The Rise of the Dawnstar (The Avalonia Chronicles Book 2)

of magic in the air. “We need to stop them from following us.”
“I can reach it,” I replied firmly. “But I need to take off my amulet.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Rafe asked, the sound of the waves nearly swallowing up his voice.
I nodded, but I was not sure what would happen. I still had to learn control over my powers, but I had no choice right now.
“Do it!” barked Santino. “They already know where you are, the amulet cannot hide you anymore. If they get any closer, we won’t stand a chance.”
I gathered my magic and stood up in the rocking boat. Bending my head, I removed my amulet. The magical beast within me reared its mighty head, uncoiling like an enormous snake ready to strike. Power rushed into me and courage filled my senses as I started to glow.
Aurora Firedrake had awoken, and I had no control over her.
My heart rate slowed and my emotions shut off. All I could see was the quay, swarming with guards getting into boats to follow me and take me back to the palace in chains. My anger flared, and I raised my hands toward the docks as the huge ball of magic that had collected within me was released.
Blazing beams of silver fire shot out of my palms, hitting the docks in a terrifying display of my unfettered magic. The sky lit up amid horrified screams as the whole quay of Calos burst into flames.
The sky crackled overhead as a lightning strike tried to hit our boat, but Rafe’s shield kept us from sinking. I tore my gaze from the burning docks to see three boats already in the sea, rowing furiously toward us. Lucian was in the closest boat. His dark magic rippled outward and I felt it as it struck.
Rafe clutched his chest, dropping the shield around the boat, which lurched precariously.
I fell sideways.
Santino and Brandon were still rowing, trying to get us to the ship. I glanced hurriedly over at Rafe. His face was distorted with pain as the archmage’s magic pierced his chest. I knew how it felt, having experienced it firsthand. The archmage wanted to kill us both, but I wasn’t going to let him.
I pushed myself up, bracing my feet on the sides of the rocking boat, and searched for fae magic. Time slowed as the sea responded to my call. I could hear the rush of water inside my head and feel the fae magic within the water surrounding me on all sides.
I slowly raised my hands above my head, and the sea came with them, lifting the little boat that held the archmage onto the crest of a gigantic wave.
Lucian’s hold over Rafe dropped immediately, but I was too far gone to stop. The pressure of holding up the wall of water was proving too much for me. My body shook, my arms trembled, and spots formed before my eyes as I tried to restrain my magic. If I lost control now, the water would engulf us and sweep the ship away.
Rafe pushed himself up and moved toward me, putting his hand on my leg and keeping me steady. “I’ve got you, Aurora, you can do this,” he said as he surrounded me with a powerful shield holding me firmly in place.
His presence gave me the confidence I needed, and I pushed back at the water, fighting the pressure on my body and pulling more magic into me. I raised my arms higher above my head, and my hands glowed brighter than ever before, lighting up the sky. Gathering the full force of my powers, I brought my arms down in a wide, sweeping arc, giving the water one final push.
I could hear the guards on the little boats scream in terror as the colossal wave curled toward the shore. The enormous wall of water rose over the quay and crashed into the burning docks, flinging the archmage and his boat into the watery depths of the Stardust Sea.
The sea churned under us as it adjusted back to its original state. I stood there on the rocking boat, gazing out in horror at the shore of the town I had destroyed.
No one said a word.
Everyone in the little boat looked at me in awe. Or was it fear I saw in their eyes? I wasn’t sure.
What had I done? I was a monster. How many people had I killed this time?
“Well, at least you put out the fire,” said Santino, breaking the silence and resuming his job of rowing us to the ship.
I smiled at him, grateful for his dark humor, as exhaustion overtook me and I collapsed into Rafe’s arms. I drifted in and out of consciousness, only vaguely remembering where I was when I saw the glow of lights and heard sailors shouting orders as we neared the massive pirate galleon.
At the back of my mind I was excited to have found my water talent. But the pressure on my body to bend the water to my will had almost been too much for me to handle. If Rafe hadn’t been there, I would have lost control.
I finally gave in to the fatigue clouding my senses and fell into the quiet oblivion of a dreamless sleep.

The Starfire
The warm rays of the winter sun sparkled through the water-speckled windows of my cabin, waking me to the gentle rolling of the ship. I had no recollection of boarding the vessel and presumed Rafe must have carried me. He must have put my amulet back on as well while I was passed out. It rested like a weight on my chest.
My head felt heavy and my mouth was dry. I groaned as I tried to sit up, my limbs screaming in agony, and I felt empty, as if I had completely exhausted my powers. Thankfully I could still feel a small spark glowing deep within. I knew it would replenish itself, but at the moment I couldn’t manage to light a