Golnar sat with Till in the study off of the throne room. He was in a very good mood. Things were definitely looking up. They had the young king of the magical folk. They had their current leader. Golnar had many ideas of what to do with both of them. Golnar had been searching old blood magic books to find new potions to help him with his magic. Both the young king and Miss Keene had old magical blood. Golnar believe an elixir made with it could unleash great power in him. He just had to find the right potion.

“Why do we keep the Keene girl alive?” asked Till stretching. “She nearly killed me and the whole council.”

“Yes, she did, and she did it after somehow escaping from magical bonds that should have left her powerless,” said Golnar smiling. “It was an impressive display.”

“I think you mean frightening. Every minute we keep her alive is dangerous. What if she can escape her cell?”

“I will keep her sedated until I have use of her,” said Golnar.

“What do you plan to use her for? Isn’t the king all we need to try to sway the magical folk?” asked Till.

“I can think of many reasons to keep her alive, but the main one is she is the key to getting the young king to bargain with us. If we can assure him of her safety, I think we will find he can be persuaded in many things.”

“Telling the council that the magical folk took Kedan with Daracha’s help was a stroke of genius. It buys us some time, but what happens if Kedan starts talking throughout the kingdom?” asked Till.

“We will say he is charmed or enthralled. The poor man doesn’t know what he is saying. We will say he is kept under the control of the magical folk and must be set free,” replied Golnar.

There was a knock at the door. Before Golnar could inquire who was there it busted open, and Camelia Belles walked into the room. The fire burning in the room flared as she walked in.

“Golnar!” she said loudly. “How dare you put Teryn and my grandchild at risk. I’ve already lost Kedan. I will not lose his child.”

“Camelia, calm down. Come sit here and we will talk about this,” said Golnar.

“I’d rather stand,” replied Camelia. “You shielded yourself with Teryn. How could you?”

“I knew Teryn would not be in any real harm. I knew Miss Keene could never hurt an innocent child. Her kind is weak and sentimental,” said Golnar dismissively.

“Is it weak to care about the life of a child or of its mother?” asked Camelia with disgust.

“Camelia, you have played the power game in Aurumist for a long time. You know how feelings and love get in the way of doing what you need to do to win. You practically sacrificed Kedan to be where you are. You gave him up to the kingdom as the Lord almost as soon as he was born.”

“That was my husband’s idea. I was young and in awe of my husband. I never wanted Kedan to be taken from me. I suppose I did get swept up in the grandeur of it all, but Kedan’s safety was always my top priority. I’m older now and wiser. I would take back everything if I could.”

“But you can’t. What’s done is done. You are in this now, Camelia,” said Golnar with a sneer. “I know you helped Kedan escape from the palace. I don’t know how you and Teryn did it, but I know he only left here because of both of you. I am willing to overlook this one momentary slip of motherly love, but you will need to fall in line.”

Camelia looked at Golnar with hatred. “I have no wish to fall in line with you. I should have grabbed Teryn and left with Kedan. You are evil.”

“Evil is a harsh word. I only do what I think best for the kingdom,” said Golnar with a smirk.

“You do what is best for you,” said Camelia scathingly.

“And you need to start doing what is best for you and your grandchild. He will be king someday if you and Teryn continue to do what you are told. The child is guaranteed safety and power. Go away, Camelia. Go and think about what is really best for you and for that child. You are important to my plans, but you are not indispensable.”

Camelia snorted in disgust, turned, and fled the room.

Till looked at Golnar with a questioning look.

“She will choose wisely. She just needed to get that off her chest. She will realize who she really is. She likes power and wealth too much to quit now.”

Till cocked his head and shrugged. “I hope you are right, Golnar.”

*************************************************************************************

Griffa blinked her eyes open. She didn’t know where she was. It was dark and cold. She was laying on the hard ground. The air smelled musty and wet. She looked at her hands in front of her. They were bound. Her whole body ached. Her magic that usually swirled through her body was silent. Griffa felt herself tremble with cold and fear.

Griffa pushed herself up to a sitting position. He vision was blurry, and her head felt heavy. She looked around and saw iron bars all around her. Everything came back to her. She was in the palace of Aurumist. She was a prisoner.

Griffa felt hopelessness creep up on her quickly. She would not leave here alive. She would never see Abscon again. She would never run through the forest wild again. She might have seen the sun for the last time. What was left of her short life would probably be here, laying amongst filth. She thought of those she loved, and it was too hard. She couldn’t dwell on any of them. She thought of her last day with Ansel, and she wept.

Ansel would come for them. He would try to save Max and Griffa. Only Max really mattered. He was the future of Regventus. Griffa would do everything she could to keep Max alive. She was expendable, Max was not.

“Griffa,” said a quiet voice to her right.

Griffa looked over quickly and saw Max lying on the ground in the cell next to her.

“Griffa, don’t cry,” said Max sitting up. “Don’t give up.”

“Max,” said Griffa through her tears. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. They put me in a bedroom and tried to talk to me, but I wouldn’t until I could see you. I thought they might kill you,” answered Max looking at her.

Griffa scooted over as close as she could to the bars to be near Max.

“Max, you have to understand something. You have to get out of here alive. Do what you need to do to keep alive. Ansel will come for you. Do not worry about me. I know I’ll more than likely die here. I’ve accepted it.”

“No, Griffa, you don’t understand,” said Max forcefully. “Ansel will come for you. He will come and save you. You are the one who has to stay alive. You need to stop trying to get yourself killed.”

“Max, you are the true King of Regventus. Ansel is your protector. He will do his duty by you. His magic will not allow anything else. The folk of the kingdom need you. I am just the leader of the Ring. I can be easily replaced.”

“I am not the true King of Regventus. I never was. It was a mistake,” said Max.

Griffa’s head swam. She was so tried. “Why would you say that, Max?”

“Because it is the truth,” replied Max. “Griffa, you have to listen to me. This will be hard to hear. It will be hard to understand, but you must listen. I am not the king, there is someone else who has the blood of Adalwen on both sides. Someone older, more gifted, and more suited to rule the kingdom.”

“What?” asked Griffa. She was so confused and so exhausted.

“It’s you, Griffa. You are the true Queen of Regventus. Madam Sidora had it wrong. It was you all along. When you took your position in the Ring, you were essentially claiming yourself as queen. You are the first true king or queen to sit as the leader of the Ring since Malin Keene. Malin Keene was the daughter of Queen Agatha and her consort King Alistair. They were the last true rulers of Regventus. Your mother is from the line of Prince Von, Agatha’s son.”

Griffa shook her head. What was Max saying. She couldn’t take it all in. Every part of her body hurt. She just wanted to curl up and sleep. She laid down on her side with the top of her head against the bars.

“No, I don’t understand what you are saying. How is any of that possible?” asked Griffa quietly.

“It’s true, Griffa. You are the queen. I think you know it if you just let yourself believe. When you feel your magic again, you will claim it. Ansel, will come for you Griffa. He is your protector. He won’t leave you here long. He can’t.”

Griffa’s body was wracked in sobs. How could any of this be true. She couldn’t be the queen. Ansel couldn’t be her protector. That would be impossible. She made a noise as she brought her bound hands to her neck. She slowly grabbed the chain there and turned it until she felt the pendant in her fingers. She could feel the tree engraved on it, the sigil of the line of Raya. She winched as she pressed the pendant to her chest. A moment later she felt her pendant warm against her skin.

“Ansel,” she whispered.

“Yes, Griffa, he will come and save you. You have to believe and stay strong. Stop trying to oppose them. You are the one who needs to survive.”

Griffa laid there and cried. She tried to process what Max was saying, but it was too hard. It was too much. She heard Max move closer to her. She opened her eyes and saw he was leaning on the bars. His was looking down at her.

“Please don’t give up,” said Max pleadingly. “You are the future of this kingdom. You are the leader the folk need. I believe in you, Griffa. You are my queen. I will make sure you get out of here alive. I will do whatever it takes.”

Max slowly reached his bound hands and placed them next to the bars. He reached his finger towards her hand. Griffa saw what he was doing, and she moved slightly so she could stretch her hand and fingers towards Max.

Their fingers touched, and Griffa felt a bolt of magic flow through her body. She took a breath in, relishing in the power and warm that flowed through her. The magic made its way through every part of her, singing to her. She felt Max’s magic combine with hers.

She felt her magic reach out for Ansel’s searching. It asked her where her protector was. The magic sang to her of the kings and queens of old. She closed her eyes and listened.The magic told her a tale of her folk, magical and non-gifted. She knew who she was. She was Gryphon Keene of the blood of Adalwen. She was the Queen of Regventus.

Griffa opened her eyes and looked up at Max. He was smiling down at her. She propped herself up slowly, keeping her fingers intertwined with Max’s. She rested her head next to his.

“You know, Griffa. You know who you are,” said Max.

“Yes,” said Griffa in a whisper. She felt different. She felt powerful. She felt like she finally knew herself. “I am Gryphon Keen. I am the blood of Adalwen. I am the true Queen of Regventus. My folk need me.”

“We do, Griffa. You are the hope of our kingdom. You cannot die here,” said Max looking at Griffa. He had a strange look in his eyes.

“This is my true home, Max. The palace is mine. I will not die here. I will leave here alive to come back and claim it. You will leave with me. You are of my blood and my kin.”

“Yes, my queen. I will leave here with you. I will fight with you. I will serve you and the kingdom,” said Max.

“We are going to get through this, Max. We are both going to get out of here alive. We are going to save Regventus.”