“Aurora, thank the gods you are safe.” She held me gently by the arms, her blue eyes twinkling as she looked me over. Serena Silverthorne was older than Santino but still a beautiful woman. Married at an early age to the Earl of Elmsdale, she became a widow soon after her son Erien was born. She had been courted by noblemen from far and wide, but it seemed the pirate prince was the one who had finally caught her attention.
I looked over at Santino and he smiled, his amber eyes crinkling in the corners as he flashed an indulgent smile toward his new bride and came over to hug me too. “Glad to have you back, Princess Firedrake.”
I grinned at my friend. “It’s good to see you again too, Santino.”
The pirate prince’s eyes glanced behind me and his eyebrows shot up. “I see you brought your betrothed with you.”
I grimaced as I turned to see Tristan standing behind me, his arms crossed and his signature scowl on his face. “So you heard about the engagement.”
Santino nodded, his smile gone. “Rafael stopped by on his way back from Elfi. He told us you were betrothed to the Prince of the Night Court.”
My heart sank as I thought of Rafe’s face the night I saw him in the grand hall at the Crystal Castle. We never spoke, but the hurt in his eyes spoke volumes as to his feelings. If only I had trusted him and waited, we could have been together. I had been betrayed so many times I had begun to believe I could never be happy. So when my grandmother told me Rafe had married another, I believed her. I had been a fool, I saw that now. Rafe was the only one who would never betray me, but it was too late. He was gone, and I knew he would never forgive me for what I had done.
Santino greeted Tristan, and Serena hugged Penelope, who quickly explained her change of appearance to her old friend. For the past two decades, Penelope had disguised herself as an ordinary fae healer living in Illiador. When I first met her, she’d looked different, and I had no idea that she was really my grandmother’s sister. But now she had reverted to her original appearance of a tall and statuesque High Fae of the Royal Court and resumed her role as the fae queen’s most trusted emissary. But her true identity as Elfi’s most effective spy was a secret only very few of us knew.
Aunt Serena looked astonished, but she took it in stride. “Come,” she said to her guests. “It has been a long journey. I shall see you to your rooms and have refreshments sent over.”
After settling Penelope, Cade, and Tristan in their rooms, she linked her arm through mine and walked with me to another section of the palace. “I want to hear everything—don’t leave anything out.”
Santino walked beside us as we traversed the rosebush-edged pathways that connected different parts of the vast complex of the Red Citadel. Even though I had been here before, the incredible architecture of the Brandorians never ceased to amaze. Marble pillars inlaid with gold held up the vast ceiling, intricately carved with crowns and stars ensconced in a latticed web of flowers and vines. The floors were inlaid with a spectacular mosaic of white, blue, and gold tiles, and the smell of roses wafted through the palace’s many gardens and orchards, filling the space with a fragrant breeze.
I lowered my voice as we entered a vast reception room. “Santino, have you had any news about Uncle Gabriel?”
“No.” Santino shook his head, leading us to another row of rooms where I would be staying. Huge arches with billowing muslin curtains that fluttered in the breeze led out into the flowering courtyard beyond. A fig tree shaded the marble fountain, which spouted rosewater into a marble-rimmed lotus pond, and creamy white bougainvillea climbed one side of the walls.
Santino frowned and turned to face me. “In this case, no news is good news. As far as we know, he is still in the dungeons at the Summer Palace in Neris. But we have heard the Blackwaters are getting desperate; after Lucian’s death they are scrambling to stay in power. Now that Elial Dekela is dead, there is a new mastermage of the Academy of Evolon, and the mages of Evolon have joined the Blackwaters. Lilith has been recruiting her own army to add to the forces of Eldoren, and they are completely allied with Morgana. Rafael managed to make it back to Silverthorne Castle, but they are backed into a corner. Rafe does not have enough men to take the capital.”
“You can help him, Santino,” I said quickly. “He just needs more warriors.”
“If only it were so easy.” Santino held my gaze without blinking. “My father will not agree. He will not help Rafael regain his throne, especially after he rejected Katerina so publicly.”
I froze. “He did?”
It was Aunt Serena who replied, “Rafael loves you, Aurora, we can all see that.”
I hung my head and shuffled my feet. “Not anymore.”
Serena put her arm around my shoulders. “A love like that doesn’t just go away, Aurora. But now that you are engaged to Tristan, why does it make a difference?”
I told her and Santino everything that had happened in Elfi, as well as how my grandmother had tried to force me and then tricked me into getting engaged to Tristan.
“I see,” was all Aunt Serena said as she sat next to me while Santino paced the room. “So Tristan is not in love with you either?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. We are friends, that’s all. Well, we were. But I’m not even sure about that now.”
Santino raised his eyebrows. “You are probably going to have a hard time convincing Rafael of that.”
I looked down at my feet. “I know.” My voice broke slightly. “But I have to try.” If I ever
