Witchstone, I thought through the haze. Marcus had told me about these rare stones in the Night Bazaar in Sanria.
“Till we meet again, Princess,” sneered Lilith as she stepped through the portal, just as Tristan’s sword clashed with the stone wall as it closed behind her.
“Aurora, what happened?” Rafe appeared behind Tristan and knelt beside me.
His face swam before my eyes. “Rafe, I, she, Lilith . . .”
“Shh, you can explain later,” Rafe said, gently picking me up in his arms.
A crowd had gathered, and Penelope ran over. “Get her to her room now,” she ordered.
Tristan had both his swords drawn and threatened anyone who came near us, making way for Rafe to carry me quickly through the castle corridors.
“Rafe.” I could barely get the words out as I held on to his neck, resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled as my eyes closed.
He probably thought I couldn’t hear him, and it may have been a hallucination, but I could have sworn he whispered, “I know, my love. I know.”
When I woke up, I was lying in a blue-and-gold canopied bed under a confection of satin pillows and blankets. A light fragrance of lavender and vanilla filled the room. Penelope was at a table mixing and grinding powders and speaking to Kalen in hushed whispers. They hadn’t noticed I was awake.
“Is there any hope?” Kalen asked his mother.
Penelope shook her head. “I’ve examined her thoroughly. All her fae magic is gone.”
“But she will be all right. Won’t she?”
Penelope nodded. “Yes, she will live.”
I winced. Her answer didn’t seem very encouraging.
“How was she not pulled into the Dagger like her mother and the other fae?” Kalen asked, pacing in front of the table.
“Her mage blood protected her essence, but it could not protect her fae magic.” Penelope looked as distraught as I felt. “As soon as the Dagger touched her blood, it extracted her fae magic, drawing her power into it like a sponge.”
I coughed as I tried to sit up, catching their attention. The pain in my arm had dulled but was still there, the wound heavily wrapped in muslin bandages.
Kalen ran over to the bed. “Aurora, you’re awake.”
I smiled faintly. “Kalen.” I was always glad to see my old friend. He was a breath of fresh air in a world that had gone completely mad.
He held my hand, his violet eyes shining. “I’ll get Rafe.” He ran off and came back moments later with the King of Eldoren.
For the first time since I came back, Rafe fully smiled at me, but only for a moment. It was so fleeting I could have imagined it. His face took on the bored, regal look he was so good at portraying, so different from his worried expression when he was carrying me back to my room.
“Ah, good! You’re awake.” His tone was flippant. “At least now Prince Tristan will stop questioning and threatening everyone in the castle. The nobles have been asking to have him locked up.”
I groaned at the thought of Tristan prowling the corridors of Caeleron Castle in a bad mood. I could well understand the nobles’ fear for their lives. An angry Tristan was not someone you wanted to mess with.
The door burst open and Tristan stalked into the room. “Why didn’t anyone inform me she was awake?” He spoke to Penelope and ignored Rafe.
Rafe rolled his eyes. “See what I mean?”
He was about to say something more when Penelope stepped between them. “We were just about to call you, Tristan.”
Tristan moved past Penelope and came to my bedside with a scowl. “What happened?”
I told them everything.
Rafe frowned. “So all your magic is gone?”
I nodded. “I can’t even speak to Abraxas,” I said numbly, looking at the ring, which now rested cold and dull on my finger.
“Everything fae about her has been stripped away,” Penelope replied. “Which includes her fae strength and her powers as a Dragonlord.”
“And the Dawnstar?” asked Tristan.
Penelope shook her head. “Her fae magic is the basis of her Dawnstar powers, a culmination of them, if you will. She can no longer summon the light of the ancient queens.”
“It’s only her fae magic that’s gone,” said Rafe, trying to look on the bright side. Not that there really was a bright side to this. “She will still be able to use her mage magic.”
“Not that it’s going to be of any use to us,” Tristan growled.
Rafe raised his eyebrows and looked at me. “Cheerful fellow, isn’t he?”
Tristan glowered at Rafe and was met with the famous Ravenswood smile.
“So let me get this straight,” Rafe continued. “Lilith has now taken over Vivienne Foxmoor’s body?”
I nodded.
“And what happens when she decides to change bodies again?” said Rafe.
Everyone looked at Penelope.
“Lilith will take her essence to strengthen herself,” Penelope replied.
“Which means?” I asked. I had to know if there was anything we could do.
“Which means when Lilith decides to leave Vivienne’s body, Vivienne will die.”
My mind flashed back to Calisto’s broken body, and I pictured Vivienne in its place. “There must be something we can do. Some way to remove Lilith from Vivienne’s body without killing her.”
Penelope shook her head and looked at me. “Only the Dawnstar can do that.”
I hung my head. I had failed her. I had failed everyone. I thought I was invincible, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. Now I was being punished for my hubris. Without my fae powers I was no longer the Dawnstar; I no longer had the power of Illaria Lightbringer within me. I was a failure. A queen without a throne. Now it looked like I would never be able to defeat Morgana, or this general Lilith spoke of. Dragath would rise again and enslave the whole world because I was too weak to stop him. Morgana had won, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Erien is going to be so upset,” I mumbled. My thoughts were an absolute mess. How was I
