Kylana left me at the table when she had to get back to the kitchen. I watched out the window, desperate to see Fyn come down the street.
And when I didn’t, I laid my head on the table. It felt impossible for me to sit up any longer.
The screech of the inn door startled me. I bolted upright. I pressed my palms into the wooden table forcing my back straight.
“Where is she?” someone asked.
“In the tavern,” an airy voice carried down the hall.
Jayln came around the corner. “I came when I heard you showed up here without him asking for me. Why have you sent for me, Your Highness?”
“You know who I am?” I asked.
“He told me everything just before you left,” Jayln said.
“Fyn…” I struggled to say the words.
“Where is he?” The once quick cadence of his words slowed.
“In Estlen still. He…” How could I explain to them what hehad done? What had happened? If I did, I would be condemning him.
Jayln gripped my arms, bracing me as I swayed. “He asked you to send for me?”
The key had been so cold against my skin. I didn’t notice until I tugged it free. “He said you could take me to the lock.”
His eyes widened as he stared at me. “He gave you the key?”
Surely I was missing something. “It seemed obvious that a key would belong to a lock, but what is the lock for?”
“Leave it to Fyn to omit the important details.” His hands fell on his hips as he stifled his laughter. “The key isn’t just for any lock. It’s forthe Locke. L-O-C-K-E.”
Kylana looked at the key.
“What is that?” Fyn had never mentioned it to me. Nor had I ever heard my sister or her husband talk about it.
“Fyn is the Lord of the Locke.” Jayln pointed at the key. “You’re wearing the key to his home.”
I gripped it harder, shaking my head. “No, that doesn’t make sense.”
“He always wears it. I’ve never seen him without it,” Jayln said.
He had never mentioned his home to me. He was always at the Heart—always training me or away on business as Lord Chancellor.
“He’s never been one to flaunt his status. It’s a bit of a ways from here. In the woods. His parents live on the outskirts of the Locke. He had the home built there for them some years ago when King Lioran titled him.”
I told him I wanted a house in the woods.
He handed me the key and then sacrificed everything for me.
“Your Highness, maybe you should sit down.” Kylana placed her hand on mine. “She looks as if she’s going to faint.”
“Fyn just didn’t tell you any of this?” Jayln asked.
I didn’t want any of it without him. “No. You must be mistaken.”
“He’s not.” Fyn’s voice sounded behind me. “The details never seemed important considering the situation.”
I froze.
