Page 3 of Legacy of Thorns
In the years since, she had come to understand why they had returned—the aching pain caused by the Glandore Legacy had seemed light at first, but after years it had worn away at their endurance, growing gradually more and more unbearable. Daphne had also come to realize that her mother had been crying for more than one reason. The relief at returning home was mixed with defeat at having failed and, of course, guilt. Her mother was about to be relieved of her burden, but in doing so, she was transferring that same burden to her young daughter.
But the punishment enacted by the Legacy was not only different for each kingdom, but also for each individual, and Daphne’s burden had been one of sleep, not pain. Her parents had rejoiced when they found out, and in the face of their relief, Daphne had forced herself to be glad as well. She had smiled andassured them that she didn’t mind constantly napping in odd places. Most days it was even true.
Ethelson came into view suddenly among the trees—the bustling town unleashing another wave of memories. Daphne stood just beyond the outskirts of town and let the memories come. Her lips curved upward.
She had enjoyed her years in Ethelson. Her days had been spent running free through the streets with the other local children, who had accepted her without question. Her parents might have been foreigners, but Daphne had been born in Oakden and that made her one of them. She had been full of energy then.
An uncomfortable feeling grew inside her, an angry rumble she couldn’t afford to entertain. She pushed it down. There was no use dwelling on the past. She needed to focus on her new future.
Without even noticing what she was doing, Daphne put her pack down at the base of a tree and sank onto it. As her head tipped sideways against the trunk, dismay filled her.This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This wasn’t the future she had come to claim.And a final thought…Was she even safe?
She tried to reach for some of her earlier tumult of feelings, but it was no use. The darkness claimed her, and her thoughts slipped away.
Daphne’s eyes slowly opened, and she stretched and yawned. There was still no sign of anyone else on the road with her, and she didn’t think much time had passed. She glanced up at the sky above. It was hard to see the position of the sun through the canopy, but her naps often lasted no more than ten minutes.
But even so, for those ten minutes she had been alone and vulnerable in a kingdom that had become strange to her. She didn’t usually spend much time alone, and there was a reasonfor that. When you could fall asleep anytime, anywhere, it wasn’t exactly a wise idea.
But she wasn’t supposed to have to worry about that particular concern once she crossed into Oakden. And yet, she had just fallen asleep despite her efforts to stay awake. And in doing so, she had lost something far more important than ten minutes of her time—she had lost her hope.
In Oakden, Daphne was supposed to meet her true self—the self she was without the burden of the Legacy. But nothing had changed.
Pressure built up behind her eyes, but Daphne shook it away. Breaking down in the middle of the road outside town wouldn’t help her in the least. Sleepy or not, she needed to find her godfather’s house. Perhaps he would even have answers for her.
Lorne had experienced what it meant to return to Oakden after many years away. He would be able to explain why the Legacy’s burden hadn’t lifted.
Chapter 2
Daphne
Daphne hurried into Ethelson, intending to head straight for Lorne’s house. But her memories were years out of date and everything looked smaller than in her mental images. It took her two wrong turns and a great deal of backtracking before she found the street she sought.
Turning onto it, she breathed a sigh of relief to see the familiar building at last. When she had lived in Ethelson as a girl, Lorne’s wife had still been alive, and the couple had been two of her parents’ closest friends, despite the generation gap between them.
There weren’t many people driven to travel despite the Legacies, and they tended to find each other. Lorne—who had long ago given up any significant travel for the sake of his wife and children—always said that surrounding himself with people from other kingdoms was almost as good as traveling to those kingdoms himself.
When Daphne had written to Lorne of her intention to return to Ethelson, he had immediately invited her to stay. He lived with only his housekeeper now, but his daughter lived nearby and from the sound of it he had a constant stream of grandchildren in and out of his house daily. He insisted thatDaphne, as his goddaughter, was just as welcome as any of his grandchildren, although Daphne was sure he had to have many godchildren—given the Oakdenian love of godparents. His warm welcome had touched her, and she had gladly accepted his invitation.
She hadn’t known the exact date of her arrival when she last wrote to him, but she had given a general idea of when she expected to be there, and she was confident he would be delighted to see her turn up at his door.
But when she knocked on a door painted an unfamiliar shade of green sometime in the past twelve years, no one initially answered. She put her pack down and knocked again, waiting.
The door finally swung open, and Daphne smiled in relief. But it wasn’t Lorne’s face gazing back at her. An unfamiliar middle-aged woman started at the sight of Daphne on the doorstep, clutching at her heart. She had a bag of her own looped over one arm, and appeared to be on her way out. Apparently she hadn’t heard Daphne’s knocks.
“Who are you?” the woman asked, still a little out of breath.
“I’m Daphne.” Daphne paused, but there was no sign of recognition on the woman’s face, so she continued. “I’m one of Lorne’s goddaughters. I wrote to him that I was coming, and he said I was welcome any time.”
“How unfortunate.” The woman seemed to be paying little attention to her own words as she bustled out of the house and closed the door behind her.
It shut with an ominous note of finality.
“Is Lorne not inside?” Daphne asked, pushing down her dismay.
“Gracious, no, child,” the woman—who must have been his housekeeper—said. “He left days ago and in that much of a hurry. Would have dashed off without so much as a hat once he got the message, I’ve no doubt. But thank goodness I was hereto make him see sense. I got him properly packed up and on his way.”
“Has something happened to one of his family?” Daphne asked, her mind leaping to the obvious conclusion. The message must have contained something terrible to send Lorne off in such a state.
The woman gave Daphne a closer look. “You’ve some sense about you, I can see. That’s it precisely. His son.” She shook her head. “A sad business.”
