She moved slowly toward me, gliding over the stone floors. “Avalonia is in turmoil. If Morgana opens the book and Dragath returns, you must be the one to stop him from taking over the world as he did once before.”
“How can I stop him? I can’t get out of this chamber to stop Andromeda. My fae magic is blocked, and if Morgana gets the book, I can’t fight her. I don’t have ancient magic like you did.”
Illaria stopped before me, looked me straight in the eyes, and held out her hand. In her palm was a ring: a carved red stone depicting the head of a dragon, set within a plain gold band. “Take my ring, Aurora Shadowbreaker, and become the queen the world needs you to be.”
I stared at my ancestor as my heartbeat sped up. “Is the ring the Dawnstar?”
“No, the ring is not the Dawnstar,” said the ancient queen.
I took the ring and held it up. It glowed faintly as if in recognition. “Then what is it?” I was confused. “If I am going to go up against Morgana and Dragath, I need your ancient weapon. My magic is not enough.”
“It has taken over five thousand years for all of my powers to manifest together within one person.” She put her hand on my shoulder. A warm light infused my magic with a power I had never felt before. “You are my legacy, Aurora, the weapon I promised the world.”
The chamber lit up.
“You, Aurora Shadowbreaker, are the Dawnstar.”
There was a pause in the threads of time as my whole world tilted.
“I’m what?”
“You heard me.” Illaria removed her hand from my shoulder and took a step back. “I hid the Dawnstar in a place the Elders would never think to look: in the bloodline of the mages. You are the last heir to the ancient house of Eos-Eirendil, and your magic is like nothing the world has ever seen before.” Her voice lifted. “The time for the Dawnstar to rise has come, Aurora Shadowbreaker. Wear the ring and free the great dragon. He will be your guide in mastering the magic of the Ancient Fae, and he will be invaluable to you in the battles to come.”
“Abraxas!” I exclaimed. “Is he in the ring?”
“No, young fae-mage. The ring is part of his prison, but he is not within it. When Dragath trapped Abraxas between worlds, I managed to preserve a link to him, a part of his consciousness, within this ring. With it you can contact the dragon, and he will hear your call through the veil. If your summoning power is strong enough to break the curse and free him, Abraxas will come, wherever he may be.”
“How do I summon him?”
“That I cannot reveal.” Illaria started to retreat into the shadows. “You must find the magic to break the curse yourself. The Dawnstar has been within you all along, but how you use the power that you have been given is entirely up to you. When the time is right, you will know what to do.”
“How will I know when the time is right?” I called out. “Wait!”
But the specter of the ancient queen dissolved into darkness and disappeared.
I slipped the ring onto my finger. It felt warm and the glow got brighter.
“It took you long enough,” said the familiar deep voice only I could hear.
“It’s you!” I cried, aghast, looking at the ring. “You’re Abraxas?”
“A fine observation, Princess Obvious,” said the voice of the great dragon. “But we have work to do. So quit dawdling and let us get out of here.”
“Why didn’t you tell me it was you?”
“Because that is not how the magic that binds me works,” Abraxas replied. “It took every last bit of power I had left to speak to you when you called for help in the ruins with Morgana. At first I was surprised I heard your call, but when I did, I knew who you were. So I tried to help. I had to keep you alive long enough to free me. The closer you were to the ring, the easier it was for me to contact you. When you came to Elfi and to the castle, I felt your presence, but only for moments when I could speak through the curse. It also prevented me from telling you the truth about this chamber.” He paused for a moment. “Time is of the essence, Aurora. We must leave now.”
I shook my head. “My fae magic is bound by these cuffs—there is no way out of here. And the Elders have warded the castle against portals.”
“There are no cuffs or wards that can stop the Dawnstar,” said the great dragon. “Destroy the cuffs and let’s go—you must warn the Elite about the threat to their queen. Izadora must remain on the throne of Elfi—it is imperative if we are going to defeat Morgana.”
I took the Amulet of Auraken from the door and put it in my pocket, its work complete. I didn’t need it. The amulet was created to hide the power of the Dawnstar in plain sight until I learned the true use of my magic. I was the last heir to the ancient house of Eos-Eirendil and I would not hide anymore.
That thought gave me hope.
I searched for fae magic and concentrated all my power on removing the cuffs of blackened iron from my wrists. The cuffs sizzled and sparked as my magic filled them with light, the darkness within clinging to my body like a leech. My hands began to glow as I pushed harder and the blackened iron cuffs fell
