Isabella let the shield around them fall, and relief washed over Hailey as the princess stood. She had tried for so long, had struggled against this spell and finally, the Aurora was awake. Aurora was even more stunning when she was awake.

“It was you who looked after me while I was asleep, wasn’t it?” Aurora asked.

Hailey smiled. “It was.” Most of the people in the castle had recognized her, but a lot of them were uncomfortable with her now. Some had hugged her in thanks, but having the princess acknowledge her swelled her chest with pride.

She embraced Hailey. “Thank you.”

Endolynn stood patiently, waiting for her daughter to acknowledge her, but Aurora looked to Isabella next. “Who are you?”

“I am your aunt.”

Aurora didn’t seem certain of what to make of that. “I don’t remember you,” she said.

“She helped set you free,” Hailey said.

“Thank you, then,” Aurora said a little uncertainly.

“I was away from the kingdom for a very long time,” Isabella said.

Hailey understood now. If Lillith had been holding Isabella against her will all this time, then the first thing she would do when she was free would be to contact her brother and free her niece. It all made sense. King Theodric had told her that he had a sister, but Hailey had thought that his sister had died.

Aurora turned to the other woman in the room. “Mother? I didn’t recognize you. I thought you were grandma for a moment. What happened to your hair?”

Her dark eyes filled with tears as she ran to her mother. Endolynn held her daughter close. She wiped tears from her eyes. “I never thought I’d see you awake again. To answer your question, time has happened to my hair. I suppose I do look a little like your grandmother did.”

“But how long have I been asleep then?”

“Sixteen long years,” Endolynn said. “How I have missed you.” Tears spilled over the queen’s wrinkled cheeks. “I wish your father had survived a little bit longer. He would have loved to see you awake one last time.”

“Father is dead? What happened?”

It all seemed a lot to take in for the girl, but the last thing she would have remembered was her birthday party and then touching the spindle of the spinning wheel. Now she was awake and confronted with her father’s death.

“He has been struggling with an illness for the past few years,” said Endolynn. She wiped tears from her eyes again. “I’m afraid that the illness took him just before you awoke. We haven’t even had time to prepare a funeral.”

Isabella was all cool control. “We don’t have time for this right now. There is an army amassing along our northern border. Your father would not have wanted us to worry about funeral arrangements while there is a threat to the nation.”

Aurora sank to the ground, her blue dress pudding around her. “But that means that I am the heir, doesn’t it?” She looked up at Hailey and Isabella with fear and concern plainly evident in her eyes. “I just woke up and now this?”

“Stand up, love. You will be the queen of Taivalon, and you must act like one.”

“Yes. You must command the army,” Isabella said.

“We have a spy who has said that the army will be amassing at midnight,” Hailey said. Isabella shot her a grateful look. It was easier than explaining what Isabella had been through.

“Yes, we need to go, and you need to address the kingdom,” Endolynn said.

The worry and bewilderment in the princess’s eyes made Hailey feel sorry for the girl. She took her hand. “You can do this. You prepared for this for your whole life.” Aurora gave her a small smile and they all left the princess’s chambers.

In the hallway, Prince Frederick waited. “Princess Aurora, you are awake.” He bowed deeply to her. Queen Endolynn did not look pleased to see the prince, but as rambled on about how beautiful she was and how he had heard tell of her beauty and come to see if there was anything he could do, Hailey could clearly see the interest on the young princess’s face.

“We really must go,” Endolynn said, informing the prince of the incoming army.

Well then, we must prepare for battle he said, bowing and turning away. As he passed Hailey, he winked at her.

Isabella sighed. “We have spells that we must prepare. They will have to manage rounding up the soldiers without you.”

“Aaron!” Esmerelda grabbed his sleeve and he turned to look at her. He vaguely remembered seeing her walking around the castle with Hailey. She told him about an invading army.

“I’m not the one to tell. We need to talk to Derrick.” Esmerelda nodded and followed. Aaron felt panic rise in his chest. He strode into the hallway. “Come with me. Did Hailey say what kind of an army?”

“She said it would be mostly fairies.” He spun on her and she jumped back. “Anything else?”

“Some other magical creatures maybe. I remember she said something about the north.” She looked genuinely terrified. She should be. The fairies had not stopped doing damage to the northern edges of the kingdom. Here, people were safe. He had only been back to the castle for the last few days. The officer in charge would send men back when they were too tired to stand up properly. He had been so exhausted, that he hadn’t been able to remember the last few days properly. Just one long string of pulling people out of the shimmer, but none of the fairies had crossed yet. It made him wonder what had changed.

He hurried to the captain’s office and knocked on the door.

Derrick sat at his desk, a large map of Taivalon spread before him. The city of Arvendon right at its center, arguably the safest place in the entire kingdom. “Why are you bothering me at his hour, sergeant?”

“Sir, the kingdom will be under attack at midnight. An army of fairies will be amassing on the northern border.”

Derrick stood. He was a bit shorter than Aaron, but he had a presence that demanded obedience. “Where did you get this information?”

Aaron turned to Esmerelda. “She is…”

He trailed off. What was she to Hailey? A friend?

“I am Mistress Hailey’s ladies’ maid.” The girl went on to tell the captain everything that she had learned, finishing with one last thought that trumped all the others.

“Thank you, young miss. Aaron get your men together and start gathering iron weapons. Anything iron that you can find. It’s the only thing I know of that will do any good against fairies.”

Aaron saluted and turned to leave. As he went, he heard the captain say, “girl, do you know how to ride?” He felt a bit sorry for her, but they were all in over their heads if the fairies were going to attack.

Aaron had been placed in charge of fifteen men. He found them lounging in the great hall. They had a tendency to stay together once they had been informed that they were part of a squad. They trained together, and took shifts together, so it made sense. They were all in various stages of training, from seasoned soldier to the newest young man in the army.

“Men,” he addressed them. “Prepare for battle. I want you all in a full suit of armor, and if any of you has anything iron, bring it.”

They clambered to their feet and saluted, hurrying off to do as they were told. He smiled. They had listened. It wasn’t until they were prepared for battle and scouring the castle for any iron weapons left that they began to grumble.

“What kind of an army announces that they are going to attack at midnight?” Walter asked.

“We had a spy,” Aaron said. “You mean there’s another mage in the kingdom now?” Fendrel cut in.

“If there is another mage, what does the sergeant’s girlfriend think about it?” John asked, smirking at Aaron. He had not minded the men he had been placed with as much as he seemed to mind Aaron’s leadership.

“I bet this is one of those practices they keep making us do.”

The entire army was searching the castle with them. Then needed enough iron for all of the soldiers to be able to hold their own against the fairies. Even then, Aaron wondered how effective they would be. He hoped that Hailey had some ideas up her sleeve on how this was going to be accomplished.

The men continued to grumble, but did as they were told until they were all lined up outside the castle in the freezing cold. The ground was covered in a few inches of snow now, making everything look more peaceful than it had a right to.

“Men,” Derrick bellowed above all of them. “You should know that we will be fighting against a dangerous foe. Many of you have already spent time dealing with the fairies on the borders, but now they may actually be able to get through. It will be our job to destroy them before they can wreak any more havoc on the kingdom.

“We have direct orders from the princess to prepare for battle and to stop the fairies invasion at all costs.”

With that statement a gasp rang through the crowd. The princess is awake? Aaron thought. He grinned. Hailey had finally managed it. Maybe now she would stop working herself to death, and maybe she would have time for him again. It was a foolish thing to think when facing fairies actually coming through the shimmer.

“We must be prepared to face anything that comes our way,” he said.

Then Hailey strode forward. He had not seen her behind the huge number of men that stood in ranks. She took up a place beside the captain and opened a portal to let the soldiers pass through. It was only large enough for them to pass through two at a time. A woman stood beside her in black and completely silent. She looked over the crowd of men with cold eyes. It took him a moment to realize who she was. His heart hammered in his chest. Hailey was working with Isabella?