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me, but I sucked down the choking emotions because I knew I couldn’t hesitate any longer.
    I had to think fast before I, too, was burned alive.
    I reached for the knife under my pillow, knowing that with my impaired speech, I wouldn’t be able to utter an attack spell. I wasn’t very good at attack spells yet – they were very difficult to master – so I couldn’t get away with just the hand motion. I had to say the word along with it to complete the spell. I would have to rely on the knife instead.
    In a quick motion, I drew the knife out from under the pillow and sent it flying toward my attacker. The dagger embedded itself in his chest, splattering my violet bed sheets with droplets of his blood. Trying hard not to faint at the sight, I jumped out of my flaming bed and ran for the door, cringing as I heard the fairy’s flesh begin to sizzle. I had used an iron knife, and iron was poisonous to fae.
    I opened the door and stifled a scream when I ran straight into one of the guards, Thane, a fox shape-shifter and Danica’s husband.
    “God, Thane, you scared the crap out of me!” I cried.
    Thane gave me a look, as most elves did when I used what they called “human words.” Elfen or not, living in the Human Ream for nearly fifteen years had made it difficult for me to leave their slang behind.
    “What’s going on in there?” he asked.
    “My bed is on fire and there is a wounded fire fairy in my room,” I blurted.
    Wide-eyed, Thane drew his iron sword and hurried into my room, leaving me standing in the hallway dressed in a nightgown tattered and blackened by flames.
    Moments later, the elf guard returned, his face sooty and covered with sweat. “The fire is out, although I had to throw your sheets out the window and into the streams. Nothing else was damaged…except for the fire fairy, who was near death when I found him. Don’t worry, I finished him off. There’s blood on the floor, but that can be cleaned.”
    “Thank God I woke up in time,” I muttered.
    Thane nodded gravely. “You’re very lucky. He had the mark of an assassin on him. Are you hurt?”
    “My arm was burned a little, but I’m okay,” I replied shakily. “What were you saying about a mark?”
    “All assassins from the Element Fairy Realm have a tattoo of a flame on their chest, their insignia. King Vortigern, being a fire fairy, uses the symbol to show that they are under his command. His assassins are the greatest trained Element fairies known to the Realms.”
    “They can’t be that good, considering I nearly killed one without even taking aim,” I pointed out.
    “Right,” Thane agreed, managing a grin.
    “How could an assassin have entered my room, Thane?” I asked, suddenly not feeling very safe in the palace after what had just occurred.
    “We can address that issue when we are in the presence of the Queen. Come on, let’s go,” he said.
    He took my hand and began dragging me down the hall.
    “What about the assassin?” I wondered.
    “I’ll get a few other guards to take care of him.”
    “But –”
    “No time for anything else. Come on.”
    Sighing, I gave up and followed him to the Queen.
    ***
    “How in the Realm could this have happened? This is a royal palace! I have twenty guards patrolling the premises. How could a fire fairy possibly get past them and make his way to Ramsey’s room? He could have killed her, Thane!”
    Brielle hadn’t stopped yelling since we all met in her quarters – Thane, Danica, and I. Not wanting to wake anyone else, we decided just the four of us would do for now. But it was difficult to keep everyone sleeping when Brielle was being so obnoxiously loud.
    Brielle, too, was dressed in only her nightgown, her hair loose and falling well past her waist. She wasn’t even wearing her crown. And she looked like a mess. The assassin scare had unnerved her, especially because it had happened under her rule and her watch. She’d just had her coronation and already things were