I hurriedly summoned my magic, opening my will to the growing light inside me. After leaving the confines of the tunnel, my magic grew effortlessly. I tried to contain my excitement. I didn’t want anyone to know how relieved I was that it was back. Being in that tunnel had scared me, and for the first time in my life I was grateful for everything I had learned—not just an acceptance of my fate, but a sense that I should never take my gifts for granted.
The portal expanded until it was big enough for the children to pass through.
Erien and I herded the children through, and Vivienne stepped into it without even looking at me. I felt a piece of my heart break, but I steeled myself against the emotions that threatened to engulf me. This was not the time to be emotional. I had to be focused.
Erien was the last to go. I clasped his hand. “Penelope will be waiting for you. She will know what to do.”
He nodded, disappearing into the portal, and I closed it behind him. It would be a while before I would be able to open one again. Holding it open for so many to pass through had drained my spirit magic considerably, but this time I could manage it better. I knew it could affect the intensity of my other fae powers as well, but I would make do with whatever magic I had left.
I turned to see guards lying face down or flat on their backs strewn all around the hall, Tristan standing over them like an avenging angel. More were coming; I could hear voices in the tunnel.
“Follow me,” I whispered to Tristan, moving toward the wall and feeling for the stone that was supposed to reveal the secret passage Rafe told us about. I scanned my memory for the maps to remember exactly where it was.
“Are you sure it’s here?” growled Tristan, gathering his magic to face the oncoming guards.
I searched frantically around on the wall. “No.”
Finally, a stone in the wall triggered the other stones to shift, revealing the secret passage. Tristan and I got in and closed it as more guards entered the underground hall.
I heard their faint voices. “Where did they go?” Their voices drained away as we moved deeper into the passageway.
“I guess it pays to have a castle as your childhood home,” said Tristan as we traversed the damp stone tunnel. “We were lucky Rafe knew about these passages or we would still be trapped down there.”
We ran through the tunnels. By now Delacourt would know we had escaped his cell and every soldier in the castle would be on the lookout for us. If we didn’t manage to get to Rafe and open the main gate to let the army through, we could lose Eldoren.
The tunnel ended in rough stone steps that led upward to a stone door. There was no handle, so I searched for a trigger stone in the wall beside it. Finally a loose stone clicked, opening the door. We appeared in a shadowy, curtained alcove behind a tapestry in the main corridor, which led to the great hall and the festivities.
I glamoured both of us to become invisible as we stepped out into the brightly lit corridor. My spirit magic was shaky because of the portal I had recently opened, and I hoped the glamour would hold long enough to reach the great hall—and Rafe. We wove our way through the throng of glittering guests and pompous nobles and into the great hall, a vast, cavernous room with a vaulted ceiling held up by stone pillars adorned with a garden of fresh flowers. Massive iron chandeliers gleaming with thousands of candles illuminated the room as the nobility of Eldoren sparkled and danced beneath them.
Brandon was sitting on a raised dais on his throne, the heavy state crown of Eldoren already resting on his blond head. Dark shadows stood behind him. Drakaar! I took in their positions; there were only four of them, but I knew dealing with the Drakaar was going to make this much more difficult than it already was.
I spotted Rafe tied to a pillar nearby, surrounded by at least a dozen guards, with heavy chains resting beside his feet and manacles attached to his ankles. I scanned the room quickly for Brandon’s other soldiers and took note of all their positions. A row of great arched doors lined one side of the room, opening out into the courtyard and gardens of the inner bailey, flanked by scores of black-clad guards.
We wound our way through the crowd of chattering nobility and others who supported Brandon’s sudden rise to power, and stopped in a shadowy alcove close to the pillar where Rafe was chained.
It was time. I nodded at Tristan and removed my amulet, which until now had hidden my power from the outside world.
Rafe looked up and scanned the room. I knew he had felt it, felt my magic awakening—and very soon the others would too.
Lilith stood up abruptly from her throne beside Brandon, real fear in her eyes as she hurriedly glanced around. “She’s here.” The Dark Queen in Calisto’s body looked at Brandon, and her voice shook slightly as dark shadows started to form around her like a shield. “The Dawnstar is free.”
Rafe smiled at Lilith. “Of course she is. Did you really think your puny dungeon could hold her?”
I was startled by the pride and conviction in his voice.
It was now or never.
I removed the glamour that hid us, and my swords lit up with silver fire as Tristan and I unleashed ourselves on the unsuspecting guards.
The great hall of Caeleron Castle erupted into chaos as we raced toward Rafe. The chain around his wrists was already strangling a guard’s neck as I slashed through Delacourt’s guards, opening a path forward.
More dark shadows seeped out of Lilith, and she directed them
