The archmage’s spine stiffened. “But Your Majesty, the Drakaar are not to be trusted. They will extract a high price for this—remember what happened after you hired them to kill Azaren.” He paused and took a step closer, lowering the tone of his voice. “Morgana, let me find the girl. I will not fail, just give me more time.”
The queen turned back around to face him. “There is no more time, Lucian. The people have already heard she is alive. You told me yourself rebel factions have sprung up all over Illiador and are searching for her too. We must find her before those troublemakers who call themselves the Silver Swords do. They are the last remnants of Azaren’s supporters, and I want them gone. Burn the forests where they take cover, and scorch the villages and towns that conceal them. If anyone is found supporting Aurora, they must be made examples of. My niece must have no place to go, nowhere to hide. Then we will strike and make her wish she had never been born a Firedrake.”
The archmage bowed, his eyes like shards of cold steel. “It will be done, my queen.”
“See that it is.” Morgana gazed into the dancing fire. “If I want to become high queen over all the seven kingdoms, Aurora Firedrake must die.”
The Journey Begins
I turned over in my bed of damp moss and fallen leaves as muted sunlight shone through the trees and woke me to another day. The earthy fragrances of the forest floor lingered as light on the dewdrops danced in the cool morning breeze, dazzling the woods with a myriad of colors, spectacular in the light of first dawn. The weather had become colder as winter drew near; I pulled my thin blanket snugly around me, not ready to get up just yet.
Rafe was sitting on a large rock, his gray eyes intent as he sharpened his sword. I gazed at him, my eyes still half shut. He wore a plain white shirt with the top few buttons open, dark leather pants with his customary dagger strapped to his leg, and high boots. He smiled when he looked up and saw I was awake.
“Happy birthday!” He put down his sword and came to squat down beside me. His dark hair framed his chiseled jaw, and he looked exactly the same as when I had first seen him so many months ago in the dungeons of Oblek’s gloomy castle.
I smiled up at him, his big shadow blocking out the sun. “How did you know it was my birthday?” Even I didn’t know the exact date.
He chuckled. “Everyone in Illiador and beyond knows when your birthday is, Aurora. There are some villages and towns in your father’s kingdom that still celebrate it as a holiday.”
“Oh!” I blushed as I sat up. “I didn’t know.”
I looked around. “Where’s Kalen?”
Rafe stood up. “Our little fae friend has gone to get you a birthday breakfast. He should be back at any moment. Come.” He gave me his hand. “We should be on our way soon. We’re camped too close to the village as it is.”
“Give me a minute.” I pulled myself up and brushed twigs and leaves off my clothes.
Rafe reached over and plucked a few out of my hair.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. I must have looked a sight. I washed my face in a pond nearby and gargled with water infused with mint leaves.
The bushes rustled and Kalen came charging into the clearing where we had camped for the night. Runaway strands of ash-blond hair stuck to his forehead as he huffed and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “There you are.”
Rafe turned immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“I heard the village guards talking at the market. They are telling everyone to keep a lookout for both of you. Anyone found helping you will be arrested by order of the king.”
Rafe swore softly and immediately started saddling the horses. “We need to leave now. My father’s guards won’t be far behind.”
It had been ten days since Rafe had led us through the secret passage and out of the city of Neris. Resourceful as ever, he had procured three horses and led us, without incident, to the foot of the Sunrise Hills, farther east into the heart of the kingdom of Eldoren.
Our journey took us along the Emerald Coast, and we slept outdoors, skirting small villages along the way. Many had cozy, comfortable inns beckoning us to stay and enjoy the quiet serenity of the little villages, but we didn’t dare go inside for fear of being noticed. Most of the time we hid in the woods, and only Kalen could go into the nearby farmhouses and village markets to buy food for us while we waited like criminals, hiding among the trees and living on the outskirts of civilization.
Our pace was slow; we took back roads and hidden forest paths, constantly stopping and hiding from the guards that patrolled the main trade routes. Market wagons and farmers littered the narrow dirt roads, so we disguised ourselves as poor travelers, blending into the surrounding countryside. Rafe had carefully concealed his weapons under a worn brown cloak Kalen had procured for him at the last market we passed.
At the end of the next day, we rode through the open gates of Roth, a little town not that different from those I had seen before in northern Eldoren. Small, unplanned streets and rickety wooden houses were crammed together at the edge of the forest that extended into the hills and loomed like dark shadows in the distance.
“We will stop here for the night.” Rafe turned his horse into a cobbled alleyway that led into darkness.
I spurred my horse forward and followed, passing
