The dowager nodded and left the throne room.
I ran back through the secret passage to my room, my heart galloping. Those werewraiths were looking for me! They weren’t down there by accident, as the dowager had led me to believe. But at least I finally had some answers about the door under the castle.
My quest for the legendary weapon of the ancients had come to a dead end. I had been so excited to find the door and so sure the Dawnstar was behind it. But after what I overheard in the throne room, I finally realized I had to stop wasting my time looking for a mythical weapon that didn’t exist and concentrate on getting the Dagger back from Morgana. I would have to find another way to free my mother from it. But I did still wonder what else my grandmother and the Elders were hiding down there under the mountain.
I stayed away from the library and didn’t dare go down to the catacombs, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what my grandmother had said—there was a traitor in the castle. Someone had deliberately let those werewraiths loose.
Could Morgana have someone within the castle working for her? Aiden’s words rang in my head. Would he defy his queen to get to me? Could he be the traitor?
After that, Tristan didn’t leave my side. Training sessions were more intense, and I continued to push myself as far as I could go. Every part of me had become stronger—I could run for hours in the hills and woods that surrounded the valley and still have energy to practice archery or sword moves after I was done. My control over the powers I possessed started to increase day by day, but I pushed myself further and continued to learn all I could before my time ran out. Morgana would not rest until I was dead, and I wasn’t going to make it easy for her. If Aiden did come after me, I would be ready.
“Why does the council have to choose a new queen every thousand years?” I asked Tristan one evening, walking back through the valley after a particularly hard run. “I always thought the succession was by birthright, until Cade told me the queen chooses an heir, or the Elder Council chooses for her if she is undecided.”
“Cade is right. In the days of the ancients, our queens did rule by birthright. The royal house of Eos-Eirendil was the most powerful, ruling the fae for thousands of years. Ancient magic ran in their veins, but the last of that power died out with Illaria Lightbringer.”
“Didn’t she have any children?”
Tristan shook his head. “No, she was the last of her line,” he said, looking away. “Although there are some people who believe she conceived a child and brought them up in secret.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Illaria lived most of her life during the Demon Wars. Those were dark and terrible times for the fae. Everyone was afraid of who Dragath would take next.”
“What happened to the child?”
“No one knows.” Tristan shook his head. “After Illaria died and Auraken Firedrake founded the seven kingdoms, the fae were left with these lands. For generations the fae elders have searched in secret for the child, but they’ve never found anything.”
“So then how did my grandmother become queen?”
“The fae elders who remained founded the Elder Council and chose a queen from the most powerful families left,” Tristan explained. “There was outrage among the fae, and Elfi went through years of civil strife until the council decided to choose a new queen every thousand years depending on the power of her magic, thus balancing the power between the Day and Night Courts.”
“Has there ever been a fae king?”
“No. There are only the grand dukes who preside over the Day and Night Courts. That still remains a hereditary title, as I explained before.”
“So after your father, you will become Grand Duke of the Night Court,” I stated. I already knew the answer.
Tristan nodded once as the centaurs opened the gates to let us enter the city. “And Aiden will be Grand Duke of the Day Court.”
“Do you think he could be the one who let the werewraiths into the tunnels?”
“Why would you think that?” Tristan’s tone was sharp. “Aiden would never go against the queen’s wishes.”
I told him what I had overheard my grandmother and the dowager talking about. But I didn’t tell him where I had heard it. I decided to keep the passage a secret for a while longer.
“My grandmother did inform me there was a traitor in the castle,” said Tristan finally, “but it can’t be Aiden.”
“How can you be so sure after everything he said?”
“I know him. He may hate you and try to rough you up a bit, but he would never betray his queen.”
I held my tongue. Tristan obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. His loyalty to his friend was admirable, but I was sure Aiden had something to do with the werewraiths. I would have to be more careful and keep an eye on him. Empty threats or not, something was going on, and I needed to find out what it was before Morgana found another way to get to me.
Twilight was upon us, and the city lit up as the full moon rose overhead, bathing the valley in its silver gleam.
Cade ran up to us as we entered the palace. “Queen Izadora has summoned you.” He looked at me. “You have a visitor.”
I put my hand to my chest. “Me?”
Cade nodded. “She just got here from Eldoren, apparently.”
“She?” My heart started galloping. “Who is it?”
Cade shrugged. “I don’t know. I was sent to bring you to the throne room.” He started walking down the garden path back to the palace. “Come on.
