48. Lily

The dream of Alira was still fresh in my mind. I wanted to believe it was only that—just a bad dream. But my guys were gone and I knew they wouldn't have left me alone without telling me where they were going. They felt much too possessive and protective of me to just abandon me.

I stood up and felt wobbly at first. Had we really been drugged at dinner? I remembered drinking some wine and several glasses of water—Krynn and Sel had drunk some too, when Mordren had proposed a toast to Lolth at one point and insisted that everyone join in. Maybe it was some kind of magic drug that was activated when Elgiana played her evil-looking flute?

I didn't know—I only knew that I had to find Krynn and Sel. Tonight was the Autumn Equinox—my coronation day. I needed their support to make it through and actually take the Throne of the Midnight Court. I didn't feel like I would be able to do that without them.

I threw on a gown and a pair of slippers. I wished that I still had my jeans—they were more comfortable and made me feel more like myself. But all of my human clothes were long gone, so a purple silk gown it was.

I hurried to the end of the long, dark tunnel, wondering which exit to take. In my dream, Krynn and Seldarin had taken one I hadn't seen before—and had ended up in some secret room beneath the Palace. Should I try to find it? But what if I ran right into Mordren or Elgiana? No matter what Alira had told me in the dream, I knew I didn't have enough magic to fight either of them. So how could I possibly get my guys back? How could I?—

"Princess? Princess Lilliana? Are you in here?"

The voice was familiar and it echoed along the dark tunnels to find me. I stood still, wondering who was calling me. I was certain I'd heard the voice before but the echoing tunnels distorted everything. It was a female voice but it wasn't Elgiana. So who?—

"Princess, it's me—Lady Nolana," the voice called again. "Please, I've come to help you, if I can! Are you in here?"

Immediately, I felt a sense of relief. Lady Nolana had been kind to me from the very beginning.

"I'm here," I called, making my way towards her voice. I felt lucky all over again that my new Fae eyes allowed me to see in the dark—otherwise I never would have found her.

"Oh, there you are! Thank Lolth!" She grasped my hands in hers when we finally met up. "I was hoping I could find the Cavern of Lolth, but it hides itself from everyone but those of Royal blood and the ones closest to them. So I just started calling, hoping you might hear and come out to meet me."

"I was already out of the Cavern—I'm looking for my two guys. For Captain Seldarin and for the Royal Historian—Krynn," I added.

"Yes, my dear—I know how attached you are to them." She squeezed my hands. "But I have reason to fear that they have fallen into the hands of the Lord Regent."

I felt my blood run cold—despite the dream with Alira I'd been hoping against hope that my guys were safe. But Lady Nolana's words confirmed my worst fears.

"He hasn't…hasn't killed them, has he?" I asked, my voice coming out tight with anxiety.

"Oh, I don't think he means to kill them," Lady Nolana said. "I believe he's holding them captive so they can't help you ascend to the Throne this evening—and it's almost time for the Coronation Ceremony."

"What? But I just woke up!" I protested.

Then I remembered my dream again and how Elgiana had talked about drugging everyone. Maybe the sleep magic had worked on me, even though the evil flute hadn't. I must have slept all night and then slept the day away—which meant that Mordren had had Krynn and Sel in his power for hours and hours!

"Please, Lady Nolana," I begged her. "Take me to where you think they might be. I have to find them!"

"If I had to guess, I would bet that Mordren is keeping them near him," she said. "But you must get dressed for your coronation before you do anything else."

"No, I have to find my guys!" I protested.

"Now, listen to me, young lady!" There was suddenly steel in Lady Nolana's voice and her face, in the dim tunnel, had grown grim. "I know you care greatly for Krynn and Seldarin, but they are only two of your subjects. Right now you need to focus on saving your entire kingdom from Lord Mordren. You must think about the many—not the few."

"Saving the kingdom?" I asked blankly. "How is it in danger? I mean, it would be terrible if Mordren gets another hundred years added to his Regency but I'm pretty much the only one who would be affected."

"Do you really think that?" She frowned sternly at me. "I suppose you don't know because you weren't raised among us, but the Dark Fae have been in decline for the last half century—ever since your mother, the old Queen died."

"They have?" I asked, shaking my head. "But…why?"

"Because we do not have a true descendant of Lolth with Royal Purple blood in her veins on the Silver Throne!" she exclaimed. "Because of that lack, our life spans are getting shorter and our people are growing weaker. Why, if the trend is allowed to continue for another hundred years, the Dark Fae may die out altogether!"

"Does Mordren know that?" I demanded.

She made a face, as though she'd tasted something bitter.

"Of course he does! He doesn't care if our people die out as long as he gets to rule. All he cares about is power and wealth—his soul is corrupted with greed. I have known that since the moment I saw him conspire with Elgiana to poison your mother in the birthing bed!"

"He what?" I exclaimed, staring at her.

Grimly, she nodded.

"Oh yes, you heard me. You see, Mordren had hoped you would be a boy—male descendants of Lolth don't carry her Power the way females do. He was hoping to get rid of your Royal Mother and then rule thorough her son, once your Royal Father was out of the way. But all his plans went sour when you came out a healthy baby girl."

"So he poisoned my mother?" I asked, shaking my head. "Everyone here told me she died in childbirth."

"She did lose a lot of blood," Lady Nolana said, nodding. "But she was healthy enough—she would have lived if not for the poison Lord Mordren had Lady Elgiana pour into the water she was given to drink."

"That bitch!" I exclaimed, balling my hands into fists. "I should have known she would be involved somehow."

"You hate her because of what she's done to Krynn but your own loss was even greater," Lady Nolala said. "It was because your Royal Mother was killed that I had to smuggle you away to the Mortal Realm and leave you for the humans to find."

"What?" I stared at her, wide-eyed. "You were the one who stole me away when I was just an infant?"

"I had no choice, my Princess!" she cried. "Your Royal Father was grieving so deeply for your Royal Mother that he didn't see what was going on beneath his very nose. And I heard Mordren telling Lady Elgiana to slip some spelled nightshade into your milk. He was going to have you killed before you were two weeks old. So I stole you away and put you the only place I knew you'd be safe—unfortunately, Mordren found out about it."

"He did? I'm surprised he didn't come kill me then," I remarked.

"Oh, he would have liked to, but I put the strongest Don't-See-Me spell on you I could," Lady Nolana told me. "That's part of my magic, you know—going unnoticed has its uses and it's saved my life more than once. Anyway, my plan was to let you live with the humans for just a few decades and then come get you when you were strong enough to fend for yourself."

"Why didn't you?" I asked. I couldn't help thinking that it would have saved me years of grief with my terrible marriage if only she had brought me back to the Midnight Court when I was in my early twenties, before I'd met Christopher.

"Unfortunately, my magic spell turned out to be too strong for even me to break." Lady Nolana shook her head. "I think that the Jewel of Lolth—which I made certain stayed with you when I left you in the Mortal Realm—magnified the magic. So though I searched and searched for you, I was never able to find you again. You can imagine my relief when you stumbled into the Holy Clearing and we all recognized you as the Lost Princess."

"That spell you put on me stuck so hard it made me sick until Krynn and Sel finally got it off me," I pointed out. "It nearly killed me!"

"I'm so sorry for that, Princess." Lady Nolana clasped her hands together. "I never meant for that to happen—I just wanted you to be safe. And now all I want is to see you safely on the Throne of the Midnight Court. Which means we must get to your coronation in time!"

"But how can I take the throne if Mordren tries to stop me?" I asked. "I thought Seldarin and Krynn would be by my side—what can I do by myself?"

"You'll just have to do your best," she said firmly. "You have the blood of Lolth the Spider Queen in your veins. I was in the audience last night at the Public Quenching and I felt the Royal energy you were able to produce. I believe your magic will rise to the occasion."

I wanted to point out that all I had was baby magic—even with the Blood Magic my inheritance gave me. If only she'd been able to find me in my early twenties my power would have had a chance to grow. But as it was, I felt completely defenseless.

Still, I knew I had to try. Not just for the sake of the Dark Fae people, but because Mordren was holding Sel and Krynn hostage. I knew if our positions were reversed, they would come for me. Though I had less magic than the smallest Lesser Fae child, I had to do my best to get them back.

Even if I had almost no chance of succeeding.