As he said that, all hell broke loose.
People started screaming. Girls were screeching, and many began to run away, as if I were some monster who was going to destroy them all.
I got to my feet, quickly slipped my necklace back on, and ran out of the arena. After the disaster at the testing, I was afraid to go back to my dorm in case someone called for me to be detained. So I hid and waited until Professor Dekela was alone, then went to see him.
“There you are, finally,” he said when I caught him walking back to his rooms.
I was anxious as to how he would react. “You aren’t scared of me?” I felt stupid as soon I said it.
Professor Dekela laughed at me. “No, my dear child, I am not scared of you.” He chuckled again and shook his head. “Imagine that! A fae-mage living undetected under my very nose. Marvelous. I never thought in all my years that I would ever get an opportunity to meet one. I must say I am honored, Princess Aurora.”
“So you are not angry with me?” I looked down, feeling very awkward.
Professor Dekela frowned. “Now, that is another matter entirely. You should never have revealed yourself like that. Everyone saw you; this story will spread like wildfire through the seven kingdoms. Morgana will search for you even more fervently now. She will want to get rid of you before you can learn to master all your powers. Now that everyone knows that you are a fae-mage, Morgana will think of you as an immediate threat. She will send her best after you. The school will not be able to protect you against her. You must leave the academy tonight. There is no time to waste.”
I nodded. He was right. But I had to explain why I had done it. “Damien found out who I really was and threatened to tell Lucian I was in Evolon.” I wrung my hands together. “I thought if I could stun him and knock him out for a while, I could stop him from telling the archmage until we figured out what to do.”
The mastermage narrowed his eyes as he studied me. “What’s done is done. We cannot change the past. We must now look to the future.”
I hung my head. “Where will I go now?”
“Go to the king at the Summer Palace. You must get the support of Petrocales. If Eldoren stands behind you, you will have a chance against Morgana.”
“What if he says no? I saw how people looked at me. They think I am some kind of monster.” I couldn’t help feeling very sorry for myself.
“That is because two of the six fae-mages turned to dark magic to enhance their powers even more,” said Professor Dekela slowly. “The world is still reeling from the death and destruction they caused.”
I looked at him aghast. “Uncle Gabriel didn’t tell me that part.”
“So he knows, does he?”
I nodded.
“I can see you are wearing the Amulet of Auraken. Where did you get it? Did Silverthorne give it to you?”
I shook my head. “It was my parents who made me wear it. It was around my neck when I was sent away to the other world. It was all I had with me when my adoptive parents found me.”
Professor Dekela adjusted his robes. “I think you now know that it is probably better that you keep it on.”
I nodded again. What could I say? I shouldn’t have done it, but there was no other way to stop Damien. I had learned my lesson, and I hoped it was not too late. I felt terrible; even though I hated Damien, I had only intended to hit him with a stun strike, which he would have recovered from eventually.
“What will happen to Damien?” There was a catch in my voice.
“Damien will be fine.” His eyes softened. “I know it was not your intent to unleash silver fire. I could see you lost control of your powers. Luckily for all of us, Penelope somehow pre-empted what would happen before you struck, and sent out a fae countershield. He was only left with a few burns, which can be easily soothed and mended.”
I was so relieved. At least I wasn’t a murderer.
“But,” he went on, “I hope you have learned your lesson. You must learn to control your fae magic soon, Aurora. You now understand the severity of the situation. Today you unleashed silver fire; only the deadliest of fire-fae warriors use this power. If Penelope hadn’t been there and your strike had hit Damien directly, it would have not only killed him but turned him to ash in seconds.”
I stared at him wide-eyed. Was he serious? That was way too much power for me to handle. I was never going to take off the amulet again.
The old professor put his hand on my shoulder. “Be strong, Princess Aurora. The mages of Evolon will always be at your service should you ever need us.”
I thanked Professor Dekela for everything he had done for me. I went to my dorm while everyone was at dinner, gathered my stuff from my room, found Erien and Penelope, and left Evolon in the dark of night.
The Summer Palace
It was dark, and we rode quickly through the city streets. Professor Dekela gave us the use of three of the academy’s horses. Luckily Penelope and Erien were accompanying me to the palace. I was relieved, since I was quite nervous about going there by myself. I’d heard from Penelope that Uncle Gabriel was on his way back and would be joining us at the palace.
Penelope had come to terms with the fact that I was a fae-mage. Her suspicions were raised, just as I suspected, when she saw how well the girl in the test was healed. Much to my relief, she was not afraid of me.
I was too scared to face Vivienne, and I had no idea
