Page 30 of Kingdom of Locks

“Don’t worry, Father, I know the rules,” said Amell easily. “I was just thinking aloud.”

“Hm.” The king didn’t seem entirely reassured. “Where have you been all this time?”

“Exploring the area,” Amell said casually. At his father’s expression he hastened to add, “within the perimeter line.”

“Well,” King Bern said briskly. “Those returning to Fernford today need to leave shortly in order to reach the capital before dark. I’ve instructed half of the force to bivouac in the clearing. I won’t be going back to the castle until tomorrow at the earliest. There’s a great deal more to be done here, and I wish to oversee it myself.” His gaze measured his son for a moment. “You may remain with me if you wish, Amell.”

“I do,” said Amell quickly, hardly able to believe his luck. “Thank you.”

“I’d like to stay too, Father,” Tora interjected.

“Absolutely not.” There was no compromise in the king’s voice. “You were never supposed to come in the first place, and the accommodations here aren’t suitable for a lady of your station.”

Amell couldn’t help but chuckle internally at his sister’s disgruntled expression, but there was sympathy in the look he cast her. It must be very trying to be a princess.

King Bern’s gaze passed over Furn, and on to Tora’s guards. “I’m trusting you to ensure the princess travels safely back to the capital.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they chorused. But Amell didn’t miss the resigned look that flashed across Furn’s face. Clearly his guard intended to take it on himself to make sure Tora left with the group. He was probably wise, given the bizarrely defiant mood the princess seemed to be in.

“The warden is to accommodate me in the guards’ quarters,” King Bern told Amell. “I daresay he can do the same for you.”

“No need,” said Amell quickly. “We’d rather camp with the soldiers, wouldn’t we, Furn?”

The guard inclined his head in acknowledgment, and a rare smile flitted across the king’s face.

“To be young again, assured of a good night’s sleep wherever you lay your head,” he muttered.

Amell grinned, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet in his excitement at being allowed to stay. When his father glanced at him, he stilled the movement with an effort. The king wasn’t usually as irritated by Amell’s restlessness as Amell’s mother was, but he still didn’t want to give his father any reason to change his mind.

King Bern turned to the captain of his guard, who seemed to have hung back while the dragons were present, but was now approaching. Apparently dismissed for the moment, Amell opened his mouth to ask Furn a question, only to find his guard’s eyes fixed searchingly on the princess and her guards. Amell followed his gaze.

“How about I go and find us a place to sleep in the camp,” he said lightly.

“Good idea, Your Highness,” Furn agreed, his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Tora talking with her guards, out of earshot.

Amell slipped away without another word, his thoughts on the marks he’d left on the trees. He felt another flash of guilt at taking advantage of Furn’s distraction. But after all, how much harm could he really come to in the protected grove?

He led his horse around the building, only mounting once out of sight of the main group. It didn’t take him long to find the place where they’d exited the forest earlier, and he was soon following his own trail. With a clear direction, he moved more quickly than they had before, heading straight for the thickened clump of trees. He knew he was unlikely to find anything, but without Tora and Furn watching, he’d have more chance to poke around.

Except he never made it to the clump. He was perhaps halfway there when his horse suddenly shied, without any clear cause. Amell pulled the animal to a stop, scanning the area cautiously. He could neither see nor hear anything. Prodding his mount forward, he continued through the trees, moving more slowly now.

One of his own scores directed him around a thick mass where three trees had grown from a common patch of ground. Rounding the blockage, the pair almost walked straight into a large scaled back, its bright yellow hue standing out bizarrely against the dark trees.

At their appearance, the dragon whipped its head around, and for a moment the prince and the beast stared at each other silently, wide gray eyes meeting cat-like orbs.

The expression on the dragon’s face was so reminiscent of Amell’s own feeling of being caught in wrongdoing that he almost laughed. He couldn’t help relaxing slightly, dropping his eyes from the dragon to focus on his horse.

The poor creature was prancing nervously on the spot, and it was all Amell could do to keep it from trampling the dragon’s tail.

Apparently thinking the same thing, the beast straightened, whipping its tail across the forest floor with such speed that it left a deep gouge in the tree trunk with which it connected. Fully extended, the dragon towered above Amell, fitting impossibly into the space below the trees, which should have been too small for it.

Amell considered the creature curiously. It was perhaps three times his height. Its size, along with the brightness of its yellow scales, told him it was much younger than the elders who had recently spoken with his father.

The dragon’s gaze passed from the prince to his horse, which was still sidling uneasily. Leaning down, it placed its head before the horse’s, opening its jaws in what looked like a yawn. Amell watched, fascinated, as it exhaled gustily all over the horse’s face. The creature relaxed at once, all the tension draining from its muscles.

Amell, on the other hand, bounced a little in the saddle. He’d never seen dragon magic up so close before. What kind of power had the beast used to settle his horse?

Before either human or dragon could speak, a quiet rustling drew Amell’s attention to a patch of foliage behind the dragon. His eyes latched on to a gash on the tree, and he realized that the magical creature had been examining the prince’s own trail when Amell’s arrival interrupted him. But that point was soon driven from his mind as he caught sight of a second dragon emerging from the trees with almost silent movements.

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