erien threw me a pointed look. “Yes, and your grandmother, Izadora, is queen of the fae.”
I was taken aback at this. I never stopped to consider my mother’s fae family. I had a living grandmother. Did I have more uncles, aunts, and cousins?
“What is my grandmother like?”
“I have never met her personally,” said Erien, “but my grandfather has. She is said to be a wise queen and very powerful. It was said that Izadora was distraught when she learned what happened to her daughter. She would be so happy if she knew you were alive.”
I tried to concentrate on keeping my horse from wandering off to eat some foliage. “When do you think I will I be able to see her?”
“For now, Grandfather will decide. You still have to learn to use your powers before you can undertake such a long and dangerous journey.”
I nodded while I ambled beside him on my horse, and the cool forest breeze brushed my face as we rode. It had rained the night before, and the forest smelled fresh and new. Tiny droplets of water glistened on emerald leaves, which rustled in the summer breeze and fell to the ground, creating little pools on the forest floor.
I was plodding along behind Erien when he suddenly stopped. “Wait!” His voice was soft, but his shoulders tensed. He turned his horse and unsheathed his sword.
I whipped my head around, fear rising in my chest. Had Oblek found me again? Were the Shadow Guard here?
Men jumped out from hiding places behind trees, forming a group and circling around us. I hadn’t even heard them approaching. I guessed learning shielding was not going to help me at that particular moment.
“Get behind me.” Erien’s voice had an authority to it that I had never heard before.
I moved my horse, but the men were closing in. They were dressed in filthy brown rags, and most had bandanas tied on their faces, obscuring their identities.
“Bandits,” hissed Erien, and he jumped off his horse, scowling. “Won’t be much of a fight.”
One of them caught my horse’s bridle. I tried to wrench it away, but he held on tight. Another man caught my leg, and his companion pushed me from the other side, causing me to fall off the horse with a thud and bang my head on the forest floor. I was stunned for a moment as I tried to get up. Rough hands caught hold of me, and I couldn’t wrench myself free.
I started to panic. Erien had said these woods were safe, but it wasn’t looking that safe to me right now. Men were now coming at us from all sides. They had surrounded us, and they were still quietly moving forward.
Then the man at the front spoke. “What do we ’ave ’ere?” he said, in a rough guttural voice. He had long dark hair tied back from his face in a rough ponytail and sharp eyes that gleamed like a predator who had just encountered his prey. He was the only one who didn’t cover his face. “You look very much like the girl the Shadow Guard are offering a huge reward to capture.”
Erien glanced at me for a second. “You have the wrong girl.” He took a step forward.
The leader laughed at Erien. “No, in fact, I think I have exactly the right one,” he said as he advanced with a nasty-looking, rusted sword in his hands.
One bandit with filthy, rough hands still held onto my arm. They all looked pretty dangerous to me, but Erien didn’t think so. He was going to take them on by himself. What was he thinking? Was he mad?
“Let me go!” I screamed and kicked,
