The Key Read Online Free

the walk would be good after her aunt and uncle broke the news about her upcoming marriage to Bren. Now she was stuck jogging in a bulky, wet dress—her mind no clearer than when she set out.
    Stumbling around the back of the barn, Rema bent over, breathing hard.
    “There you are,” Aunt Maya said, holding a bucket of water. Her eyebrows rose in disbelief as she scanned Rema from head to toe.
    Rema had hoped to make it inside before anyone saw her.
    “Why are you all wet?”
    “I saw a rock at the edge of the river with bands of color and a crystal at one end. I reached for it and slipped, falling into the water. But I’m fine.” She hated to lie, but if her aunt and uncle discovered that most of her forest adventures included a dive from a cliff, she’d never be allowed to go again—at least not alone.
    Jumping into the Somer River was something Rema had been doing since she was eight years old. Whenever she felt caged or trapped, she went to her special place deep inside the woods. Rema still remembered the first time she did it. Standing at the cliff, gazing down, she had no idea if the water was deep enough, or even if the current was too strong for her to handle. All Rema could focus on was the fact that her aunt and uncle wouldn’t let her go into town or attend the weekly market, and she desperately wanted to do something they wouldn’t approve of. So Rema jumped, oblivious to the fact that she could get hurt or die.
    The thrill of falling stole her breath away. For those couple of seconds, all her worries vanished, and there was nothing except the freedom of flying through the air. When Rema hit the water for that first time, a brief moment of panic arose as she frantically kicked and broke the surface, gasping for a breath, but that didn’t stop her from doing it again. Through the years, Rema had jumped countless times—each still as breathtaking and exciting as the first.
    “You fell?” Aunt Maya asked. Rema nodded. “That must have been some fall. You better get inside and change your dress before Bren and his family arrives. Put on something presentable. We can’t afford to lose this match.” Aunt Maya spun and headed toward the back door of the house, water sloshing over the side of the bucket she carried.
    “I still don’t understand why I have to marry Bren,” Rema called after her. Bren was her only friend. A marriage to him would be awkward. She’d never even looked at him or thought of him as a possible husband.
    “Not this again,” Aunt Maya’s voice broke. She stopped walking, but kept her back to Rema. “Please go inside and change.”
    “ I’m not ready to get married,” Rema admitted.
    Aunt Maya shook her head and left without another word.
    Rema kicked the side of the barn. Usually diving into the Somer River put her mind to rest. But not today.
    Bren’s family owned the farm next to their land. Rema couldn’t imagine being a farmer’s wife. She longed for the opportunity to see Greenwood Island, but that would never happen since the king restricted all travel outside of one’s region. Rema hadn’t even been to any other areas in Jarko besides her small town.
    And now , she was likely to go nowhere.
    Rema supposed she saw a little of the outside world today when she ran into Prince Darmik. Her cheeks warmed just thinking about him. He wasn’t what she expected. He seemed too young to command an entire army. From her studies, she knew that he was nineteen, but until today, she pictured him in his thirties or forties with long, gray hair, and a stiff, gray beard. How wrong she had been.
    Like everyone else on the island, he had black hair and brown eyes. His hair was cut just above his shoulders, and his voice was kind. She hadn’t expected that. Everyone knew the king was evil and his heir, Prince Lennek, was only too willing to follow in his father’s footsteps. But Darmik gave the impression that he was different. He had warned her Prince Lennek was coming and