I was speechless. This was much more than we had hoped for. The witches of Rohron might be few in number, but there were some among them who possessed the powerful magic of their ancestors, and they were formidable allies to have when fighting demons.
Oblek, who was still tied to a tree, regained consciousness.
He opened his eyes, and they widened when he saw who was standing before him. “You!” he spat at the Duke of Silverthorne. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Well, I’m not,” said Uncle Gabriel calmly. “But what I would like to know is the name of your general.”
“Ha! You can tear me to pieces, but I will never tell you.” He grinned a maniacal grin. “You don’t have any idea what is coming for you. You’d better run now, Silverthorne, while you have the chance.”
Uncle Gabriel sighed and looked at Rafe. “He’s never going to tell us what he knows this way. I will have to take him back to Silverthorne Castle if we are to get any answers out of him.”
Rafe gave a brief nod, his arms crossed in front of him. “Take him.”
Tristan stepped forward, drawing his sword. “I can take care of this right now. Based on the stories I’ve heard from Aurora, this mage doesn’t deserve to live.”
Rafe looked at me. “We need him for questioning. But if you want him dead, I will allow Prince Tristan to execute him right here.”
My old enemy was tied up before me, and all I could feel was remorse. I didn’t want him dead, even after everything he had done to me. It was not up to me to pass judgment on his life, even though I had the power to end it.
I shook my head and put my hand on Tristan’s arm, restraining him. “Take him to the dungeons at Silverthorne Castle and find out what he knows,” I said to Uncle Gabriel. “There has been enough bloodshed here tonight.”
Tristan scowled at me but put away his sword.
Uncle Gabriel came forward and clapped his hand on my shoulder, his blue eyes twinkling with an emotion I had not seen before—pride. “Spoken like a true queen, Aurora Shadowbreaker.”
My eyes welled up, but I forced back the tears as I had learned to do and hugged my granduncle. I was so glad he was back.
Uncle Gabriel scrutinized the area. “We need to get out of here. It is too easy to get ambushed in this part of the forest.” He turned to Ashara. “If your witches can take Oblek back to Silverthorne Castle, Captain Raingate will take care of him.”
Ashara nodded. “It will be done.” She turned to instruct her warriors.
The relief was palpable all around. The Duke of Silverthorne always knew what to do.
“I know a place where we can rest and decide our next course of action,” Rafe said. “Hopefully the people of Pixie Bush took my advice and have gone into hiding.”
“Do you think any of them are still alive?” Penelope asked.
Rafe nodded and led the way. “If they left when I told them to, yes.”
The Goldleaf Forest was still and quiet as we traveled through it. I fell into step beside Rafe. “Why did you come after us?” I asked finally. “Don’t you need to be with your army?”
Rafe ran a hand through his dark hair. “I shouldn’t have come, I know. But it was my fault Danica found out where you were going in the first place. I had to warn you, but I was too late. I should have been more careful.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at him from the corner of my eye. “Maybe you should be more discerning about who you take to your bed.”
He shot me a dark look. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you went running off to get betrothed to someone else.”
“Does it always have to come back to that?” I sighed and peeked at Tristan in my peripheral vision. “I told you, it was my grandmother who . . .” I shook my head. I was done explaining myself. I had told him the truth. If Rafe chose not to believe me, then there was nothing I could do about it. “You shouldn’t have come, Rafe. I can take care of myself.”
His tone softened. “I know.” He added stiffly, “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
I nodded, but I didn’t meet his eyes. I didn’t want him running back to save me every time he felt guilty. I wanted him to be with me because he wanted to, because he loved me and nobody else.
Behind us, Tristan and Ashara were arguing.
“Leave him alone, witch,” Tristan growled. “Penelope is a fae healer, and she has already looked at it.”
“Whatever you say, fae,” Ashara said, holding up her hands in mock surrender and rolling her eyes.
I stopped to talk to Tristan. “What’s wrong?”
He scowled. “Nothing.”
Ashara stalked up to the Duke of Silverthorne and pointed at Kalen. “That young fae has been hit by an arrow of blackened iron.” She then pointed at Tristan. “And that insufferable brother of his refuses to let me look at the wound.”
“Why do you care?” Tristan growled at her and looked at my granduncle. “I don’t want any filthy witch magic touching Kalen. She could make it worse.”
Penelope stepped in and put her hand on Tristan’s arm to calm him. “What is your concern, Ashara? The wound is not deep, and the arrowhead has been removed. Is there something I’ve missed?”
Ashara nodded. “I’m no healer, but witches can sense demon magic a league
