But it was Penelope who answered, her fae hearing giving her the advantage of eavesdropping easily. “Yes. Gabriel was the only one who knew my secret.”
I stopped to wait for her to catch up. “You said no one knew.”
Penelope looked down. “It was the Alkana who told me to work with Gabriel.” She glanced at him, but Uncle Gabriel didn’t look surprised. “It seems she has been guiding us all together.”
Silverthorne nodded. “Some Ancient Fae creatures have knowledge of things beyond what we perceive.”
It took us the whole day of walking through the tunnels and caverns that lay under the Goldleaf Forest to reach the exit.
Penelope quickly went about glamouring all of us to look like poor farmers in worn brown cloaks that covered our heads for extra protection. She hadn’t changed all our features completely, as that would require a lot more magic.
“I’ll go first,” Tristan said and disappeared out of the cave.
“I will see that he doesn’t get into trouble,” murmured Ashara as she hurried after him.
Penelope created a portal for Uncle Gabriel to return to Silverthorne Castle.
Uncle Gabriel hugged me and patted Rafe on his back. “Find the druids, Rafael,” he said softly. “There is too much at stake.”
Rafe nodded as Uncle Gabriel stepped into the portal. Penelope closed it behind him.
I exited the cave with Penelope and Rafe. Though the sun was setting, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the onslaught of sudden light after the dim, eerie world of the caverns.
We were in a small clearing, and there was the distinct sound of swords clashing near the trees. My head whipped around to see Tristan engaged in a fight with over a dozen masked outlaws. Ashara was fighting the rest and had knocked out a few of the bandits. Tristan had disarmed three men already, and two were lying on the ground clutching their stomachs. But there were more coming. Two archers had emerged from behind the trees, and arrows came whizzing toward Tristan.
Rafe waved his hand and the arrows fell to the ground. He drew his sword and charged into the fray to help Tristan.
I drew Dawn and ran after him.
“Stand down!” came a voice as a hooded man made his way toward us from behind the trees. The masked men stopped fighting and backed away from us.
The leader of the bandits removed his cowl, revealing a worn face with dark shaggy hair that covered his head like a mane.
“Fagren!” I gasped, my eyes darting to Rafe.
Rafe’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Neither did I,” said Fagren, raising one bushy eyebrow, bowing briefly, and clasping Rafe’s forearm. “What are you doing so far north, Rafael? I thought the rest of Avalonia had abandoned us. Morgana’s army is on the move, and they are headed for Eldoren.”
Rafe nodded. “I know.”
Fagren chuckled. “You choose to travel with a strange group, my friend.”
Rafe ran his hand through his dark wavy hair. “This is personal.”
Fagren’s dark eyes scanned the unglamoured faces of our motley crew, paused on Tristan and Ashara, and finally settled on me. Fagren raised an eyebrow. “I can see that.”
My spine bristled as I stared him down. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and stepped forward. “You can’t trust him, Rafe.”
The leader of the Eldorean underworld narrowed his dark angular eyes at me, shadowed by his bushy eyebrows. He came closer, his worn brown cloak fluttering in the wind. He was wearing brown fitted pants and a green doublet covered by a leather vest and a short, hooded cape. Very different than what he usually wore when he frequented the taverns of the Eldorean underworld. “And it is a pleasure to see you again too, my dear princess.” With a smirk, he gave me a sweeping bow.
Rafe turned to me. “Fagren can help us, Aurora. Forget about who he once was; I’m only interested in what he can do for us now. Illiador is crawling with Morgana’s guards. It will be impossible to get into town without some assistance.”
I crossed my arms. “He hates mages. Why help us?”
“Well,” Fagren answered, stroking his thick beard, his dark eyes boring into mine as he assessed me. “You aren’t exactly just a mage anymore, are you, Princess? You are something else completely, are you not . . . Dawnstar? In any case,” he shrugged, “I owe Rafael a favor.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Another one.”
“One of many, I am afraid.” He turned his gaze on Tristan, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with delight as he bowed. “It is an honor to serve the High Fae prince, though.”
Tristan smirked at me. “Clever fellow. I like him.”
“I’m sure you do,” I said tartly, then glared at Fagren. “You know who he is?”
“Of course!” said Fagren, a smile flickering on his lips. “Everyone knows the dreaded Prince of the Night Court.” He shrugged. “Plus, the Silver Swords can’t stop talking about him.”
I raised an eyebrow and flicked a glance at Rafe. “Fagren is part of the Silver Swords?”
“Yes,” Rafe confirmed. “He joined the resistance a while ago.” Rafe looked around at the band of men and, I noticed, women too. He lowered his voice and gave Fagren a pointed look. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
The leader of the Eldorean underworld nodded. “Come with me.”
We followed a path skirting the edge of the forest and soon came to a cave, dimly lit and separate from the maze of caverns we had just come through. A few warriors stood guard around the entrance, swords strapped to their waists, one with a bow and a quiver of arrows hanging on his back.
The cave was cut into a hill, and the ceiling of the cave was only about ten feet high, its walls black and glistening with the occasional drip of water, creating puddles where they pooled. Small intermittent fires dotted the damp space, surrounded by a raggedy bunch of people who huddled around them for warmth. Children clung to their mothers as
