We’d already formed a rough plan, but Queen Catalina wasn’t going for it. “Mother, we have to,” Ileana said as she cautiously approached the dragons. Fafnir took no immediate notice, but Custard’s ears perked up as she raised her slender yellow head to fix her eyes on the princess. I really hoped Ileana knew what she was doing. Nothing smells worse than burnt princess. “I won’t allow it. It’s much too dangerous for children. I’m sorry, but—” The queen began some kind of spell to stop us, but Ileana was ready. She fired off a spell of her own, silencing the queen and freezing her in place just as Morgana had done to us in the Prophecy Cave. “Hey, it worked!” Ileana said, surprised at her own skills. Then her smile faded. “I’m sorry, Mother.” She kissed the queen’s cheek. “It’ll wear off after we’re gone.” We all mumbled our apologies to the queen. It felt wrong to hex her like that after she’d set us free and was so worried for us. She was like the mom none of us had ever had.
