Page 93 of Kingdom of Locks

Hurrying forward, she wove her way through the small stand of trees, emerging onto a wide, flat space that continued out of sight in both directions. A cart was going past, pulled by a large horse. Aurelia gasped at the sight of it. Mama Imelda had drawn pictures for her, but they couldn’t compare to the reality. It was magnificent. Her gaze passed from the horse to the two people sitting up on the cart behind it. They were the oldest people she’d ever seen, one a man, the other a woman.

“Hello!” she called excitedly. “Can you help me, please?”

The woman screamed, her eyes widening as they latched on to Aurelia’s form. “Look, Jim!” she cried, pointing. “We’ll be killed! Go faster!”

The man was gaping at Aurelia, but at the woman’s words, he slapped the reins he held, calling to the horse to move. The cart lurched into faster motion, the woman still clutching at the man’s arm as she cast fearful eyes back over her shoulder.

Aurelia was left standing in the middle of the road, tears of confusion and loneliness welling up in her eyes. Why were they afraid of her?

More feet were approaching, and she whirled quickly to see a trio of men on foot, chatting cheerfully. As soon as they caught sight of her, they all stopped dead.

“Good…good evening,” she said, clearing her throat nervously. “I wondered if you could help me. I’m trying to find my way to the capital.”

“Don’t let her speak to you!” one of the men cried to his companions, covering his ears. “Don’t listen! Run!” Giving Aurelia a wide berth, the men edged around her, breaking into a run as soon as they were clear.

“Don’t think you’ll get away with it!” one of them called back, from what he seemed to consider a safe distance. “We’ll be reporting you.”

“But—” Aurelia cried, fear and frustration warring within her.

“Yeah,andwe’ll tell them you’re heading for the capital!” another of the men yelled.

“Get away with what?” Aurelia demanded miserably, well aware that they couldn’t hear her. “I haven’t done anything!”

Fear gripped her as the men disappeared from sight. Had Cyfrin been telling the truth about the world after all? Had Mama Imelda’s assurances that people were generally kind been another of her misguided attempts to shield her daughter from painful knowledge?

Drawing a shaky breath, Aurelia looked up and down the road. At least she’d found a thoroughfare. The sun had almost disappeared, but its location was enough to tell her which direction would lead her to the city. She started walking, shivering in the cold and no longer knowing whether she wanted to encounter more people or not.

After a similar experience had been repeated with a lone traveler, a group in a carriage, and a family passing in a wagon, she knew the answer. She never wanted to see another unfamiliar face again. Every single one of them was unfriendly, full of fear and anger. She kept her thoughts on Amell. He was kind. He would never shun her like all these people.

But did she want a life here with him, if the people she’d met were any indication of Fernedellians? Not that Albury was likely to be any better, she reflected glumly, remembering her mother’s words about the royal family from which she came.

She just had to reach the capital, she told herself firmly. She would warn the king about the threat to the guild, and with any luck she would find Mama Imelda. Then they could leave, go somewhere where they could be safe and alone and away from all these people.

With a flash of horror, Aurelia realized she was describing the tower. She’d finally gotten free, and one afternoon of exposure to the world outside had her wanting to run back to the safety of her prison.

Overcome, she stumbled to a stop. It was hard to keep going when she was so very weary, without even hope to sustain her. It turned out Cyfrin had been right. She wasn’t strong enough for the world outside. Tears dripping down her face, she turned off the road, pushing into the trees that lined one side of it. She didn’t go far before she collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to go on. She pulled her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her head on top.

Thinking of her simple, if restricted, life in the tower, she closed her eyes. The sun had gone down at least an hour before. If she was back there, Cyfrin would have left, and she and Mama Imelda would be preparing dinner. Perhaps she’d spend the evening reading, her mother singing while she washed the dishes.

Her voice thin and miserable even in her own ears, Aurelia began to sing. The cheerful ditty didn’t match her mood, but it made her think of her mother, and that was a comfort of its own. She raised her voice, the foolish words irrelevant as she focused on the tune.

She sang loudly enough to miss the noise she now recognized as approaching hooves until it was almost upon her. Frightened, she fell silent. But it was clearly too late to evade notice. As her singing had stopped, so had the movement of whoever was on the road.

Chapter Twenty-One

Amell dropped to a walk, giving his horse a well-earned rest. Disheartened, he directed his eyes ahead, trying to make out the road through the darkness. The sun had set an hour before, and he’d been forced to abandon what had become a futile search. His tracking skills had failed him, and he was no wiser as to Aurelia’s location than he would be if he was still blind.

Returning to Fernford had seemed like his only option. He had no idea what had become of Furn, but hopefully the guard would be waiting for him, perhaps with answers. He thought Abigail and Aurelia would be likely to attempt to make their way there as well, so he still had some hope. And if they weren’t there…well, if he was right about the concealment magic being broken altogether, he’d be able to explain Aurelia’s identity to his father. He had a feeling that finding her would suddenly become the king’s top priority.

Amell was just thinking that his horse might be ready to canter again when his ears caught an unbelievable sound. A sweet voice, raised in a light song he’d heard before. He pulled his horse to a stop, his heart beating wildly. Surely that was the song Aurelia had been singing the very first time he’d met her.

But his straining ears found only silence. Had he imagined it, because she was so constantly on his mind? He dismounted, leading his horse to the side of the road. It had come from the trees, he was almost certain. A group of riders was approaching from the direction of the capital, but Amell ignored them, tying his horse’s reins loosely to a nearby branch and stepping into the trees.

“Aurelia?” he called cautiously. “Are you in there?”

The question was met with an audible gasp, and Amell’s heart flooded with relief as a beautifully familiar voice called back.

“Amell? Is that really you?”

---