Page 34 of Kingdom of Locks

He did show a flash of concern when he realized Amell was following a previously marked trail through the forest, however.

“Did you leave these markers yesterday?” he asked. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Yes, I was being impressively sneaky,” Amell confirmed cheerfully.

Furn grimaced, but the expression lacked any force, and Amell’s grin grew.

The prince’s excitement mounted as they passed the place where he’d met with the dragons the evening before. No more than a quarter of an hour later, they reached the end of his trail, and the infamous clump came into view.

“I’m not sure what you’re hoping to find, Your Highness,” Furn commented.

Amell barely heard him. He’d already slipped from his horse, one hand on his cloak as he scanned the trees intently. Furn dismounted as well, and Amell absently handed his friend his own horse’s reins. Approaching the trees, Amell ran a hand over their trunks, looking for any sign of the magic that he couldn’t sense. It was possible, of course, that this area wasn’t the source of the concealment enchantment the dragons had felt. Had they said it was, or had he just speculated?

Frowning, Amell noticed a gap between two of the trees that he hadn’t seen the day before. He slipped sideways through it, and found another similar gap. Perplexed, he realized that the trees were no longer as thickly grouped as he’d thought. In fact, it had become quite easy to walk between their trunks. He paused, glancing back the way he’d come. Again, the trees were a reasonable distance apart, and there was no sign of Furn.

Amell hesitated for only a moment. The guard would be fine, and he wasn’t about to miss this opportunity. Pushing forward, he saw with growing excitement that the trees were thinning up ahead, the morning light slanting between their trunks and suggesting a sizable clearing nearby. Were there fugitives hiding there? He placed one hand reassuringly on the hilt of his sword, and crept forward more stealthily.

The trees ended quite suddenly, and Amell found himself gazing out at a clearing that certainly hadn’t shown up on the warden’s map. It wasn’t as big as the one in which the prison stood, but it was significant enough that it should have been marked. All at once his ears picked up the faint sound of a woman singing. The voice was light, pleasant. He didn’t recognize the tune, but the cheerful lay certainly wasn’t what he’d expect from a hardened criminal hiding from the biggest manhunt Fernedell had ever seen.

Hardly aware of his movements, Amell stepped out into the open, his eyes passing in amazement up the stone side of a lone tower, standing in the precise center of the clearing. The singing was surely coming from there, and it was hard to believe any of the fugitives could be cohabiting with the innocent sound.

Moving across the clearing as if in a daze, Amell’s eyes settled on the sole window set into the tower’s uppermost level. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the opening, a broom held loosely in one hand, and a sweetly wistful expression on her face as she gazed out at the clearing. Amell stood frozen, staring in utter astonishment at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Here, undoubtedly, was the damsel of his foolish childhood imaginings. Beautiful, sweet, simply waiting for him to appear and sweep in to her rescue. He blinked, half expecting her to disappear when he opened his eyes. Was this girl—impossibly beautiful, painfully vulnerable in her proximity to a dangerous prison break—simply a figment of his imagination? Was there perhaps a second layer of enchantment on this hidden place, one that addled the observer’s mind, turning their daydreams into reality and thereby distracting them from impending danger?

Whether real or wraith, the girl was still there. Amell found himself moving forward without conscious thought, his eyes fixed on her face, and his ears still full of her lighthearted song. His movement must have drawn her attention, because all at once her head swiveled around, and her gaze latched on to him, round blue eyes widening in an astonishment that matched his own as her mouth fell open in a silent exclamation.

Chapter Eight

Aurelia woke slowly, confused by the unfamiliar shuffling sound near her ear.

“Oh, Aurelia, you’re awake. Good. You said Cyfrin willingly gave you the key?”

“What?” Aurelia pushed herself to a sitting position, rubbing her eyes in confusion. “Mama Gail?” She blinked from her mother’s bleary eyed face to the thin light coming through the un-curtained window. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know, it’s very late,” said Mama Gail, with a touch of impatience. “Tell me about the key.”

“Very late?” Aurelia stretched painfully, realizing as she looked around her that she’d fallen asleep on a settle in the living area instead of in her bed. She vaguely remembered sitting there, waiting in growing concern as her mother hunted for answers in Cyfrin’s study with a franticness that Aurelia couldn’t understand. “I think you mean very early. Mama, have you been rifling through Cyfrin’s study all night?”

“Have I?” Her mother glanced distractedly at the window, surprise showing faintly on her face at sight of the weak sunlight. “I guess I have.”

Aurelia grimaced as she stretched her back. She couldn’t remember ever sleeping not in a bed before, and she didn’t intend to repeat the experience.

“Did you find anything?”

“All sorts of things.” Mama Gail rubbed her eyes impatiently, tension still visible in every line of her body. “But nothing that will help us get out of here.”

“Help us get out of here?” Aurelia demanded. “I thought we gave up years ago on finding anything in his study that would help us break the restraining enchantment. Is that what you were searching for?”

“Not initially,” sighed her mother, biting her bottom lip. “Initially I just wanted to understand Cyfrin’s new project, but…”

Aurelia began to feel impatient herself as the other woman trailed off. “But you figured out his project, and whatever it is has you desperate to get out of here. You can say what you’re thinking, Mama Gail. I’m not an idiot, and I’m not as fragile as you think.”

Mama Gail sat down heavily on the settle next to Aurelia. “I know you’re not an idiot, darling. And I don’t think you’re fragile. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want to protect you.”

“I don’t understand,” Aurelia said, extending her hands appealingly. “You were so desperate to protect me from Cyfrin last night, but he honestly didn’t do anything to me. I know he’s a monster for locking us in here, but he’s already done that, so it’s not exactly a reason to be scared of him. He’s never tried to hurt me physically. What is it you’re so afraid of?”

Mama Gail’s expression was almost anguished as she met Aurelia’s eyes. “If I explained what I’m afraid of,” she said softly, “Iwouldn’tbe protecting you.”

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