Isabella released the shield and Hailey panted, breathing in deep lungfuls of precious air. “Why should I believe you?” Hailey coughed. “You killed the king.”

“You know better than anyone that he was ill. Why would I bother to come all the way here just to kill a man who was already dying?” There was a hitch in the woman’s voice, as if she were trying to hold back emotions.”

“Fine.” Hailey knew that the other mage was more powerful than her, but she couldn’t help hating the woman. “What do you want?”

“I want to help you free the princess. I want to make sure that this kingdom is safe.”

Hailey was having a hard time buying that. Of course she would tell her that’s what she wanted. Hailey sat on the floor, looking up at the woman. “Why should I believe you?” She still coughed.

“Because I can help you free the princess.”

Hailey looked at Isabella. The woman was thinner than the last time she had seen her, making her cheekbones more prominent. The dress she was wearing was faded and torn at the bottom. Worn boots peeked out from under the hem of her skirts. You would think that a woman who stole people from their parents, who could break into the castle whenever she wanted would have been able to afford something nicer. Besides, why had she been kissing the king.

Hailey glanced back at the king. She rose and went to him. His hand was cool, but not cold. The pulse that she could usually feel at his wrist was gone. Her heart ached for this man. He had been a good king and a friend to her. He had even taken her into the castle, and given her a life that was much better than she would have found in the orphanage. She blinked back tears. She wished she had time to mourn him properly.

“What about the power of the heir? If the king is dead, isn’t the shimmer already dissolved?”

“No. The power of the heir is safe. You would hear people screaming and crashing into things if the fairies were really loose.”

Looking back at Isabella, she saw something in her green eyes that made Hailey want to believe her, and that’s exactly why Hailey hadn’t wanted to listen to her in the first place. She didn’t know if she had much choice. Besides, Isabella had cast the curse on Aurora, and the spell that kept Aurora sleeping was tied to that spell. Who would have an easier time of dismissing a spell than the person who cast it? Hailey stood willing, for the moment at least, to listen to what the other mage had to say. “I will listen, but you will leave if I think you are in any way a threat to this kingdom.”

“I agree.” Isabella looked relieved. “The kingdom will be in complete chaos if they find out that the king has died and the princess is not awake. That is the first thing we need to take care of. Take me to the princess.”

Hailey paused. If this woman really did want to destroy the entire kingdom, then taking her to the princess would doom them all. Still, it wasn’t as if Isabella couldn’t find her on her own. The princess was across the hall.

“Will it help if I promise not to hurt her?”

“No, but I think I’m going to have to trust you, anyway.”

“Good.” Isabella took in a deep breath and breathed it out. Then, as if she had come to a conclusion, she said, “There is something else you need to know. An army of magical creatures preparing to attack the kingdom at midnight, mostly fairies. They will come through the shimmer from the northern border.”

That’s where they have been invading for the most part, Hailey thought. She could not help the suspicion in her voice. “How do you know that?”

“I saw them preparing to go. I live in the forest, remember? The most important thing we can do is to persevere the bloodline. The shimmer must remain. It will protect the people and any fairies who come through the shimmer will be severely weakened.”

Hailey thought about it for a moment. Isabella was asking her to stand side by side with her and undo the curse, then fight the fairies.

“Will you listen or will you continue to waste my time?”

Hailey never thought she would ever agree to anything this woman had to say, but she found herself nodding. “Let’s go. I will help you undo the spell on the princess.”

Isabella followed Hailey to the princess’s room. Candles were placed in the mage lanterns that were hung at intervals down the hall. No one was here. Again, Hailey wondered where the guards had gone.

“What were you doing with the king?”

“I was saying goodbye.” There was a hitch in Isabella’s voice as if she was truly sad that the king had gone. “We were friends once, a long time ago.”

That didn’t add up, Hailey thought, and thoughts of the king invariably led to the kingdom’s safety. I should be taking everyone I care about and stuffing them through a portal. She felt panic rise within her again. Were they already too late for everything? The king, the heir that protected them all was dead.

Isabella did not seem concerned at all, but then, she wouldn’t be. She had worked against the kingdom as long as Hailey could remember. “The magic of the heir is safe. It’s ancient magic that was bound to the Concordance eons ago. It cannot be changed.”

“But the people in the black castle all died.”

“True, but they no longer had an heir. Taivalon still has one, and as long as royal blood still pumps through the veins of one of the heirs, the kingdom will stand, if we don’t let the fairies swarm the kingdom.”

Some of this didn’t make sense. Why had Barinon worried so much about the princess not being awake when her father died if the power was just going to transfer to her anyway. Had his fears been misplaced? Was the sleeping princess able to protect her people and keep the shimmer in place? How could she rule if she was asleep? There were too many questions for Hailey to ask.

Finally, despite all of her misgivings, Hailey opened the door to the princess’s room. Everything was prepared for the spell that Hailey had been about to do. The princess lay in a blue gown, sleeping as beautifully as ever. Silk blankets covered her, which matched the curtains. It was dark out, and Hailey could see her own reflection in the window. It made her shiver. Her blonde hair and blue eyes looked back at her. Isabella stood behind her, at least a head taller and a much more powerful mage. Isabella had the same pale skin but dark hair and a black dress made her face look almost ghostly. If they only had until midnight, then they should set to work, but there was one more question nagging at Hailey’s mind.

“Why did you have this sudden change of heart? Why did you come back all these years later to set the princess free of a curse that you cast on her thirty ago?”

Isabella looked at her for a long time, as if she were sorting through her thoughts, and not really seeing Hailey at all. Her green eyed stare made Hailey uncomfortable, but when she finally responded, all she said, was, “I don’t know.”

Hailey wasn’t buying that response, but if Isabella really was going to help Hailey free Aurora from the spell, then she would accept her help. She could keep her secrets.

“I see you set up runes and herbs to boost the spell. That should help.”

Hailey allowed herself a small smile. She had spent a lot of time trying to set up this spell, making sure that it was all set up.

Isabella’s eyes grew wide when she saw the spinning wheel. “That was the very one. How was it not destroyed?”

“I put it in the storage room.”

“You did, but when the spell was cast, you must have only been…” Isabella trailed off. “You must have been trapped with them.”

Hailey felt sick. She wondered how long Isabella had been taking young mages from the kingdom. Maybe there was a reason Barinon had not been able to find more than just her, and the reason she hadn’t been dragged off in the forest with Isabella was because she was inside a spell that even Isabella couldn’t penetrate. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Outside the doorway, something crashed to the floor. Hailey spun to see a white faced Esmerelda turn and run down the hall, screaming for the guards.