Danica looked over at me and smiled, but her smile never reached her eyes. I could see a calculating gleam behind her sweet façade, but Rafe obviously didn’t. I could tell this one was going to be trouble.
Rafe looked down at the map on the table. Danica was still standing close to him, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the way they looked at each other suggested they were already pretty close. Jealousy rose up and threatened to clamp itself around my heart. I tried to ignore it, tried to brush it off, but it wouldn’t go away. I had to remind myself Rafe was free to do as he pleased. It was stupid of me to think he would wait for me and forgive me for what I had done. He had obviously moved on.
“You must find your way into the dungeon on the day of the coronation. Retrieve the children and get them out,” Rafe said finally.
“What about you?” I asked.
“That’s where you and your fae prince come in.” He glanced momentarily at Tristan, who was standing beside me, eyes scanning the maps. “If you really want to help, then once you get the children out, you can release me from the dungeons before Brandon decides to execute me.”
The nonchalant way he spoke about his execution set me on edge. I didn’t even want to think about it. But as long as Tristan and I were in the castle, there was a good chance we could prevent it from happening.
I nodded. “Then what? How do we get out?”
“Then,” said Captain Raingate, stepping closer to the table and resting his hands on it, “you need to get to the main gates of the castle and let our forces in. We will take care of the rest.”
“That’s quite a distance,” said Tristan, looking at the maps. “We cannot simply walk out of the castle with the prince. We won’t be able to get out the same way we came in.”
“We won’t have to,” said Rafe. “There is a secret passage here.” He stabbed his finger at a point on the map. “It leads from the dungeons to a small alcove in the main corridor of the palace, close to the Grand Hall where the festivities will be held. If we can slip past unnoticed in the crowd of guests, we might make it past the main bailey to the gates.”
“There will be guards everywhere,” said Rothguard. “Rafael, are you sure you want to do this? There must be some other way we could find to get the children to safety.”
“I’ve studied all the options and there is no other way.” Rafe shook his head. “It is my duty to put my subjects first.”
“Not at the cost of your life,” said Fenton.
“It is the only way,” Rafe insisted and glanced at me. “And with Aurora, we might just have a chance.”
My uneasiness subsided—maybe all hope at repairing our relationship was not lost.
“Then it’s settled,” said Penelope. “I will make a potion to put the guards outside the dungeons to sleep. But you can only do it on the morning of the coronation when the rest of the guards are busy with the parade. It will only work on three or four guards for a short amount of time. If I had my other ingredients, I could have made a stronger brew, but unfortunately there is no time.”
“It will have to do,” Rafe said. “We only get one shot at this.”
Tristan came closer and bent his head to talk to me softly. “Are you sure you are ready to do this?”
“Yes.” In truth, I wasn’t so sure. But we were out of options. I had to do it now or we might never get another chance like this again.
“You will have to open the portal somewhere close so you don’t use up too much of your magic,” said Penelope. “I will wait for you in the town. I know a place close by there where we can hide the children.”
I nodded.
“You can stay here for the night.” Rafe put on his hood and looked at Tristan and me. “Meet Danica at the main gate of the castle as the sun rises. I will have secured your posts by then, so she will be waiting there to confirm your credentials.”
Danica joined him, her cloak and hood fastened in place. Without a backward glance, he left us in the small house in the alley and disappeared into the misty night with her. Kalen gave me a pitying look, hugged me quickly, and hurried after Rafe.
Tristan turned to me. “Get some rest. I will stand watch tonight. We are not safe here, and the sooner we are done with this and get back to finding the Dagger, the better.”
I nodded, too exhausted to argue. Rafe might need me here, but it was quite clear he didn’t want me. Nevertheless, I had to do this. Erien and those children were not to blame for anything. I could not let them suffer for mistakes I may have made along the way. It was my job to make things right, or I would never be the queen my people needed me to be.
I sat on one of the small cots in the corner of the room and tried to glamour objects, but the glamour would only hold for a few moments before flickering and changing the object back to its original form. I flexed my fingers and tried to summon a ball of silver fire. My hand started to glow but never ignited. I frowned and studied my hand as if I could will it to burst into flames, but it didn’t.
“Oof!” I huffed in frustration and lay back down on my bed.
“What’s wrong?” asked Penelope.
“Nothing.”
Penelope got up
