Page 65 of Ties of Legacy

His mind had wandered to a possible future with Avery again, but Mattie’s vehement response drew him back. “No, no, I’m not saying everyone loves travel deep down.”

Elliot expected her to be apologetic, but instead she fixed Sylvia with a stern eye. “You know me better than that, Sylvia. Who was it who advised Ewan that the time had come to settle down? You know I don’t think your feelings invalid. I’m merely making the point that most people aren’t free to make an informed decision. They’ve never tried traveling or visiting new places because the pull toward their own kingdom is so strong they can’t see past it. When our ancestors were freed from their bonds, it allowed them the freedom to make up their own minds. The bargain maker had two daughters and a son. One of the daughters and the son joined him to become the original roving merchants. But the other daughter’s heart never turned from her home. She visited her siblings and father on occasion, but she remained living in their original town until the day of her death. There are lots of reasons why people want to put down roots. I’m just saying that the Legacy’s pull makes it hard to know either way. It can mask some people’s underlying interest in travel.”

Sylvia sat back, nodding. Her eyes flicked between her children—the living embodiment of both extremes.

“So to break his tie to the lamp,” Avery said slowly, “Elliot would have to travel to Halbury and make a bargain?” Her mind was clearly not on her aunt and cousins.

Her face was tight, and she was carefully not meeting Elliot’s eyes. He could guess why. Their path to Bolivere was northwest, heading back to the river, to the top corner of Glandore—which happened to be almost as far as possible from the kingdom of Halbury.

Avery was even more desperate to get to Bolivere since Rene’s attempt to stop her, and she wasn’t going to divert her path to Halbury first. Which meant she was going to ask him to return the lamp to her—and then she was going to hand it over to the people of Bolivere. She had promised to help him finda way to break his tie afterward, but could they guarantee the townsfolk would give it back?

“I’m not sure if that’s the only way,” Mattie said slowly, making Avery’s eyes brighten. “It’s something I’m continuing to research.”

Elliot’s shoulders slumped. If there was another way, Mattie didn’t know it—at least not yet.

“If it’s that simple,” Dahlia said, apparently having reached the opposite conclusion on its difficulty from Elliot, “then how come others haven’t worked it out in all the years since then?”

Despite her false idea of the simplicity of the matter, it was a good question. Elliot’s own mother was an example of someone who would pay dearly for instructions on how to break her tie to her kingdom. As would Lorne, presumably.

But instead of Mattie answering, it was Avery who spoke, her voice thoughtful. “Because the people who’ve tried to break it are the ones who don’t think of their bond as something to be sacrificed. While the ones who would consider it a sacrifice aren’t trying to break it. All these years, everyone has been approaching it the wrong way.”

“Exactly.” Mattie nodded approvingly. “Most people are so busy pursuing what they want that they don’t stop to consider what they should sacrifice. If you ever want to apprentice to me, Avery, you’d make a good future record keeper.”

Avery shuddered. “No, thank you. I have no desire to settle down, even if it did mean managing a spectacular library.”

Mattie chuckled. “Well, if you ever change your mind…”

Elliot shifted uncomfortably. He had known from the beginning that Avery loved to travel, so there was no reason for it to hit him harder every time she confirmed it.

“So the Legacy is the real villain here.” Dahliawrinkled her nose.

Mattie’s approving expression faded as she looked from Avery to her younger cousin. “I know you’ve never been to a regular school,” she said sternly, “but I also know that roving merchants teach their children better than that. The Legacy doesn’t have a consciousness. It’s not a person. It’s just a force that works to run each kingdom according to that kingdom’s history. It isn’t punishing anyone.”

“It feels like a punishment,” Dahlia muttered.

She clearly still hadn’t made peace with being forced to settle down. In a strange way, Elliot could relate. He didn’t know if he would ever make peace with his mother for forcing him to travel, and for?—

He cut off his thoughts. He didn’t want to dredge up old history, not with everything else going on.

When Ewan started talking to his daughter in a quiet voice, Avery tugged at Elliot’s hand.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go for a walk and get some fresh air.”

Chapter 22

Elliot

They were further north than the capital, meaning the air had some bite behind it with the sun down. But it felt cool and refreshing to Elliot. Inside the cottage, the future had felt stifling and impossible, but out here, it stretched before him, full of possibilities. Or maybe that was because Avery was at his side, and they were alone again for the first time in days.

He couldn’t shake off Sylvia’s ember of hope or the spark of a future it had planted in him. Was it possible that two people of differing tastes could find enough of a settled home to give them roots while still traveling enough to keep that life from feeling closed off and stifling? Would Avery ever consider such a compromise?

His hand brushed inadvertently against hers, sending a different sort of spark racing through him. She turned to smile up at him, the last of the day’s light glinting in her eyes and dancing through the waves of her dark hair. His gaze traced her perfect face, and it was a struggle not to linger on her full lips. She had never looked more beautiful to him than in this moment, when the tantalizing possibility of a future between them—no matter how tenuous—danced before his eyes.

She stopped, turning toward him, and placed a light hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Elliot,” she murmured, and his heart clenched. “If there was any way I could avoid asking for the lamp back…”

She looked close to tears, but he felt light with relief. He had gotten ahead of himself in his mind. Avery was thinking of the lamp and asking for it back as he had known she would.

“It’s all right.” He smiled down at her. “I knew you didn’t give it to me to keep.”

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