Fenton and Rothguard took their leave and left us alone with Captain Raingate.
The captain’s jaw tightened. “My reports suggest Morgana’s army is ten times the size of ours. She has the whole Illiadorian force of warrior-mages from Nerenor, the royal army, Andrysian foot soldiers, and another even larger army led by the general advancing onto the plains. Along with the Drakaar and their shadow creatures, our warrior-mages will not stand a chance.”
“More and more people are rising up against her,” said Rafe, “and many more are flocking to the resistance.”
“Even so,” Captain Raingate replied. “With all our nobles and their private armies, along with Eldoren’s full force, we will still be sorely outnumbered.”
Rafe turned to Penelope. “What about the fae army?”
Penelope shook her head. “They are not coming.”
Rafe was quiet for a moment. “Then we will have to face them alone.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and let it rest on the nape of his neck. “We need more information, Declan.”
“I will find out what I can,” said Captain Raingate, and he took his leave, closing the big council room door behind him.
I turned to Penelope. “I need to speak to my grandmother myself.”
Penelope studied me, flicking a glance at Rafe and Tristan. “I will open a mirror portal in the antechamber. I saw one that would suffice.”
Rafe left to speak with the other captains in his army. We followed Penelope out of the main council chamber and into a smaller adjoining room.
Penelope stood in front of a full-length oval mirror that lay in the corner of the room. She wove her magic and my grandmother came into view, seated on her throne.
Her gold eyes flashed when she saw me, but she didn’t say anything and instead turned her gaze on Penelope. “Have you any news?”
Penelope nodded and explained the situation as it stood now. “Morgana has set her sights on Eldoren. If the fae do not help, the Eldorean mages will be massacred.”
The fae queen raised an eyebrow. “That is not my concern.”
“Once they create the weapons they need, they will turn on the fae.” My voice was sharp.
Izadora’s eyes narrowed as she assessed me, but she addressed Penelope. “What is the situation in Brandor?”
Penelope took out a note a guard had brought to her during the meeting. “For now, Brandor is still embroiled in civil war.” She shook her head. “There is no more news from Santino.”
Izadora’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her throne. “Then there is no time to waste.” She turned her golden eyes on me. “You must leave Eldoren immediately and find Morgana. Your first priority now is to retrieve the Dagger. Everything else is secondary.”
“That will be impossible,” said Penelope. “Morgana is traveling with an army. We would have to sneak into her camp to get to the Dagger.”
Izadora’s eyes flashed. “Then do it.”
“I won’t leave Eldoren to fend for itself,” I said, crossing my arms. “It is the last kingdom that stands against her. Once she conquers Eldoren she will bring her army to Elfi.”
Izadora’s hard eyes narrowed, flashing with an eerie light. “Haven’t you ever wondered why the Dagger only traps but does not kill the fae? If killing was Dragath’s only motivation, then why leave them alive inside the Dagger?”
I pondered this. “You are right. I never thought of it that way.”
“What are you getting at, sister?” said Penelope.
“Dragath is not the only threat to our world,” the fae queen explained. “This is something only those who have read the Fae Codex know. When Auraken Firedrake locked the Book of Power, he warned us of a greater threat, should the book ever be opened again. According to the codex, the original purpose of the Dagger was not to wipe out the fae.”
My eyebrows scrunched together. “It wasn’t?”
“No, it wasn’t.” The fae queen shook her head. “When Dragath was summoned to this world by the Ancient Fae lord, the lord thought he could control Dragath.”
I nodded. “Yes, I know this part. Dragath overpowered the fae lord, took the book for himself, and created the Dagger to entrap the fae and gain more power.”
Izadora nodded. “Yes, but that is not all he wanted. When Dragath came to this world, he came alone, summoned through a portal that remained open for only seconds. Dragath may have been a powerful demon lord, but he was only one, cut off from his demon army. What you have encountered here, the Drakaar and the Shadow Demons, are mere shades of his true followers, the ones still trapped in a dying world of fire and ice.” The queen paused, letting her words sink in. “After accessing the Book of Abraxas, Dragath realized that by creating the Dagger he could trap the spirit-fae within it and combine their power to create a permanent portal powerful enough to let his demon army through. Once his whole army comes, even if your powers are restored, you will not be able to stop them.”
A shudder snaked down my spine as I stared at her in horror. There was an army of Dragath’s demons from another world with magic far greater than any of us could understand. If it took all Auraken’s power to contain just one demon lord, what would a whole army of them do? It would be impossible to fight them.
“But I thought he trapped only the fire-fae in the Dagger,” I said, trying to remember the story as I had heard it before.
“The fire-fae were Illaria Lightbringer’s trained warriors, and he had to go through them to get to the spirit-fae. But Dragath never managed to amass enough power in the Dagger to open such a portal, until . . .” She trailed off, her gold eyes boring into mine.
“Until Lilith took my magic,” I finished, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
I had sentenced the world, albeit unknowingly, to a terrible fate.
Destiny Awaits
“Do you think we will get there in time?” I asked Penelope as we rode through
