“Are you all right?” Rafe asked as he slowed the chestnut horse deftly to a walk.
“Yes, thank you,” I said.
He craned his neck to look back at me and grinned, his smile dazzling. “It was a pleasure,” he said, as if I had just thanked him for tea. I wished he would take off the silly mask that hid the rest of his face from me.
The forest seemed different once we were safely within its boundaries. From the outside it looked like a dark and shadowy place, but from the inside it was bright and cheerful, with sunlit groves, beautiful tall cedars, oaks, and sparkling waterfalls, which plunged effortlessly into shimmering ponds. Birds happily chirped their morning tunes, and the wildflowers were fragrant and bright. Dewdrops clung to the foliage, sparkling like fairy dust in the light of first dawn.
We rode along a small, winding path through the trees. Rafe seemed to know where he was going, but I had to figure out what to do next, and I was still trying to decide whether I should trust him. Morgana’s guards also wanted him, so being with Rafe was probably the safest place for me to be right now.
“Where will you go now?” Rafe said, breaking the silence.
“I’m not really sure,” I said truthfully. I couldn’t decide what I should tell him.
“Oblek will not stop looking for you,” said Rafe. “If he indeed intended to hold you for ransom, he will come after you.” He paused. “Who are you and what is your name?”
I hung my head. I had to tell someone. Maybe he would know what to do, or maybe he knew who my real parents were. I had to take a chance.
“My name is Aurora,” I said and proceeded to tell him everything that had happened to me since I arrived at Redstone Manor. I told him about my uncle and how he sold me to Oblek, about the strange tapestry, and even what they said about me and my family.
I didn’t tell him about the dreams though; somehow I felt it was too private to mention. But it did feel good to finally have someone to talk to about all this, and strangely enough I felt comfortable with Rafe.
Rafe stopped the horse, jumped down quickly, and turned to stare at me. His eyes had gone wide, and he was looking at me as if he had just seen a ghost.
“So,” I said, trying again. “Do you have any idea why Oblek kidnapped me?”
Rafe nodded solemnly. “I have a pretty good idea, yes.”
“And?” I prompted. At least here was someone who had some answers.
“And,” he said, staring at me as if I had suddenly grown two heads, “I think you and I need to have a little talk.”
I huffed. Rafe held his arms up to me to help me off the horse. I put my hands on his shoulders, and he lifted me easily. For a second that went by too fast, he held me close, and then he put me down. Being so close to him was muddling my brain, I couldn’t think straight.
He turned and tied the horse to a nearby tree and scanned our surroundings once before he came back to me.
“Come,” he said, holding out his hand.
I took it cautiously.
He led me through the forest, down a slightly worn path, deeper into the trees. I tried to keep up; my legs and back were aching from the vigorous ride. And I was quite sure that tomorrow I wouldn’t even be able to sit down on my terribly sore backside. My hands and feet were cut and bleeding, and I was a complete mess.
We came to a little clearing, where the morning sun danced and played on the surface of a pond. Wildflowers grew in patches near the water, and Rafe sat me down on a large moss-covered stone overlooking the shimmering pool. I dipped my cut and bleeding feet in the cool water and sighed as it immediately relieved the stinging pain. I washed my hands and bruised face, feeling a little better.
Rafe sat on a similar rock near me, took off his mask and ran his fingers through his dark, wavy hair. I didn’t want to stare, so I pretended to wash my feet and peeked at him from under my eyelashes.
He was magnificent. I knew he was handsome even with the mask on, but without it he looked younger than I imagined. He seemed not that much older than myself, maybe just three or four years. He smiled at me, and I shifted uncomfortably on the rock. Somehow he made me feel like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“You said you know why this queen wants to see me?” I asked.
Rafe nodded. “If you really are who you say you are, then you are not safe here in Illiador. Morgana will stop at nothing to get to you.”
“Why?” I asked, horrified.
“Shhh,” he said, quickly putting his finger to his lips.
I immediately shut up and looked around. I could see nothing, but I could hear a faint rustling in the bushes and I turned towards it. Rafe already had his sword out and had moved slowly in front of me, protecting me.
Suddenly the foliage in front of us parted, and a disheveled Kalen appeared in the clearing. “There you are,” he said, completely oblivious to the fact that Rafe had nearly run him through with sharp steel.
“I don’t know why you made this the meeting place,” Kalen said to Rafe, “it’s nearly impossible to find.”
“That’s the point,” said Rafe, giving Kalen a half smile as he put away his sword.
Kalen came and sat down next to me. “Have you figured out a way for you to get back to wherever your home is, my lady?” said Kalen politely.
I shook my head. “No, not exactly,” I said, looking over at Rafe, who was now leaning against a tree with his arms crossed in front of him, watching me.
I looked away quickly, and I was sure my embarrassment showed.
“Kalen,” said Rafe, “can you keep a secret? We are going to need your help.”
Kalen nodded his head vigorously. “Of course I can,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Rafe rolled his eyes, but he quickly related my story to Kalen, whose eyes went wide at the mention of Elayna and Azaren. He listened quietly, which seemed like a first for him.
“So you see why it is not safe for her in Illiador,” said Rafe to Kalen. “We must get her over the border to Eldoren.”
Kalen nodded, still staring at me in disbelief.
I felt a chill go up my spine. “Why?” I asked. “Why won’t I be safe here?”
“Because if Morgana or Lucian find you, they will kill you,” said Rafe plainly.
I stood up abruptly. “Kill me!” I exclaimed. “Why would they want to kill me? I don’t even know them. And who is Lucian anyway?”
Kalen’s eyes went wide. “You don’t know who Lucian is?”
“Obviously not,” I said, becoming irritated at Kalen’s disbelief. I was the one who had just found out that some crazy queen I’d never met wanted to kill me. I should be the one asking the questions.
“Lucian is the Archmage of Illiador, and Queen Morgana’s right-hand man,” said Kalen, with a tinge of awe.
“The arch what?” I asked incredulously. Did he just say archmage?
“The archmage,” repeated Kalen.
Rafe laughed as he pushed himself away from the tree and came to sit beside me. “I think she heard you the first time, Kalen.”
Kalen was looking thoroughly confused.
“I am sorry, my lady,” said Rafe gently. “I think Kalen forgot that you have not lived in this world for long. I will try and explain as best I can. Morgana calls herself Queen of Illiador, although she is nothing but a deceitful usurper.”
“Why?” I asked. “Whose kingdom did she usurp?”
He paused and looked at me, his grey eyes intense and his lips turned up in a half smile. “Well, if I’m correct,” he said finally, “yours.”
I was shocked. Surely he couldn’t have meant what I think he just said?
“Your father was the king of Illiador, and you were heir to the throne,” said Rafe. “But before your second birthday, Morgana took her chance. She betrayed your father, Azaren, and, with the help of Lucian, killed your family and took the throne of Illiador.”
“How could she do that?” I asked stupidly. “Why would she?”
“She was your father’s half-sister,” said Rafe, a trace of disgust in his voice. “He trusted her.”
“His sister!”
“Half-sister,” Rafe specified.
I was appalled. I looked at him, wide-eyed. He couldn’t be serious; did he really mean that my own aunt would kill me in cold blood, just because I was her brother’s daughter? My mind flashed back to the recurring dream of the woman called Morgana, with the gleaming dagger in her hand. A wave of panic rushed over me. If what Rafe said was true, and this Morgana was the same one from my dream, then I was in serious trouble.
“Why?” I asked, feeling sudden fear. “I don’t want to be heir to anything. Why doesn’t she just leave me alone? I’m not a threat to her.”
“Just knowing you’re alive is a threat to Morgana. She will not rest until all of Azaren’s bloodline has been removed. You are the only obstacle to her complete right to the throne of Illiador,” said Rafe.
I hung my head. What was I going to do? Suddenly this world seemed extremely scary, and even more complicated than I had ever imagined.
My shoulders drooped. He had said that my parents were dead. For so many years I had hoped that my birth parents would come and find me, that they would regret giving me up, and when no one ever came to claim me, I was convinced that they had abandoned me. Now it looked like both my parents were gone forever and I was completely alone.
“Do you know how I escaped?” I asked.
Rafe shook his head. “I have no idea,” he said. “But I know this: whatever saved you that day was extremely powerful magic.”
“But how? Did my parents have magic?”
“Of course,” said Kalen, interrupting. “All the nobility are from magical stock. It has always been like that since the kings of old, since Auraken Firedrake walked the world and was high king over all the known lands.”
“Does this mean I can also do magic?” I had never felt or done anything that was unusual.
Rafe stared at me with a strange expression in his eyes. “Not everyone is born with the gift of magic. Sometimes it skips a generation or a sibling, and even those who have the gift may never truly learn to master it. We will just have to wait and see if you have the potential.”
That was not the answer I was looking for, but it was a start.
We left the little clearing and Rafe led us deep into the forest on foot along a small, winding path. He had put on his mask again, and his black cloak rippled around him as he moved surely and effortlessly through the trees as if he knew this forest like the back of his hand.
“Where are we going?” I asked finally.
“Tonight you will stay with Kalen’s mother in their village. She is a gifted healer and will tend to your wounds,” said Rafe. “I have some important errands I have to take care of. Tomorrow I will come and fetch you and take you to Duke Silverthorne.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Duke Gabriel Silverthorne, your granduncle,” said Rafe. “If you really are who Oblek says you are, then the duke is the only one who will be able to tell us for sure.”
“Do you know him well?” I asked. Dried leaves crunched beneath my feet as I walked beside him along a small, muddy path through the trees.
“Very,” said Rafe. “I’ve known him since I was a child.”
“But then you must have known my family too,” I said, eager to know more.
Rafe nodded. “I have never had the pleasure of meeting your mother, Queen Elayna, as she died when I was very young. But I did know your father. He was an exceptional mage and king. One who genuinely cared for the common people, and they loved and revered him for it. He was also a fearless warrior, and his courage was the stuff of legends.”
“Tell me more about him, please.” I wanted to know all I could about my father.
Rafe smiled. “Once, when I was very young and living in Neris, your father was on an official visit to the city. I was standing in the crowd, but I was too close to the cliffs. I slipped, hitting my head on a rock and fell into the sea. Azaren saw me fall and jumped in after me. If it weren’t for him, I would now be resting in a watery grave. Finally I get the chance to repay my debt by helping his daughter.”
I nodded. My father sounded like a wonderful man, and I wished that I could have met him, even once.
I was not too happy, though, to hear that Rafe was just helping me out of some sense of duty to my father. I was grateful for his assistance, and his story explained why he wanted to help me. I had hoped that it was something more, that he was inexplicably drawn to me for reasons he couldn’t understand. But the truth was, I was just a debt he had to repay. I frowned at my own foolishness; I had to stop reading so many romance novels. I hung my head in embarrassment and continued following silently.
I was apprehensive about meeting the duke. What if this was all a mistake? What if I was the wrong girl, where would I go then? I had nothing left in the world I grew up in except disappointment and heartache. It was going to be harder here, I could tell, but at least I had family, real family. I wanted to meet my granduncle, I wanted to learn about my real parents, and for once in my life I wanted to know who I really was.
“You will be safe here in Pixie Bush,” said Kalen encouragingly, breaking my anxious reverie. “And my mother can find you some suitable clothes to wear.”
I looked down at myself. I was mortified. In all the confusion I hadn’t realized that I was still wearing floral pajamas and a pink woolen dressing gown, and I was walking around barefoot. I had forgotten that I had changed into my nightclothes before I had gone looking for the library in Redstone Manor. It was just last night, but so much had happened since then.
I looked over at Rafe. He was chuckling to himself.
Finally we stopped walking.
Rafe turned. “This is where I will take your leave, Aurora,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said to him. What more could I say?
“As I said before, it was a pleasure,” said Rafe, his full lips curved in a dashing smile. “Until tomorrow, my lady.” He bowed briefly, then disappeared into the trees.
I turned to look back at Kalen. “Now where?” I asked, eager to change and eat something. I was famished and exhausted, and I hadn’t slept the whole night. I hoped Kalen’s home was not too far from where we were, because I was too tired to walk any more.
Kalen grinned. “Now we go home, to Pixie Bush.”