“What about the other kingdoms?” I asked hopefully.
Uncle Gabriel shook his head. “Brandor is not a mage kingdom, and the emirs all have separate armies, which defend their own borders. They will not help.”
“And the fae?” I prompted.
“The fae rarely interfere in the wars of the mages. Although they are part of the treaty, they are not bound to come to our aid.”
I shook my head. I had been so caught up in my own little world that I did not, could not, fathom the enormity of the situation.
How was I supposed to deal with Morgana and Lucian when I couldn’t even deal with a few bandits? Everyone seemed to have such hopes pinned on me, and I had just demonstrated that I was not fit enough to be what they wanted me to be. What exactly that was, I wasn’t really sure. They seemed to be planning to oust Morgana from the throne and make me queen. Was that why they wanted me to stay—to use me to threaten Morgana’s claim to the throne of Illiador?
The whole concept of being a princess who had to fight to regain my kingdom was so absurd. I was no hero. I was in a strange and unfamiliar world where I had absolutely no idea what was going on. And although I supposedly had all these great powers, they were of no use until I learned to control them. At the rate I was going, that would take forever, and time wasn’t exactly on my side.
“Now,” Uncle Gabriel clasped his hands together, “I will have to travel to the northern kingdoms and speak to Queen Maya of Andrysia and make sure she doesn’t accept Morgana as high queen.”
Aunt Serena’s face looked drawn. “They will be scared, Father.”
“That is why I must go, and I will go alone. If I can assure them of our friendship and pledge my word that our ally, the dwarf king Ranthor, will join forces with them if they are attacked, then they may stand strong. But first, I will have to go and see Ranthor; he will not agree so readily. The dwarves have long since distanced themselves from the wars of men and mages, and Ranthor himself has not left his stone fortress in over twenty years. I will leave at first light. It is best that no one knows of my quest.”
I nodded affirmatively, and so did Aunt Serena.
“Good. Now that we understand each other,” my granduncle said, “we come to the other problem.”
“Which is?” Now what?
Uncle Gabriel turned his gaze on me. “You cannot live in Silverthorne Castle alone, and I think it will do you good to be around people your own age, mages like yourself. You need to learn to wield your magic, as I will be unavailable to teach you for a while.”
“Where will I go?” I was suddenly afraid to go out into this world alone again. Here in Silverthorne Castle with my granduncle and Aunt Serena, I was protected and felt safe. Out there, Morgana or Lucian could find me.
“To the Academy of Evolon,” said Uncle Gabriel.
“Evolon!” I hadn’t expected that. “The best school for mages in the whole of Avalonia?”
Uncle Gabriel’s lips turned upward. “Well, yes, I guess Erien has already told you all about it. He is very fond of his school. The Academy of Magic at Evolon is the best, and you must go there if you want to truly learn to use your gifts and powers. There is only so much I can teach you here, and above all you need to learn some discipline, young lady.”
“But what if someone tells Morgana I’m there? Won’t she send Oblek or someone else to capture me, or try to kill me, again?”
Serena got up from her chair and came over and put her arm around me. “We will not let that happen, but it’s better to be safe. That’s why you will take up a new identity and a new name.”
“What! Change my name?” I knew it was for my own good, but I still didn’t want to do it.
Uncle Gabriel ignored my outburst. “You must blend in with the students in Evolon, Aurora. You will be a goddaughter of mine from Andrysia who has come to study at Evolon. No one will suspect anything, and in any case, I have acquired the help of Penelope Plumpleberry, who, as a great favor to me, has agreed to leave her home in Pixie Bush and come and teach as a professor of Healing and Ancient Studies at the academy. So you will have her watching out for you. She already knows part of your secret, and she is a powerful fae. Few will have the courage to cross her.”
I smiled at that. I liked Penelope a lot, and I was glad that I would have someone to talk to who knew who I really was. I wished Kalen would come too; I missed his brisk chatter.
“Evolon is also a magically protected place. As long as you are within the walls of the academy, Morgana and the Shadow Guard will not be able to find you.” He gave me a pointed look. “Of course it goes without saying that you must keep your amulet on at all times. No matter what, do not take it off. No one will pay much attention to you, and they will think that your magic is not strong enough for it to be sensed as yet.”
I nodded. Evolon!
Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad; after all, even Erien went to school there, and Penelope would be teaching as well. At least I would know a couple of people, since I was apprehensive about making friends. But now I would have to lie to everyone about who I really was. I even had to change my name. It would take
