“This is the place,” Andromeda said. “Once I leave with the council and Kildaren to hand Aurora and the book to Lucian, the wards around the castle will be removed. That is when you will open a portal here, bring our army into the city, and take over Iris.”
“But what about the Elite?” asked Skye. “They are loyal to Izadora; even Aiden takes his role as protector of the queen very seriously. Getting rid of Aurora is one thing, that’s the only reason he agreed. But deposing Izadora . . . I’m not sure how he will react.”
“Aiden will do as I tell him,” Andromeda snapped. “By the time he finds out the truth, Izadora will be dead, and I will be queen.”
My heart felt heavy. Skye was very much involved in her mother’s plans. I expected this from Aiden but not Skye. I thought she was my friend.
“What about Erik and Tristan? They will never agree to this,” Skye said.
“Erik is gone and Tristan is injured,” Andromeda replied. “None of the other Elite have the guts to oppose me.”
“But Izadora may return at any time once she has recovered, and so will Rhiannon,” Skye insisted.
Andromeda shook her head. “No, they won’t. I have already taken care of it.” Her face contorted with a malevolent smile.
“What have you done now, Mother?”
“I’ve already found out where Rhiannon is hiding Izadora while she recovers,” said Andromeda. “The werewraiths under my control are on their way to finish the job. Izadora is too weak to fight, and Erik cannot take on four packs of werewraiths alone.”
Skye gasped. “Four packs! Is that necessary? Isn’t poison enough?”
Andromeda shook her head. “There is a reason Izadora is queen. She is too powerful—werewraith poison will not kill her, but the werewraiths can while her magic is too weak to fight back.”
“It will be a bloodbath,” Skye whispered.
Andromeda grinned, as feral as the werewraiths she commanded. “I want to see if Erik is as good as he claims. Let him show us if he can protect his precious queen.”
“This is treason and murder, Mother,” said Skye.
“It must be done, Skye,” reasoned the grand duchess. “For the good of our kingdom. Izadora and Rhiannon will never agree to give the book to Morgana. This new alliance will save our people from a war we cannot win. Morgana has an army ten times stronger than ours. All we have are insufficient fire-fae warriors, a handful of griffins, and an army consisting of a few hundred High Fae warriors and half-breeds.” She paused. “Morgana has promised her support for my rule. By the time the festival of Ostara arrives, Elfi will have a new queen.”
I was right! Andromeda was aligned with Morgana. She was the traitor. Did the Elder Council know she was planning to take over Elfi?
“I hope you know what you are doing,” said Skye.
“Just make sure you follow the plan,” commanded Andromeda. “We only get one chance at this.”
Skye nodded and walked off through one of the tunnels toward the library.
I had heard enough. Andromeda was going to kill my grandmother, the dowager, and Erik. Penelope was in the dungeons and Tristan was injured. She had rid herself of anyone who could stop her from taking the throne. She thought she was getting rid of me, too, but that’s where she was wrong.
I had to go back and warn the Elders. If I could make them see Andromeda was the traitor and planning to take over Elfi as queen, they might stop her from giving Morgana the book.
I moved backward into the shadows of the catacombs and froze as cold steel pricked my back. Guards appeared behind me, their swords out, cutting off any hope of escape.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our little half-breed princess,” Andromeda taunted, emerging from the shadows. “How did you get out of your room?” She glanced briefly at a guard who looked terrified and didn’t have an answer.
“Doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand and the guard clutched his throat, dropping to the ground. She ignored him as she spoke to me. “You’re here now, and that’s what’s important.”
“You’re a traitor, Andromeda,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And I’m going to make sure the Elder Council knows exactly what you are planning.” My hands started to glow as my magic awoke. I could not let her get away with this.
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Andromeda inspected her nails. “I have a better idea.”
A low growl sounded through the catacombs, and a flash of red eyes stopped me from releasing my magic. White teeth flashed as four werewraiths appeared beside her.
I took a step back and a ball of silver fire formed in my hand as I prepared myself for the worst.
“Don’t worry, they are not going to attack,” said Andromeda, still calm and composed. “Unless I tell them to, of course. But I have other uses for you.” She turned to the guards. “Put on the cuffs.”
The guards approached me warily. I frantically considered a variety of ways to get out of this situation, but all of them would involve killing a lot of people. If I did manage to fight and kill the werewraiths, killing fae guards who were only following orders was quite another thing altogether. I couldn’t do it. That was not who I was. I wasn’t a murderer, and Andromeda knew that. I would have to find another way out of this mess.
The guards snapped identical black cuffs on my wrists and the light in my hands went out.
My eyes grew wide. “What’s this?” I inspected the cuffs and scrambled to reach my magic, but it would not respond. It felt as though someone had cast a veil over my powers.
“This, my little half-breed, is blackened iron from the foothills of the Silverspike Mountains,”
