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Prologue
1683
Mother’s sobs from the carriage had Aurelius off his horse before any of the guards could say a word. He opened the door to see Mother’s pale face as she leaned on her pillows.
Across from her in the other seat, the servant wrung her hands. “M’lady, please-”
“I’m so stupid. I set it down in the privy room and didn’t think.”
Aurelius planted his boot on the bottom step to boost himself in. “Mother, what’s wrong?”
“I left my necklace behind. I took the box into the privy room and intended to put it on when I finished, but it completely flew out of my head.” Her frail shoulders shook under her shawl as she wiped her face with her handkerchief. “I left it on the edge of the basin.”
“I’ll go back and get it,” Aurelius hastily blurted.
“What?” Mother’s eyes widened. “No, no! You can’t go back.”
“It’s not far, and it’s not dangerous.”
“You’re not going back anywhere with Zorians over the border.” For a moment, the intensity of her gaze made her seem strong. “We can get a guard to go.”
“They’re far away,” said Aurelius. “It’s not a big deal. Truly. I’ll run back, get it, and you can wait for me on the other side of the river.”
She hated for anyone to touch that necklace or the box she kept it in at night. She never even wanted Father to touch it. The locket held a piece of her Mother’s hair tied with a tiny ribbon, and she’d worn it every day even before her four sons were born.In his memory, it was practically a part of her, and he should have noticed she wasn’t wearing it that morning.
She bit her lip. “I can send a guard.”
And she’d worry the whole time since she never even let her trusted servants touch it.
“I’ll get it, and you can all wait on the other side of the river for me. The boatman will take me across, and it’ll be in your hands before you can blink. The Zorians are hours and hours away. They couldn’t even cross the Prime and make it over the border closer to the house. That section is too rocky, and how would they know we’d been there?”
“All right, but only if you’re sure-”
“It’ll be fine. I still have the key to get in. I know you don’t want anyone touching it.”
He stepped in to hug her, and his throat tightened at the feel of her bony shoulders. All summer, she’d insisted she was feeling stronger, but they all knew she was withering. Wasting disease resisted herbs and magic.
He kissed her pale cheek which no longer held any color, and she clasped both sides of his face to kiss his forehead. “You’re such a good boy. Elira’s blessed me with so much. Hurry back, and don’t dally for anything. I know the Zorians are far away…”
“I won’t, Mother.”
When he hopped out of the carriage, Zylem shifted his horse. “What’s wrong?”
“She left her necklace in the privy room, so I’m going back to fetch it.”
“Zorians are over the border.”
“They’re far away, and I highly doubt they’re even heading to the house. At most, they’ll reach the village tomorrow, pick through it, and won't even realize that house exists.” The villagers had already been evacuated, but Zorian soldiers would surely set it ablaze just because they could if they went that way.
“We’re about to cross.”
Aurelius looked back at the boat slowly returning to shore. He couldn’t see the other side since the river was so wide here. Downriver was a small inn and tavern so people could wait for the boat if needed. Blake and Gullveig had gone in with a guard. The rest were waiting closer to the shore, and one was smoking a cig.
“Once you go across, wait for me. When I return, I’ll cross.”
“All this?” Zylem demanded. “For a necklace? Who cares?”
Aurelius mounted his horse. “Mother cares.”
