The lords and ladies started arguing among themselves as Viscount Steele backed away into the crowd, surrounded by his minions.
“Enough,” said Rafe, standing up from his throne, and the crowd went quiet. “Prince Tristan is our guest here at the palace, and if anyone has a problem with that—” his eyes narrowed, and his voice was pure steel, “—you are free to leave now.”
Everyone bustled about, whispering and going back to their seats, but no one left the throne room except the viscount and his motley crew.
Tristan came up behind me and whispered in my ear. “Thank you for standing up for me. You didn’t have to, you know. I can take care of myself.”
I turned to face him. “I know, but I didn’t want you splattering the viscount’s remains all over the new carpet,” I said with a grin.
And the dark prince smiled back at me for the first time since we had reached Eldoren.
I was about to sit back down and finish my dinner when I finally spotted Vivienne in the corner of the room. She moved to the entrance and slipped away from the festivities.
“I’ll be right back,” I said hurriedly to Tristan. I had to try to make things right. I couldn’t bear the fact that she wouldn’t even speak to me, and I missed my best friend. I followed Vivienne out of the room.
Vivienne scurried through the brightly lit corridor as I called out to her. “Viv! Wait.”
She didn’t look back. She turned a corner and kept on walking at a fast pace down a more dimly lit corridor lined with arched windows, one of which was open, letting in a chill. Thunder rumbled outside as lightning flashed over the castle, lighting up the passage in an eerie white light. Pelting rain beat against the windows as I followed her, my heart beating wildly. I had to explain why I had left without saying goodbye. I wanted her to know I would be there for her. There had to be a way to make this right.
“Viv, please. Just hear me out.”
She stopped abruptly, her back toward me as I hurried forward, putting my hand on her shoulder. “Viv, please, let me expl—”
She turned.
There was a flash of red light that temporarily blinded me. I raised my arm to shield myself. An agonizing pain burst through me, and I felt as if the cold wind had seeped into my very bones. A void opened within me, and I felt a wrench, as if some sort of cord had snapped inside. I staggered backward, dread chilling my heart and pooling deep within me.
Vivienne stood before me with a dagger in her hand.
She had attacked me.
Terror gripped me when I saw the amount of blood running down my arm, a gash that exposed the flesh all the way down to the bone. The pain hadn’t registered yet, but my dress was soaked in blood. I looked at her in horror. “Viv . . .”
But it wasn’t Vivienne who looked back at me. Her eyes were gleaming black coals devoid of white.
“Lilith,” I gasped, gritting my teeth as the pain hit me. I clutched my arm, trying to get my bearings and heal myself. “What have you done to Vivienne?”
“There is nothing you can do for your friend now—she’s gone,” the Dark Queen sneered, her voice raspy and otherworldly. “If you kill me, she will die.”
She had cut me all the way down my forearm. If I hadn’t moved in time, she would have gotten me in the stomach. I opened myself to the magic around me to heal myself. Nothing happened—the pain only got worse. I tried harder to reach for my magic, but there was no fire, no ice, no light, nothing.
“No!” I gasped. I was no longer looking at her but at the curved Dagger she held in her hand, a huge red ruby flashing on its hilt. There was no mistaking it—the Dagger from my nightmares, the Dagger I had been searching for.
“The Dagger of Dragath,” I said slowly, cold dread flashing down my spine.
I scrambled for some power and shot a weak push strike at her. At least some of my mage magic remained. But it was not enough to fight the Dark Queen.
My fae magic was gone.
Lilith laughed, a cruel, sinister sound, as she stalked toward me in Vivienne’s body. “Your magic will enhance the Dagger’s powers a hundredfold. Our plans have finally come to fruition. The general will be very pleased. Now no one will be able to stop him from raising the demon lord.”
“Lilith,” I ground out through gritted teeth, staring at the Dagger as a blinding horror took hold of me. “What have you done?”
I couldn’t lose my magic, not now. Not when I had so much to do. I was the heir of Illaria Lightbringer, I was the Dawnstar, and my fae magic was my power. My grandmother said I could touch the Dagger without being pulled inside. But she never said what would happen if I was cut with it.
Had she known?
The pain intensified, and the corridor seemed to tilt as I fell to the ground, too weak from the loss of blood to do anything more. My fae strength was gone, and my senses dulled as the world swam before my eyes and darkness threatened to swallow me whole.
I heard a shout at the end of the corridor. “Aurora!” It was Tristan.
Lilith growled when she saw the dark prince, but she didn’t advance on me. Instead, she took out a small stone from her pocket and flung
