Just in case.
“Who are you looking for?”
Robin turned. A large man in rough linen overalls and a felt cap stood at the entrance. He had a stick in his hand that might have been for walking or protection. Robin had to be careful with his answer. Saying too much could reveal who he was. And that was trouble they didn’t need. “I’m looking for a distant relative. A woman by the name of Pryn Gallow. Maiden name Rosebloom. Do you know where she’s buried?”
“Who are you?”
That question was even trickier to answer. Robin didn’t want to lie, but he certainly couldn’t tell the truth. “I’m from the Gallow side of the family. I don’t live around here anymore. I didn’t mean to intrude. I just wanted to pay my respects. Do you know where her marker is?”
The man stared at him. Hard. After a second, he shook his head. “No, but I know someone who does.”
Then he just walked off.
Robin glanced at the swarm of fireflies near his shoulder. “That was odd.”
The fireflies seemed to nod as a group.
“Maybe we should go.”
The fireflies flitted back to the last stone he’d inspected.
“I take that to mean you disagree.” He went in that direction. They’d checked another row of markers when the man returned.
He wasn’t alone this time. A woman stood at his side, but a little behind him, her face partially hidden by the hood of her robe. Strands of long silver hair peeked out. The man did the talking. “The woman wants to know your name before she tells you where the marker is.”
Robin took a few steps closer to see them both better, but it wasn’t as dark as it had been. Dawn was truly on its way, and their time was slipping. There was something familiar about the woman. “It’s better if I don’t say.”
“Then she has nothing more to share with you.”
“Does she know where my…” He caught himself. He’d almost said my mother. “Where my relative is buried? Please. I’d just like to see her resting place.”
The woman’s hand came up to rest on the man’s arm, and she stepped out from behind him. “Robin?”
Her voice was soft and weathered with age, but it shot through Robin like a pulse of electricity. The reason for her familiarity was plain. It couldn’t be. But then, it had to be. He spoke without thinking or caring. “Mom?”
She pushed her hood back and smiled. “Hello, son.”
Chapter Thirty
Theo flew behind a tree and shifted back into herself, then went straight to Robin’s side. He wasn’t in that spot long, however. He started toward his mother and she toward him, and they met halfway in an embrace that almost made Theo weep.
Robin clung to his mother with a desperate joy that Theo completely understood. She would have hugged her mother the same way if she’d been able.
After a long moment, Robin pulled back and looked at her. “You’re alive. I thought—”
“It had to be that way.”
“But why? And why didn’t you answer my letters?”
“There isn’t time to fully explain, but it wasn’t safe.” Pryn shook her head. “It’s not safe now. You shouldn’t be here. If the queen were to find out…”
“I’m here for you. Come with me.” He glanced at Theo. “With us. Back to Shadowvale.”
“Where you were exiled?”
He nodded. “It’s safe there, and life is good. Please. You’re right that there isn’t time to fully explain. Just trust me. Please come.”
Pryn looked at the man behind her. He nodded. “Go. It’s the only way you’ll ever be safe. We’ll be fine.”
Pryn nodded. “Thank you for your kindness and your protection, Marken. Thank your wife and boys, too. And everyone else who’s helped me.”
“I will. It was our pleasure to be of service.” He smiled and then looked at Robin. “Maybe someday the throne will be yours again, Sire.”
Robin shook his head. “I doubt that. But I am forever indebted to you for the help you’ve given my mother.”
Theo glanced at the sky. “We should go. We have to get back to town, and darkness won’t hide us much longer.”
Marken stepped aside. “Be well.”
Pryn touched his arm. “Be well.”
The trio made the return trip in silence and with as much speed as possible, but the sky was nearly lavender by the time they reached the servants’ gate. And the guard had returned from his job in the dungeon.
They huddled in the same hiding spot as they had before. Theo groaned softly. “I don’t think the leaky-wall ruse will work twice.”
“We