Page 52 of Enchanted Kingdom
He gave me a nod. “Exactly.”
I wasn’t sure what had happened to those people, but I knew it wasn’t good.
My mother, hands on her hips, spun toward Owen. “Is she really safe there? If she truly has Iron Will?”
He took a deep breath. “I can confirm that yes, she does have Iron Will, but as I told her the other day, the king has been trying to figure it out for years, more than likely beginning around the time when these people disappeared. He won’t kill her until he knowswhyshe is immune.”
“And you really think this prince is worth the risk?” my mother asked me.
I shrugged. “I have wanted to leave on multiple occasions, Mother. I can’t leave until they say I can.”
“Oh.”
Owen added, “Now that the king knows she has Iron Will, she is safer with me than she would be even back here. The minute his magic didn’t work on Jorah, she was no longer safe no matter her location.”
My mother had to sit down on one of the stools behind the counter after that. She glanced at Owen. “Forgive me if I am crossing a line here, but is she safe with the prince?”
He gave her a smile. “I work for the princes, not for the king. She is safe with me, and she is safe with Prince Keiran, yes.”
Mother looked to me and shook her head before standing to put her hands back in the dough we had just begun to knead. “We should have burned that damned letter.”
I snorted a laugh.
“So,” Mother said, “Let me get this right. You have Iron Will. You don’t hate Prince Keiran. And you are now unsafe no matter where you are. Does that about sum it up?”
I gave her a shrug.
“What an update,” Mother groaned.
How could so much change in just six days’ time?
* * *
Two hours went far too fast.The afternoon had been somber, but I had still felt better in the bakery with Mother than I had stuck in my room at the castle. Mother put my favorite jerky, enough for Owen and me both, in a small sack to take back with me.
And Owen had been gracious enough to pay her for both the jerky and all the bread he consumed that afternoon.
“Stay safe,” my mother said as she hugged me at the door. She pulled back and looked at the ceiling, blinking hard, “I cannot believe I am about to say this either, but should you find that you do love this prince as much as I loved your father,” she paused to swallow hard, “let not even the king stand in your way of a love such as that.”
I sniffled. “Yes, Mother.”
She hugged me again. “I love you, my dear girl. Stay safe. Stay smart.”
I wiped at my eyes as Owen and I headed out of the bakery while he grumbled about tears.
We only had to head two streets over to where we were to meet the carriage. It was the last stop for supplies, getting the fresh seafood from the fisherman’s shop.
Even the dusty and dirty streets, though they would get the bottom of my dress filthy, made me feel lighter. Made me remember that the king couldn’t reach all the way down here from up in his fortress. I may need to remember my place in his castle, but he also had no place in Nerede.
“Jorah.”
I spun to find Will, breathing heavy as if he had sprinted to catch up.
Owen immediately moved to stand between us.
“Are you really home?” Will asked, ignoring Owen completely, despite the fact that he stood like a stack of bricks between us.
“Just for a visit,” I said with a smile as I moved to stand next to Owen so I could actually see Will. “We have to return to the castle tonight.”
