“Good night, Aurora,” he said finally, moving back. “I will be gone for a while, so please stay out of trouble.”
I blushed and looked down. He was going away again.
“Where are you going?” I asked, trying to keep him there for as long as possible.
“I don’t want to burden you with all the boring details,” he said, grinning, “but I have some work I have to do for your uncle. How much do you know about what is going on in Illiador?”
“Not much,” I said. “I know that Lucian is trying to invoke an old law naming Illiador as the High Kingdom and Morgana as High Queen.”
He nodded. “Yes, and there is unrest all over the seven kingdoms. Your granduncle has gone to Andrysia and Kelliandria to make sure that they don’t succumb to Morgana’s threats.”
“Yes, he told me,” I said, “but do you think they will?”
Rafe shook his head again. “Who knows? Morgana has now allied herself with the Drakaar, and Andrysia and Kelliandria are right in the middle. They may not have a choice. If it comes down to force and numbers, Morgana could very well take over the whole North. The fae that are left in Illiador are suffering. I must help the ones who want to leave to move south.”
“When will you be back?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t really know,” he said.
My heart sank, but I nodded nevertheless. “Good night, and take care of yourself.”
Imagine my surprise when he pulled me against his chest and kissed the top of my head. I melted into his arms and put my arms round his waist. I wished I could have stayed there forever. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to him while he was gone.
“I will,” he whispered into my hair. “And I want you to stay safe too. You really scared me today, Aurora. I don’t even want to think what could have happened if I hadn’t got there in time . . .” His voice broke off.
I was elated. Rafe did really care about me; it wasn’t all in my head.
Finally Rafe gently backed away, took my hand in his, kissed it, and gave a short bow. He pressed one of the stones on the wall, and the door started closing on its own.
“Till we meet again, my princess,” he said gallantly and turned to walk away.
My heart was crying for him to come back. But all I could do was stand rooted in my place, watching his back disappear into the shadowy recesses of the secret corridor. That’s when I knew for certain that what I had felt for Alex Carrington was just a silly crush. I was falling in love with Rafe, and it didn’t matter who he really was. There was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent it.
I sneaked back to my room and opened the door slowly, creeping on tiptoe towards my bed.
“Where were you?” Vivienne whispered, lighting a small candle and sitting up in her bed. “I was worried.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I just lost track of time.”
Vivienne raised both her eyebrows. “What are you not telling me?” she said, jumping off her bed and coming over to sit next to me.
I finally relented and told her about the Blackwaters and how they tricked me.
“I told you Damien was dangerous,” Vivienne said after I had finished my story.
I nodded.
“And how did you escape?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“The Black Wolf saved me,” I said, with a stupid grin on my face.
Vivienne gasped. “The Black Wolf! Is he as handsome as they say he is?” she asked, nearly swooning.
“More,” I said, grinning.
“Who is he?” Vivienne asked, leaning closer.
I shrugged. I guess it was better that I didn’t know. Then I didn’t have to lie.
“No idea,” I said, “but it makes no difference. He’s just wonderful.”
“And dangerous,” said Vivienne, looking like a stern professor again. “You don’t even know him, Rory. I have heard stories about the Black Wolf that would make you shiver. He may be very charming and handsome, and ladies all over the lands practically swoon at his name”—she lowered her voice to a whisper—“but some say he has killed members of the Shadow Guard, and anyone that powerful is not to be trifled with.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, ending the topic. I really didn’t want to get into the “you don’t know him. He is dangerous,” conversation. “What’s really important is what the Blackwaters have in that pouch they bought from the thief lord.”
“I don’t think we should get involved, Rory,” said Vivienne. “If we get caught, there’s no telling what they might do to us.”
“I can’t forget it, Vivienne. Whatever is in that pouch is probably something that my guardian would like to know about. Please help me. I need someone to be a lookout while I search for it.”
“You want to search Zorek and Damien’s rooms?” said Vivienne, wide-eyed. She shook her head. “No, no, I can’t. If I get expelled from school, my father will disown me.”
“Please, Vivienne,” I begged. “I really need to do this.”
“Why?” she asked, crossing her arms and looking at me very sternly.
“What?”
“Why do you really need to do this? Your guardian has many people working for him who are more qualified spies. Just send word to the countess, and she will handle it.”
“No!” I said, “I have to do this myself. Please just trust me. I would tell you if I could, but I can’t. Not right now.”
“Then when?” said Vivienne, more softly this time. “Rory, ever since you came here I’ve known that you’re not telling me everything. I’m your friend, and I want to help, but if you don’t tell me anything, how can I do that?”
I looked down at my feet. What could I say? I wanted to tell her who I really was, but what if she told her parents?
“You’re right,” I said. “I haven’t been completely honest with you, but there are reasons. And I will tell you. Just give me a little more time. I need to find out what is in that pouch. Please help me, and I promise I will tell you everything.”
Surprisingly Vivienne hugged me. “I’ll help you, but we’ll talk about it in the morning. I’m exhausted,” said Vivienne, climbing back into her bed.
I lay down on my bed and covered myself with my blanket. “Thank you, Viv. Good night.”
“Good night.”
“Vivienne,” I said tentatively.
“Yes, Rory.”
“I hope you won’t say anything about this,” I said, “about the Black Wolf, I mean. I don’t want Damien finding out how I got back.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” she said, closing her eyes and snuffing out the candle.
I lay in my bed, looking at the dark ceiling. It would be dawn soon, and I hoped I could get a few hours of sleep before I had to wake up for class. But I couldn’t get Rafe’s face out of my head, and I kept going over everything he said in my mind until dawn broke.
19
The Book of Abraxas
The next day, I walked with Vivienne to the library. Classes were just beginning, and countless students were milling about, trying to navigate their way through the library as quietly as they could. Library monitors were constantly shushing those who were being too loud.
“Isn’t that Damien, talking to Zorek?” Vivienne whispered.
I looked over to where Damien was standing, at the far end of the library, where the older books were kept. He was talking to his brother, but they didn’t see us.
“Come on,” I said softly, pulling Vivienne along with me. I wanted to hear what they were saying.
We wound our way through the shelves and stopped on the other side of the bookshelf, where Damien and Zorek were standing. I moved closer, and I could see them clearly if I peered through the space between the books.
I saw Zorek pass the mysterious pouch to Damien.
“Keep it safe,” Zorek said. “Lily goes through my things sometimes. I don’t want her to accidentally find it.”
“Lily Brentstaff is a such a social climber,” said Damien with a trace of disgust in his voice. “You know she’s only with you because of who you are.”
Zorek shrugged. “I don’t care why she’s with me, as long as I get what I want.” He grinned at the thought.
Damien shook his head, opened the pouch, and took out a small triangular piece of bronze. I couldn’t see it clearly from where I was hiding, but it looked like it had some strange symbols etched into the metal. He inspected it, turning it around in his fingers.
“Fine,” Damien said, putting it back into the leather pouch. “I’ll keep this safe until we can deliver it to Father.” He patted his pocket. “Did he tell you what it is?”
“Yes,” said Zorek, “but I don’t know much. All he said was that it was the key to some book.”
“A book?”
Zorek nodded. He came closer to Damien and lowered his voice. “I overheard Mother and Father talking, and I heard him mention the ‘Grimoire of Abraxas.’”
“What’s that?” asked Damien.
The Grimoire of Abraxas. I had never heard of it. I looked over at Vivienne, who shook her head.
“No idea,” Zorek shrugged.
“It must be very valuable if Father is being so secretive and paying a king’s ransom for it,” said Damien.
“It is, but I would not get involved if I were you,” said Zorek. “I suspect our uncle the archmage has some hand in this.”
I had heard enough. I moved away from the bookshelves and gestured for Vivienne to follow me. The triangular piece in the pouch was a key, a key to a book. I had to find out what exactly the Grimoire of Abraxas was and what it could do, before one of the Blackwaters figured out how to use it or, worse still, gave it to Lucian and Morgana.
Vivienne and I hurried to our classes; we were so late. We didn’t get a chance to talk about it until later in our room.
“I really don’t think that we should get involved in this, Rory,” said Vivienne. “This sounds like something to do with the dark arts. It is forbidden.”
“We’re not learning dark magic,” I said, removing my cloak and hanging it up in the cupboard. “We’re just finding out what the book is and why it needs a key for it to open. If it has something to do with Lucian, then it’s entirely possible that Morgana is behind all this. I have to find out what she’s up to.”
“Why?” asked Vivienne, sitting down on her bed and glaring at me with her arms crossed. “I’m not going to help you do anything if you don’t tell me what is really going on here. Why are you so interested in what Queen Morgana is doing?”
I sat down on the bed next to Vivienne. I could tell she was upset, and I wasn’t sure what I should say. She was the closest thing I had to a best friend, and she had helped me so far without telling anyone.
“I’ll tell you everything,” I said finally, “but you have to promise to have an open mind.”
Vivienne nodded, but she didn’t smile. I took a deep breath and proceeded to recount my story. She listened without interrupting me, but only until I gave her my real name.
“Aurora Firedrake, the lost princess of Illiador,” said Vivienne, her eyes wide like saucers. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. This was it; I had told her. Now I just had to hope that she kept my secret. I was struggling with deciding to go one step further and tell her that I was also a fae-mage, but I think some remnants of good sense prevailed, and I kept that part to myself.
“But Princess Aurora died nearly fifteen years ago,” Vivienne insisted, shaking her head. “It’s not possible. Everyone knows that Azaren’s family was completely wiped out.”
“Well, everyone is wrong. I’m still alive,” I said. “Somehow my parents managed to save me by sending me to another world. I am Azaren’s daughter and Morgana is my aunt.”
“So that means,” said Vivienne thinking, “that you are actually the Queen of Illiador, not Morgana. That’s why you want to find out what she’s up to.”
“Exactly,” I said, happy that I didn’t have to spell it out for her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you can understand why.”
Vivienne nodded and leaned over to give me a big hug. “Of course I understand, “ she said. “You don’t have to worry, Aurora, you can trust me.”
I smiled. “I think it’s probably better if you still called me Rory.”
Vivienne clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh no! Sorry, sorry.”
I laughed. “It’s okay, Viv. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it.”
For days, Vivienne and I searched through dozens of scrolls and books in the library for any mention of the Grimoire of Abraxas, but there was none. We didn’t want to ask any of the professors, since dark magic was forbidden in Eldoren.
I continued to work hard at my studies, and I could hold a shield against all nonmagical attacks. Stones and other flying objects would just bounce off my shield. Magical attacks were more difficult to defend against, but I was learning fast, and my magic and concentration were slowly getting stronger. I had warrior skills class almost every day, and my attacks were getting better. I could stun a mouse from a hundred paces, and I even learned how to push someone away from me using only my magic, which was called a push strike.
We also learned how to control the intensity of stun strikes, luckily not on each other, but on targets set up for practice. I found out about other types of magical attack: fire strikes, crushing strikes, and even lightning strikes. We were still not allowed to use these outside class, as they were too dangerous.
I remembered the magic Oblek used on me when he was dragging me to his castle. He had used a crush strike on my neck. Now I finally understood how it was done, and if I ever met Oblek again, he was going to be sorry he’d ever laid eyes on me.
Every other day I had healing lessons, where I learned about different kinds of herbs and plants and their uses and dosage. In Avalonia, the plants were different, so I had a lot of catching up to do.
The most difficult of all healing classes was magical healing. I learned mainly by assisting the university healers with their patients. I was amazed at what some of them could do just by using the powers within them. Mending bones, regrowing tendons, even knitting flesh.
Weeks passed, and we still had no idea what the Grimoire of Abraxas was. I finally decided to ask Erien. He always had the highest scores in ancient history, so maybe he could shed some light on this whole situation. That day after classes, I went over to see him in his room.