Page 37 of Kingdom of Locks

“How do I know you’re not an escaped prisoner?” she asked doubtfully.

He glanced down at himself, a smile tugging up one corner of his lips. The expression made his face, already pleasant, even more appealing. He gestured to his garments again. “You clearly haven’t seen the prison uniform if you’re asking me that.”

Looking him over, Aurelia decided he was right. She didn’t know much about fashion, beyond the pictures she’d seen in the few illustrated books contained in Cyfrin’s study. But his clothes certainly didn’t make him look like a prisoner.

“You could have stolen your clothes,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “I know all about stealing, so don’t think you can trick me.”

“I don’t want to trick you,” said the man. For some reason he was smiling again, in spite of being accused of deception. But it was such a different smile from Cyfrin’s mocking sneer, Aurelia couldn’t help but relax further.

“How did you get in here?” she asked abruptly. “This place is supposed to be hidden by powerful enchantments.”

He nodded, drawing his thick cloak around his shoulders. “I gathered that. There was no sign of it when I was in this area yesterday. But I came back today with this cloak. It’s a powerful magical artifact, and it’s designed to shield me against concealment magic.”

Aurelia’s eyes widened. She hardly dared to believe such a thing was possible, but the very presence of this stranger seemed to demonstrate that it was. This might be their chance to escape! Her heart beat more quickly, and again the thought flashed through her mind that she should wake Mama Gail. And yet, she made no move toward the bedroom.

“But…why did you get it?” she asked. “Did you know about this place?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t, but I could tell something was strange about the area. To be honest, I thought there might be fugitives from the prison hiding in here.” His eyes passed to her braid, most of which was hidden below the windowsill. “But something tells me you’re not from the prison.” He sent her a good-natured grin. “I don’t suppose you’re hiding any escapees in there, who I could round up?”

She shook her head.

“But who are you?” he pressed. “Why are you here, hidden away by concealing magic?”

“You first,” Aurelia said again. “What’s your name?”

“I’m…Amell.”

The hesitation was so brief, she probably would have missed it if she hadn’t been suspicious already. Congratulating herself on her astuteness, Aurelia looked him over. Had he given her a false name, like Mama Gail had done to Cyfrin?

“What’s yours?” he asked.

“Honeysuckle,” said Aurelia casually, not to be outdone. The foolish name sounded bitter on her tongue, but she was sure it was the right decision not to give this stranger her true name, and whatever power might come with it. Even if he wasn’t from the prison, he might still have magic. That artifact he was wearing had come from somewhere.

“That’s an unusual name,” Amell said, his eyes passing over the honeysuckle growing up the outside of the tower. He looked up at her again, his eyes dwelling on her hair. “You weren’t very aptly named, were you?”

“You have no idea,” muttered Aurelia.

“What was that?” Amell was craning his neck to look at her, and he lifted a hand to rub the back of it. “It’s a little hard to talk like this. Do you…do you want to come down?”

Sky above, did she. Aurelia was silent for a moment, taken off guard by the wave of emotion that washed over her at the simple question. As it so often did, her imagination ran away with her, picturing how it would be to descend from the tower, to feel the grass, walk under the trees, travel somewhere far from this quiet, monotonous clearing.

Except now there was a new figure in her imagination. A handsome young stranger waiting for her at the bottom of the tower, ready to spirit her away to his bustling city, where bright colors swirled from every side, and adventures surely happened on a regular basis. And perhaps he would look at her like the hero had looked at the heroine in that storybook Cyfrin had brought her a few months ago, before Mama Gail had declared it foolish and thrown it away. He would gallantly lift her hand to his lips, and—

Flushing in private embarrassment, Aurelia shook off the foolish fantasies.

“I can’t,” she said curtly.

“Why not?” Amell asked.

She sighed. “There’s another enchantment here, beyond the concealment one that hides the clearing from the world. There’s a restraining enchantment, too. No one but my captor can enter or leave the tower.”

Amell’s eyes were wide with horror by the end of this simple explanation. “You mean you’re a prisoner? You’re trapped up there?”

Aurelia nodded mutely.

“But we have to get you out!” Amell said, clearly aghast.

Even as her head told her she should still be suspicious of this stranger, Aurelia couldn’t help the bubble of hope that began to inflate inside her at his words. She also noted that his reaction didn’t support Cyfrin’s claims that the world was an evil place. Rather, it matched Mama Gail’s insistence that only a monster like the enchanter would steal two women away and lock them up for seventeen years, and anyone else who heard of it would be horrified. And although she didn’t know this Amell enough to trust him, she did trust Mama Gail. Perhaps he really would help them.

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