Page 82 of Kingdom of Locks

“Does that mean you’ve forgiven him for being handsome?” Aurelia quipped.

There was no answering laugh. Mama Gail’s expression was tense, strained. “I was afraid of this,” she muttered. “I was afraid the prince would complicate everything.”

“Things would have been much less complicated,” Aurelia told her frankly, “if you’d just been honest with me. If I’d known there was a possibility the key was my first kiss, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Mama Gail rocked back on her heels, anguish crossing her face. “I know,” she whispered. “You’re right, of course you are. But…you’ve always been so beautifully innocent, Aurelia. As hard as your life has been, you’ve been wonderfully unaware of the depths of depravity some people can sink to. Can you understand why I didn’t want to tell you that…that…”

“That Cyfrin was going to try to seduce me,” Aurelia said flatly. Her mind flew to the enchanter. She felt something within her curl in on itself at the thought that the man who had figured all her childhood as some kind of evil version of a parent wanted to entangle her romantically. “Of course I can understand why you didn’t want to tell me,” she told Mama Gail. “But you should have overcome your reluctance. How long have you known what he was up to?”

“I’ve been afraid of it for years,” Mama Gail admitted. “You don’t realize this, darling, but you’re uncommonly beautiful.” Aurelia flushed a little, but said nothing. “That became clear three or four years ago,” her mother went on, “and I started watching Cyfrin for the moment it would occur to him that he might gain in more than one way if he forced you to marry him. That moment didn’t come until several months back. When he brought you that storybook with the soppy love stories, I was worried.”

“That’s why you threw it out,” Aurelia realized.

Mama Gail nodded. “I knew he was up to no good. When has he ever brought you something just because he thought you might like it? He was beginning to plant seeds. And then a couple of months ago he started wanting to speak with you alone, and talking as though he thought you welcomed his company, and I felt like my worst fears were coming true. And trapped in here as we are, I had no way to protect you.”

“I used to be so afraid of him,” Aurelia mused. “Perhaps you were right that knowing the truth would have paralyzed me a few months ago.” She met her mother’s eyes. “But I think you should have seen more recently that I was ready to know everything.”

Her mother’s eyes were filling with tears, but she made no attempt to deny it. “I should have,” she agreed. “Being a parent is harder than you know, Aurelia. I have no rulebook for how to do this.” She reached out and touched her daughter’s cheek gently. “You’re growing up before my eyes, and it’s hard to remember that you’re not the child who sheltered behind me every evening. Sometimes I wish you could stay innocent and unaware forever.” She pulled her hand back, wiping an arm across her eyes. “But it’s only now dawning on me that such a desire is tantamount to wishing you could stay locked in this tower forever. And you know I don’t wish that.”

“Of course I do,” Aurelia assured her. “And I know it’s been hard on you. Part of the reason I wish you’d confided in me is because maybe it would have been easier together.”

“Your generous spirit doesn’t come from me,” her mother said, halfway between laughing and crying.

But Aurelia was still caught on something she’d said earlier. “What did you mean Cyfrin would benefit in more ways than one if he married me?”

Mama Gail’s face sobered, and she let out a long breath. “I mean that allying himself with you could gain him a great deal of influence and credibility.”

“What?” Aurelia demanded. “Why?”

“Because of the identity of the parents who brought you into the world.”

“And who—”

“King Justus and Queen Racquel of Albury,” Mama Gail cut her off. “The kingdom might believe you dead, but you are still Albury’s princess, Aurelia.”

The world seemed to spin around Aurelia as she tried to grasp this fresh revelation. She was a princess? Her parents had been the king and queen? So many tiny pieces fell into place. No wonder Mama Gail had been able to find news of her parents’ deaths in Cyfrin’s news book!

She remembered the conversation between Mama Gail and Amell about Albury’s royals, their reputation for coldness, and a shiver went over her. That was the family from which she came? Amell had said the new king was supposed to be kinder than his father. That was Justin, her brother.

Amell. What would he think of all this? Dimly, she grasped that her identity might change everything between them, hopefully for the better. But she couldn’t focus on that now. She still felt so weak it was all she could do to remain upright in her chair, and with all the information she was absorbing, her hold on reality felt more fragile by the second.

“Aurelia?” Mama Gail sounded anxious. “Are you all right?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Aurelia admitted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her mother drew a shaky breath. “Perhaps it was another mistake,” she said. “I don’t know. I was afraid of the knowledge, of how Cyfrin would use it, how he might manipulate you, play on your desires and expectations. I also thought it might make it much harder for you to be trapped up here, knowing everything you should have had. Your desires have always been so simple—just freedom, nothing more. I didn’t want to destroy that, and perhaps destroy what little peace you had along with it.” She hesitated, watching Aurelia’s face. “Was I wrong?”

Aurelia shook her head helplessly. “How can I possibly know, Mama Gail?”

“Imelda.”

“What?” Aurelia blinked at the other woman. “What did you say?”

“My name is Imelda.”

Aurelia stared at her mother, seeing the moment of release as the older woman’s last secret fell away.

For a moment, Aurelia just sat in silence. Nothing was what she’d thought it—she was a princess, and Mama Gail’s name was Imelda. Cyfrin had been trying to seduce her, and Amell now carried the enchanter’s hated magic, thanks to Aurelia giving him her first kiss. She’d survived the extraction of the magic, but her strength was gone, and she didn’t know when or even if it would return.

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