Page 37 of The Mage and His Stolen Prince
Shouting outside of the carriage woke me. I immediately crouched and protected my head, expecting to crash at any moment. Instead, the carriage slowed to an easy stop. I frowned and peered out the window. “Why are we stopping?”
“Maybe we’re being held up,” Dad said, his lips quirked in an amused smile. The smile slipped and his brow furrowed. “Dammit, there it is again.”
My fathers had only experienced the weird memory phenomenon a few times. Once we’d begun traveling, it was like they were actors who had performed their parts a thousand times before. They fell into their roles naturally, without questioning any of their actions or their own thoughts. Still, it was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one caught in the tangle.
“What were you expecting to happen?” Father asked.
“I feel like that line belonged to someone else,” Dad paused, then added, “Not that line exactly. Something more like …bandits!”
His sudden shout startled Father and me. The carriage rocked beneath us as we instinctively jolted away from him.
Dad apologized with laughing eyes. “Sorry, I thought a demonstration would be better.”
The carriage door was ripped open. A dark figure loomed behind it, glaring at us menacingly from a metal face.
Dad dove toward his pack, where he kept a slew of magical items that were not technically weapons. He whipped out a pair of metal manacles and swung one end like a flail.
Why does he have those? No, wait, I don’t need to know.
The bandit ignored Dad as they searched the carriage. “Where is she?”
“Kit?” Father asked, squinting at the helmet.
Kit shoved the visor up on their helmet. Once I saw their face, the menace they’d exuded transformed into a parent’s mixed anger and concern. “Brendon,” they said, their voice cracking in panic. “Where’s Delilah?”
“She’s not with us,” Rick said. “Not yet, at least. We were on our way to meet you.”
“She ran away,” Kit wailed. They clamored into the carriage, thumping onto the seat next to Father.
“I thought you got rid of that armor,” Dad said.
“What? No. I courted my wife in this armor, of course I’m not getting rid of it, even if the only damn piece I could find is the helmet.”
Dad’s brow furrowed and he muttered, “There it is again.”
Kit ignored his comment and pulled a letter out of their jacket pocket, shoving it into Father’s hand. He read it first, his brow furrowed in concern, then passed it to Dad.
When Dad read it, he sighed, “Oh, Delilah.”
I took the letter last.
I’m going to Misfortune. Uncle Brendon and Rick will explain.
All My Love,
Delilah
No details, no excuses or reasons. She’d just laid the blame on my fathers and scurried off.
Dad sighed. “I don’t know why Delilah left without telling you, but I can tell you why she went to Misfortune. Since you’re already here, why don’t we travel together? We can explain on the way.”
“Do you need to speak with Franny before we leave?” Father asked.
Kit shook their head sharply. “I didn’t have time to find her before running off after Delilah, so I left another note.”
Dad frowned at this explanation but let it drop. “Then we’ll head straight there.”
With the change in plans, we would arrive earlier than scheduled. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe we could catch whoever was behind this confusion by surprise.
