Page 112 of Kingdom of Locks

Amell’s limbs unfroze, his foot beginning to tap as he tried to put all the pieces together. Was there some broader picture here? One that Zinnia was somehow aware of? A shudder ran over him. If the shadowy figures behind the supposed conspiracy against the various crowns were dragons, they were all doomed. There was no point even fighting.

“Dragon’s flame,” he muttered aloud. “What have I stumbled on?”

“Amell?” A familiar voice sounded at his elbow, and he turned to see Aurelia looking up at him questioningly. “Are you all right?”

He nodded. “I just had a very strange conversation,” he said. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“All right,” she said amicably. “Are you ready to go in? It’s almost time.”

Amell didn’t answer at once, his eyes roaming over her exquisite features. The sense of impending disaster faded away. Dragons were strange and cryptic beasts. He would be foolish to read too much into Rekavidur’s heavy silences. The creature hadn’t actually said any of the things Amell was concluding.

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked Aurelia suddenly.

She flushed, predictably and delightfully. “I’m certainly getting better to look at now that my hair is growing out. I think it’s not too awful now.” She touched a hand to her dark locks, which were almost down to her shoulders. They’d been properly styled since Cyfrin hacked at them, and they bounced adorably against her neck.

“It’s gorgeous, but you were beautiful to me even when your hair was shorn like a goat’s,” Amell said simply, and sincerely. Aurelia’s laugh brought a grin to his face. He loved making her happy. “But I didn’t just mean how you look,” he added. “You’re beautiful in every imaginable way.”

“You’re too good to me,” she said, leaning against him. She ran a hand through her hair. “And I’m glad you like it. I want to grow it a little more, but I don’t think I’ll ever let it get really long. It’s so much easier like this.” She pushed away from him, patting the locks into place.

Amell’s eyes roved over the dark tresses, admiring the way they framed her face. She really was breathtakingly beautiful, and he could still hardly believe she was his. He folded his hands behind his back, his leg jiggling a little with the effort of being restrained.

Aurelia smiled knowingly. “You can touch it, Amell,” she told him.

“Are you sure?” he asked, surprised.

Since her horrified reaction when they’d kissed in the tower, he’d been very careful never to touch her hair, understanding that it was a complicated and sensitive matter for her. The moment when she’d sprung away from him in revulsion had been among the worst in his life, and he never wanted to do anything that made her so uncomfortable again.

“I’m sure,” she said softly. “I want you to.”

Amell stared into her eyes for a long heartbeat, grasping the significance of the moment. Tentatively, he reached out a hand, running his fingertips gently over the soft waves. He paused, but Aurelia showed no sign of discomfort. She closed her eyes, a little smile playing on her lips. Encouraged, Amell buried his fingers further into her dark hair, relishing in the softness and closeness. Gently, he stretched his fingers over her scalp, bringing his hand to rest so that he cupped the back of her head.

Aurelia opened her eyes, her gaze settling on him with a look that made his heart beat at double time.

“I don’t mind it when you do it,” she said softly. “In fact, I very much like it.”

Make that triple time.

“Aurelia,” Amell said quietly, “I love you.”

Her smile grew. “And I trust you, Amell.”

His heart swelled, hardly able to bear the intensity of emotion contained within it. He’d somehow stumbled on the most incredible woman in the entire world, and even more amazingly, she wanted him. He didn’t think one person in a thousand could go through what Aurelia had, and still come out the other side with such love and kindness in her heart. He knew he had Imelda to thank for the fact that Aurelia was capable of trusting at all, and he would never cease to be grateful for the gift the older woman had given this precious girl in front of him.

There were no words, and he didn’t even try to find any. Taking advantage of the emptying garden, he lowered his face, his eyes locked on Aurelia’s.

As he pressed his lips to hers, his hand still tangled in her hair, he couldn’t help wondering what he’d done to deserve such a partner by his side. Somehow, impossibly, he’d been so lucky as to have his childish dreams transform into the greatest, warmest, most exciting, and most real adventure imaginable.

And he could hardly wait for it to begin.

* * *

Turn the page for a preview ofKingdom of Dance—the sixth and final book ofThe Kingdom Tales.

KINGDOM OF DANCE: Prologue

“But when will Basil be back?”

The four-year-old’s sleepy whisper drifted across the room, alerting Zinnia to the fact that not all of the little ones were asleep.

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