Page 69 of Kingdom of Locks

“She’s right,” Mama Gail chimed in from where she was tending to the plants. “You’re a spectacle of which we won’t soon tire.”

That description drew the smile back to Amell’s face.

“Even Cyfrin’s visits are easier to take now,” Aurelia said brightly. “With something to look forward to.”

Amell’s expression darkened again. “What’s he up to? What does he do when he comes?”

Aurelia shrugged. “The same as normal. Puts power into me, moves it about a bit, talks about how great he is.” She lifted a hand. “Not much to tell, really.”

“So he came last night?” Amell pressed.

“Of course,” said Aurelia, surprised. “Right on sunset, as always.” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the prince. “Why?”

Amell stared at her for a moment, then said in a rush, “Because I hid in the grove in the hope of catching him when he passed.”

“Amell!” Aurelia protested, aghast. “That’s dangerous! You promised you wouldn’t confront him!”

“No I didn’t,” Amell said quickly. “I never promised that. I just said I agreed that it would be wise to be cautious. Besides, I wasn’t going to confront him. I was going to follow him, to see if I could find where he lives. Then surely I could find a way to alert the Enchanters’ Guild to his location.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Mama Gail mused.

“I don’t like it,” said Aurelia anxiously. She wasn’t entirely sure when Amell’s safety had become a greater priority to her than getting out of the tower, but somehow it seemed to be so.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” said Amell heavily. “Because I couldn’t see any sign of him. He’s obviously good at avoiding detection—he must be, to have been able to keep frequenting the area when the prison break first happened, without being seen by any of the search parties. Where does he spend his time when he’s not here?”

“If we knew that, don’t you think we would have told you before now?” Mama Gail asked dryly. “From what we can gather, he has a home not too far away. And he certainly must attend a market or something in order to get our food and other supplies. I don’t think he works—from comments he’s let drop, his family had money, and I suspect he’s relying on that. Although, he clearly chose an area where he wasn’t known, because he’s never shown any hint of concern about being recognized.”

Amell nodded slowly, his eyes passing to Aurelia. “To tell the truth,” he admitted, “it’s not the first time I’ve tried to catch sight of him, and always with the same result. I don’t know if he’s using some kind of cloaking magic, or if he’s just using a different hidden entrance.” He frowned. “This clearing seems to be very close to the edge of the prison’s protected ring. His entrance into it must be outside the ring, or he’d get caught within it, and wouldn’t be able to leave. Perhaps I should hide somewhere in the clearing. Then I could follow him as he leaves.”

“No,” said Mama Gail, to Aurelia’s relief. “Thatistoo dangerous. And not just for you. There’s nowhere to properly hide in the clearing, and if he finds out about your visits, there will definitely be repercussions.” Her eyes flicked to Aurelia.

“You’re right,” said Amell heavily. “The last thing I want to do is to endanger either of you.” His eyes were troubled as they rested on Aurelia. “But I can hardly stand to do nothing.”

“I’ve told you,” she said firmly, “you’re doing much more than nothing.”

Amell still didn’t seem satisfied, but Aurelia’s life had never been happier. Another fortnight slipped by, and still the prince came every day. He’d made only a few trips back to the capital since they first met, each time visiting before he left, and returning in time to come the next day. Aurelia had devoured every book he’d brought her, not to mention the treats he always retrieved from the markets. He’d never repeated the flowers, however, and secretly she was a little disappointed.

But she couldn’t really be sad, not when Amell’s presence continued to brighten her days.

“Did you find what you wanted in those notes?” he asked her quietly one day, when Mama Gail had stepped into the bedroom, and they had a rare moment of privacy.

It took Aurelia a moment to figure out what he was talking about. She’d all but forgotten the foundational principles of power that she’d shoved under her mattress. She’d stopped trying to badger Mama Gail for an answer about what she’d read in Cyfrin’s notes. The enchanter’s plans didn’t seem all that important anymore, somehow. Other matters occupied her mind so fully that she barely even minded his visits. They were so brief compared to Amell’s.

Although, she reflected, distracted for a moment from Amell’s question, she didn’t like how caressing Cyfrin had become with her hair. It was nothing new for his fingers to tangle through it with uncomfortable boldness, but it had always been well down its length. Lately he’d begun placing his hand on the back of her scalp, as if he wanted to put magic into her hair right at the roots. She could still feel the sensation from the night before, and she suppressed a shudder. Pushing the thought aside, she returned her mind to Amell’s question.

“I suppose so,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t really know what I was looking for, to be honest.” Her gaze became a little anxious. “I hope it wasn’t a lot of trouble for you to get them.”

“Of course not,” Amell told her, smiling in the way that made her stomach flutter. She’d noticed he never looked at Mama Gail like that, but he was doing so to her more and more often. “I’d be glad to do much more than that if it would help you, Honeysuckle. Even if it would just cheer you up.”

She lowered her eyes, torn between delight at his words, and distaste at the sound of her foolish false name on his lips.

“You’re so kind, Amell,” she said, her voice a little constricted.

His fingers appeared from nowhere, their touch on her chin sudden and gentle. Obedient to their invitation, she raised her head again to find him watching her with eyes half serious, half warm.

“I’m really not as wonderful as you seem to think, Honeysuckle,” he said. “It’s you who radiates goodness. You’re just the type of person who makes it impossible not to be kind.”

“Cyfrin seems immune to that logic,” Aurelia said, trying to smile naturally while her heart attempted to escape her chest. Amell’s fingers were still on her chin, their contact sending shoots of warmth out into her whole body.

---