“Why didn’t we take rooms here?” I whispered to Tristan. “Instead of that awful place we’ve been holed up in for the past few weeks.”
Tristan glared at me. “Who asked you to stay there? I would have much preferred it if you’d stayed here. Then I wouldn’t have had to put up with you.”
“Well, if I had known this place existed, I would have,” I snapped back.
“Stop it, you two.” Penelope shot us an irritated look as she greeted a young veiled lady in white, who then ushered us up the roughly hewn stone stairs to the upper rooms at the inn. It was small but clean, with a lumpy bed and a chipped ornate dresser that looked like it had once graced the room of a grand house. Even with its imperfections, it looked completely out of place along the faded old wall. But the room was airy and had two large windows looking out onto the street below, with white-latticed shutters and light muslin curtains that fluttered in the breeze.
Penelope went about inspecting a big oval mirror that hung above the dresser. The gold leaf was damaged and peeling, and the mirror had dark blotches scattered within. “This will do.”
I scrunched my eyebrows together. “Do for what?”
“You’ll see.” Penelope stood in front of the mirror. “As I said before, there is still so much more you have to learn. Spirit magic is vast, the most complicated of all fae magic, and your time in Elfi was not enough for you to learn all there is to know.”
She reached out with her magic and the mirror started to swirl with a silvery mist. Slowly a silhouette and then a figure came into view. My grandmother was sitting on her throne, with Tristan’s grandmother, Rhiannon, standing beside her. Penelope explained that mirror portals let spirit-fae speak to each other over long distances without having to spend the power of creating an actual portal that could be traveled through. We could speak to each other but could not pass through to the other side.
The queen of the fae looked me over but did not smile. “I’m glad you have finally put your childish feelings aside, Aurora. There is much work to be done.” She threw a look at her sister. “We have been tracking Andromeda. I will let you know when she opens another portal.”
My eyes widened. “You can track portals?”
Izadora shot a fierce glance at Rhiannon. “You did not teach her portal tracking?”
“There was hardly any time to teach her anything,” the Dowager Duchess of the Night Court said briskly. “She was only here for a few months, so all I could teach her were the basics. Mastering fae magic takes decades—you know that better than anyone, Izadora.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I thought I had learned adequate control over my magic, but it turned out it was not enough. There was so much more to learn, and now I had no one to teach me. But I had no more time to hide away in Elfi and learn—the time had come to act.
“Morgana will soon be recruiting more soldiers to swell the ranks of her army, and we must do the same,” said my grandmother. “We must make sure the other kingdoms stand with us. Breaking Morgana’s hold over Brandor will be your first task. Since you are already in Nedora, meet with Emir Darius Detori and secure his friendship. If the Detoris stand with us, the other emirs will be easier to convince.”
Penelope nodded. “You are right. The Detoris rule this whole area, and they have skilled soldiers which could be invaluable to us. I will set up a meeting with Darius Detori.”
“Good,” said Izadora. “Once you have secured the east of Brandor, I want you to go to Sanria and meet with Santino Valasis and his father. Remind them of our friendship and make sure all the Brandorian emirs and their armies stand with us against Morgana.”
I tapped my foot. “The last time I was there, Emir Valasis refused to help. What makes you think he will help now?”
“The last time he met you, you were not the Dawnstar or a Dragonlord. I think he will reconsider.” Izadora paused and her gold eyes glowed eerily. “If not, make him.”
“But we have to do something about my granduncle too.” I crossed my arms. “We can’t leave Silverthorne in that dungeon. You told me you would help.”
Rhiannon stepped forward. “We will help Silverthorne. But first we have to gather our forces and find out more information. We can’t have you running off into enemy territory to rescue your granduncle on a whim. We have had reports that gorgoths are patrolling the skies around Eldoren, and the Summer Palace is heavily warded, so you cannot portal in. And even if you could break the wards and manage to create a portal of such distance, it will drain your power to a great degree. If you are captured while your magic is recovering, you will not be able to save yourself.”
“I don’t understand,” I said to the Dowager Duchess of the Night Court. “I thought fae magic could never be depleted and is fueled by the elements. You told me that yourself.”
Rhiannon nodded as my grandmother gave her an irritated look. “This is true for four of the five fae powers. Spirit magic is different—it comes from within and cannot be replenished by the elements. The power of a spirit-fae depends on their inner magic, and it can be very dangerous to the fae involved if it is depleted past
