Erien grinned his silly lopsided grin and waved to me. “Surprise!”
“Snow!” I cried and ran toward my pegasus. I hugged her around her large neck and stroked her white mane. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
Snow spoke in my mind. “I am glad to be back, little princess.”
“She got here last night with Grandfather,” said Erien. “You should have seen his mood. He was so angry. I figured you could use some flying time before you have to meet with him.”
Poor Erien. He was so sweet, and he looked quite worried. I could imagine what Uncle Gabriel must have looked like when he found out what I’d done and that everyone now knew who I was. I wondered who told him. Must have been Aunt Serena; no one else would have been brave enough.
I knew I was in trouble, but what was done was done. I did regret hurting Damien so badly. It was not my intention, but the truth had to come out sometime, and I felt like a great load of lies and deceit had been lifted from my shoulders. In some ways even though Morgana was hunting me, I felt freer than I ever had in my life. It was time to stop hiding, take my life into my own hands, and make my parents proud.
I held onto the leather strap that was wrapped around the pegasus’s middle and hoisted myself up onto her broad back.
“Snow, have you grown since I last saw you?”
Snow laughed her musical laugh. “Yes, my princess. I am still a young pegasus, and I will continue to grow for a few more years. Soon I will be able to fly you across the Stardust Sea to Elfi with no problem whatsoever.”
Snow cantered a little, flapped her great wings, and soared into the sky.
“Why Elfi?” I asked. “I thought I was going to stay here.”
“Your uncle has been planning to send you to Elfi for your safety. To your grandmother Izadora, queen of the fae.”
My eyes narrowed. “Sounds like Uncle Gabriel has already made up his mind.”
I had gotten so involved in my mage life that I hadn’t thought much about my mother’s family. And if what Penelope said was true and she was very powerful, I would be safe from Morgana in Elfi. Right now I was a sitting duck. Morgana probably already knew I was here.
“Will I really be safer there?”
“Queen Izadora is an immortal who is extremely formidable,” said Snow as we soared over the azure sea. “It is only because of her that Elfi still exists. Morgana fears your grandmother and will not attack her kingdom directly.”
“If Morgana fears her, then why is she attacking the fae in Illiador? Why doesn’t my grandmother help them?”
“Morgana knows that Izadora cannot leave Elfi, as it is only her power and her presence that keep the kingdom of the fae safe. She is trying to draw Izadora out, leaving Elfi vulnerable to attack,” Snow replied.
I nodded. It made sense that Uncle Gabriel would try to send me to the safest place in the seven kingdoms, but I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to run away and hide all over again. Although going to Elfi to learn to use my fae magic was probably not such a bad idea. I didn’t want another incident where I lost control. I hoped we would be able to stay at the palace for a little while, though; I really wasn’t looking forward to another long journey trying to evade Morgana’s minions.
We soared over the landscaped gardens of the Summer Palace, over the cliffs, out to the open sea, and back. Snow flew abruptly out of the sky and cantered to a stop inside the palace courtyard. My neck was jarred with the impact of hitting the ground.
“Sorry,” said Snow, “I’ve been used to the duke’s weight for so long that I misjudged my landing.”
I got off Snow and patted her on her neck as the grooms came scurrying to take the now-sweating pegasus for a cooldown and then back to the royal stables.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” said Erien enthusiastically as I came over to him.
I smiled, my mind racing. I was going over what Snow had said to me. “It was fun, yes,” I said absentmindedly. “Thank you, Erien.”
I followed Erien into the palace, through the great halls and massive corridors, to the west wing, where our rooms were.
Aunt Serena was waiting for us. “Well,” she said, her hands on her slender hips. “Where were you two?”
“Aurora was just flying on Snow,” Erien said, grinning.
But Aunt Serena scowled at him.
“What did I do now?” he asked, his face falling.
Aunt Serena’s blue eyes flashed. “I have expressly forbidden you from taking Aurora out of the palace grounds. What part of that sentence do you not understand?”
“In actual fact we were not really outside the grounds or anywhere on them. She flew over the sea and came back,” said Erien, still oblivious as usual.
I wanted to throttle him. He was making matters worse, and he had no clue. Aunt Serena was getting angrier by the minute.
“Aurora has been summoned by the king to meet him this afternoon, and I have to get her ready,” she said, pulling me toward my room.
I went back to my room and changed out of my riding clothes and into a pale blue chiffon dress with silver embroidery on the neck and cuffs. It was cinched at the waist with a wide silver sash. Aunt Serena had said that I was to meet her in the outer chamber of the throne
