I took a step forward. “We are here to help, Rafe.”
His gaze flicked to Tristan. “I don’t need your help. You have done enough already.” His tone was stiff, his voice gruff.
I froze.
I hadn’t expected to see him so soon. And I thought when we finally met, he would be at least a little happy to see me. But I had not anticipated the way he spoke to me now and the coldness in his eyes. Maybe I had caused irrevocable damage to our relationship and there was nothing left to repair. Maybe he had already moved on.
“I told you this was a waste of time,” said Tristan, scowling. “We should go.”
“No!” I held up my hand, then turned to Rafe. “If you don’t want our help, Rafe, that’s fine. But I came here to help those children, and that is what I am going to do. With or without you.”
“Why do you insist on interfering in my kingdom?”
I held his stare. “Are you saying that I am not welcome here anymore, Prince Rafael?” I said, using his title for the first time.
Rafe crossed his arms and gave me a wary glare. “That’s not what I mean, Aurora.”
“Then what do you mean, Rafe?” I said tartly.
Penelope stepped between us. “I asked Rafe to meet us because if we are going to do this, we need to work together.”
“Aurora! You’re back.” I heard a sudden soft shout before Kalen came racing out from the room behind Rafe and hugged me so hard I nearly fell over.
I laughed for the first time in months and hugged my friend back. “Kalen! I missed you.”
Penelope cleared her throat and Kalen looked up. “Sorry, Mother,” he said sheepishly, letting go of me and going over to hug his mom. “It’s good to see you too.”
She hugged him fiercely and patted him on his back. “I’m glad you are all right,” she said softly.
Kalen pushed his shoulders back, pulling himself up to his full height, which was now considerable. He had grown a lot since I last saw him. “Of course I am, Mother. Rafe has been looking after me as usual.”
Penelope glanced at Rafe. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head. “You know I will always look out for him, Penelope.”
Kalen gasped when he finally noticed Tristan. “Is this . . . ?” He looked at me and then his mother. “Tristan Nightshade,” he said in an awed voice.
I smiled at Kalen and flicked my chin at Tristan. “You know who he is?”
“Of course!” said Kalen, grinning from ear to ear. “Everyone knows the dreaded Prince of the Night Court.”
“Of course they do.” I rolled my eyes.
Kalen bounded over to Tristan and clasped his forearm in greeting, shaking it vigorously. “It is an honor to finally meet you, Prince Tristan. My mother raised me on stories of you and Izadora’s Elite Guard of Elfi.”
“Did she now?” Tristan smiled for the first time since he got here, flicking a glance at Penelope.
Kalen nodded, his eyes lighting up. “Are you here to rescue Erien?”
My hand flew to my mouth. “Erien!” I spun to face Rafe. “What’s happened to Erien?” A chill went down my spine. If anything had happened to Erien, I would never be able to live with myself.
“Erien was taken by Brandon’s guards,” Rafe said, running his hand through his brown waves. “He’s imprisoned in the dungeons with the other children of all the noble families who oppose the archmage.”
“How did this happen?” I breathed, looking at Penelope. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
Penelope shook her head. “We didn’t know. Marcus tried to get as much information as he could, but not all spies have reliable information.”
“I told Erien to stay with the Silver Swords while I was away.” Rafe’s voice was low. He looked tired, with day-old stubble on his chin and shadows under his eyes—he probably was as worried as we were. I had to be more understanding; after all, it was his kingdom and his people we were trying to save.
But Erien was my cousin, one of the only family members I had left. Aunt Serena would never forgive me if I let him rot in a dungeon or, worse yet, got him killed. I had let my granduncle down, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. This was my war as much as it was Rafe’s, and I would tear apart the castle before I let Delacourt take anyone else I loved from me.
“So, are we going to work together?” I asked Rafe, coming back to the point. “Or should we make other arrangements? Because if Erien is in there, there is no way I am going to let you keep me from trying to get him out. Even if I have to burn the castle down around us.”
Rafe raised his eyebrows and gave me a small smile, but the hurt in his eyes didn’t go away. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t,” he said formally, but there was humor in his voice. “I would prefer to have my family’s ancestral home still standing, if you don’t mind.”
I smiled back at him. “Then it’s settled.” I clasped my hands together. “What’s the plan?”
Rafe sighed, resigned to the fact we were there to help. “I think you’d better come with me.”
He led us through a back door of the small house and down a flight of steps. We came out into a large, dimly lit room with wall sconces that provided light and warmth, as well as a small hearth around which a bunch of people were huddled, trying to keep themselves warm. A few cots and bunks were propped up against one wall in the corner, where the men and women could rest.
They all looked up when we entered.
“Welcome to the resistance,” said Rafe with a flourish of his hand. There was a large table in the center of the room, around which another group was huddled,
