Page 43 of Kingdom of Locks

He remembered the sweetness of her smile when he told her he’d help her, and the hesitation in her eyes when she’d asked him if he was making false promises. A pang went through his heart. He was always being told he wasn’t responsible enough, and didn’t take anything seriously. But not this time. For all his father’s lectures on a prince’s duties, no one had ever actually been relying on Amell before. They’d always had their king at the helm. But this time, Honeysuckle was counting on him to help her escape a life of imprisonment.

And this time he would do whatever it took.

Chapter Ten

Aurelia watched Amell disappear into the trees, her heart in her throat. Did he mean what he said? Would he really make it his mission to see them set free? Had she done right to send him away—to trust him?

She hadn’t told him her real name, she reflected. So that was something, if he proved to be false. But she couldn’t believe he was false. She couldn’t bear to think that the candor in his clear gray eyes had been a pretense, that his appealing smile and light laugh hid an evil heart.

She was being foolishly sentimental, she supposed. But there was a simple way to tell. She would wait and see if he followed through with his big promises.Judge a person by what they do, not what they say,Mama Gail had told her, whenever Cyfrin subjected them to a lecture on his beneficence in shielding Aurelia from a harsh world. And her mother was right. His magnanimous words had confused Aurelia as a child, but reflection had shown her the truth. Someone who meant well by her wouldn’t keep her trapped against her will.

So, as much as her heart wanted to take Amell for exactly what he appeared to be, she would wait, and reserve judgment until she saw whether he really was going to help them.

No more than half an hour after Amell had left, Aurelia heard the creaking of a wooden bed, followed by a soft groan. A moment later, Mama Gail appeared in the doorway, rubbing a hand over her face and smiling blearily at her daughter.

“Good morning, Aurelia,” she said. “Or is it afternoon now?”

“Just past noon, I think,” Aurelia smiled. “I was about to have lunch. Do you feel better?”

“Much better,” Mama Gail said firmly. “I’m sorry I left you to do the morning chores alone. It was very irresponsible of me to stay up all night, and I won’t do it again.”

Aurelia’s heart sank slightly, and she scolded herself for it. It was a bit of a shock to realize that, unacknowledged, she’d been harboring the hope that she might again be alone when Amell came the next day.

“No need to apologize,” she said lightly. “The chores were no trouble. But I wouldn’t mind your help with my hair.”

“Of course,” said Mama Gail repentantly. “You’ve been stuck with it like that since last night, haven’t you? Poor Aurelia.”

Aurelia said nothing, turning to the kitchen to hide her flushed face as she thought of what she—and her hair—had been up to that morning. Guilt burned through her at her deception in not telling Mama Gail about Amell’s visit immediately. It made little sense—she would have to tell her, and soon. But she felt strangely reluctant to do it.

Perhaps it was because she suspected Mama Gail wouldn’t trust him, and she didn’t want to hear her own fears articulated. Or perhaps it was because she’d never before, not in all her life, had anything shecouldhide from Mama Gail. Prior to Amell’s appearance, the previous evening’s interview with Cyfrin was the only occasion in her life when Mama Gail hadn’t been present. And that paled in significance compared to her interaction with Amell.

Remembering the tingling warmth that had spread through her when she’d taken his hand, Aurelia felt her face burn again, for different reasons this time. Mama Gail would definitely question Aurelia’s ability to objectively assess Amell if she knew how disordered her thoughts were, and perhaps she’d be right. It was on the tip of Aurelia’s tongue to confess the whole thing, and ask Mama Gail what she thought, when her eyes fell on the key, still sitting by the kettle.

Give Honeysuckle the key?Cyfrin’s notes had said.Risk vs reward.And Mama Gail still hadn’t told her what she thought it meant, or what else she’d found in the study. After all, even without any lying involved, Aurelia wasn’t the only one who wasn’t being entirely forthright.

“Can we talk about last night now?” she asked, turning abruptly back around. “About whatever you found in Cyfrin’s notes?”

Mama Gail’s expression was sober, and she looked at Aurelia for a long moment before she spoke. “Yes, let’s talk about it. Come and sit, so I can fix your hair while we do.”

Some of the tension leaked out of Aurelia as she lowered herself into a chair in front of her mother. Her every nerve felt painfully alive, her mind a jumble of the last twenty-four hour’s worth of new and overwhelming experiences. It was hard to believe that only the evening before she’d been so astonished and confused by Cyfrin wanting to speak to her alone. That incident was absolutely nothing compared to the appearance of a stranger in her clearing, in her actual tower. It was so life-changing, she could still barely wrap her mind around it.

“You’ve brushed it already,” Mama Gail observed, pulling Aurelia’s mind from its chaotic spiral. Her hands were firm but soothing as they worked, bringing order to Aurelia’s trailing hair.

Aurelia nodded. “I had some time on my hands,” she said dryly. “But I don’t want to talk about my hair, Mama Gail. I want to talk about last night.”

“All right,” said Mama Gail, clearly a little surprised at Aurelia’s firmness. “About what?”

“Why were you so terrified at the idea of Cyfrin speaking with me alone?”

There was a moment’s silence. “I was afraid of what he would do to you.”

Aurelia frowned. “But you were still so worked up, even after I told you he didn’t try to hurt me.” She half turned in her chair, to look her mother in the eye. “I told you everything we spoke about. Did he do whatever it was you were so afraid of?”

Mama Gail bit her lip. “I don’t think so,” she said, her expression troubled. “Not yet, at least.”

“Not yet?” Aurelia felt a spike of fear, but she pushed it back ruthlessly. She wasn’t going to let the feelings of powerlessness back in. Instead she pinned her mother with an insistent look. “Let’s talk about what happened next. What did you find in his study, Mama Gail?”

The older woman sighed. “Just the usual cryptic ramblings. The only notes I found that might relate to this new project of his were talking about a key.”

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