Rafe ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t do this anymore, Gabriel. She’s not my responsibility. I should go back and help my people. They need me. She doesn’t.” His eyes darkened. “She has Tristan.”
Uncle Gabriel gave Rafe a steely look. “If you don’t get Kalen to the druids, he will die.” His tone softened. “I will handle Eldoren. But I need you to go with them.”
Just then, Ashara and Tristan joined us.
“The tunnel is clear,” said Tristan, sheathing his sword. They had done a quick sweep of the surrounding caves and tunnels before we set out.
Uncle Gabriel had decided it was better for Rafe to lead us through the tunnels to the town of Royn. It was much safer than traveling through the forest, where more of Morgana’s soldiers would be waiting for us.
Rafe looked up and saw me. He didn’t smile.
Silverthorne gestured at Penelope. “Has there been any change?”
She glanced at Kalen, her eyes troubled. “The shard is moving quickly. The faster we find a druid, the better. There is no time to waste.”
“If we can find them,” Rafe interrupted, coming over to me. “Don’t get your hopes up. The druids haven’t been seen in years. No one is really sure if they even exist anymore.”
“There are still a few left in Avalonia,” said Uncle Gabriel in a tone that brooked no argument. “You just have to know where to look.”
“If you say so,” Rafe shrugged. “But I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
Penelope’s eyes narrowed. “This is Illiadorian territory. Morgana’s kingdom. We will have to be extra careful.”
“I will accompany you until we reach the end of these caverns. From there, Penelope can create a portal for me back to Silverthorne Castle,” Uncle Gabriel announced. “If they have fae tracking the portals, it will throw them off your scent and give you more time to find the druids.
“Penelope will glamour you in the town,” he added, addressing the rest of us. “But be careful, get the information you need and get out fast. Powerful Drakaar and certain mages can see through fae glamour, and, of course, there are the dark fae to watch out for.” He threw us a warning look. “Once you find the druids, get the information you need to heal Kalen and find out what they know about the Dagger and Aurora’s magic. Then we will go after the general. In the meantime, I will gather what forces we have and try to form some semblance of an army.”
“It’s settled then.” Penelope clapped her hands together. “Let’s move out.”
The tunnels within the cavern were quiet and eerily still. Occasional sounds of rushing water from the underground rivers and waterfalls faded as we moved deeper into the cavernous maze, which existed as a separate world, hidden underneath the Goldleaf Forest. Some of the caverns we passed were completely filled from top to bottom with stalagmites and stalactites hundreds of feet in length and interlocking like the teeth of a monstrous creature. Droplets trickling into puddles filled the air with noise as we walked deeper into the labyrinth.
“I have a question,” Tristan said to Uncle Gabriel as we traversed a large cavern with a steep drop on one side leading into the darkness underneath. A valley spread out before us, and the steep rocks climbed high around us like massive underground mountains.
“Ask away.”
Tristan lowered his voice. “I would like to know why the Alkana chose to speak to you.”
“It is a long story,” Uncle Gabriel answered.
Tristan scowled. “It’s not like we are busy at the moment.”
Uncle Gabriel laughed. “No, I suppose we are not, Prince Tristan.”
My ears perked up. I, too, wanted to hear what Uncle Gabriel had to say. I knew that the fae revered the Alkana; they were powerful seers and ancient guardians of this world. For an Alkana to speak to a fae, let alone a mage, was the highest praise.
Duke Silverthorne began his story as we walked. “When I was a young boy, I got lost in the Willow Woods outside Silverthorne Castle. Maggie found me and revealed to me who she really was. She told me Dragath would rise once again, within my lifetime, and in response, so would the Dawnstar. She also told me I had been chosen to be the guardian of the Dawnstar.”
“She did?” I repeated, wide-eyed, falling into step just behind them so I could hear more clearly.
He nodded and continued walking. “Yes. At the time I had no idea what the Dawnstar was. But Maggie trained me in the ancient arts and taught me the Dawnstar would need someone to guard it until the time came for it to reveal itself to the world.”
We entered another, wider tunnel. Rafe seemed to know where he was going, so we followed. He was the only one who knew the way out.
Tristan’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t know the Dawnstar was a person?”
“Not at first, because the magic that protected it—” he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, “—protected you, prevented the Alkana from telling me who or what it was. But when I turned eighteen, she did tell me the Dawnstar would be born into my family.”
I fell into step beside my granduncle. Ashara and Rafe were up front. “So you knew I was the Dawnstar even before I did?”
He shook his head and flicked a glance at me. “Again, not at first. When your father was born to my sister, Fiona, I thought he was the Dawnstar. It was only when he died I realized my mistake, but it was too late—you were already gone, sent through the portal into the other world. I knew Penelope had been sent here by Izadora to find you, so we worked together to prepare for your coming.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked back at Penelope, who was walking behind us with Kalen.
