Promising Light (16 page)

“Yes. This family is going to die
out whether you help them or not.” Dar held up his novel. “Shall I
read to you?”

They sat at the table again, and he
read to her. The novel was a couple hundred years ago; the language
showed the age and the different country it’d been written in.
Grace watched the stars come out in the sky, the moon brightening
steadily. She thought of the prince in the forest and she closed
the curtains.

“My voice is tired,” Dar said,
putting the book down some time later.

“I’m tired, too.” She yawned. She
looked over at the bed and back at Dar. “Could you help me with my
dress?”

They went to the changing screen,
and Dar pushed her hair aside, his fingers brushing the skin of her
neck. He began to untie her corset; each moment made it easier for
her to breathe. When he was nearly finished, she felt his forehead
on her ear, his breath tickling her neck. She closed her eyes,
chills running down her arms.

“This fragrance…” he whispered. He
finished untying the corset and stepped around the
screen.

Grace took a breath and carefully
took off her dress, the feet of fabric nearly tripping her. Looking
down at her underdress, she realized it was practically
transparent, leaving little to the imagination. She looked in the
mirror by the screen and tried to arrange the fabric so he couldn’t
see much. She thought of their last kiss in the library, how she’d
resigned herself to courting the prince and completely leaving Dar
behind.

She pulled her blonde hair over her
shoulders, letting it cover most of her chest. She walked out from
behind the screen. Dar lay on the bed, still in his tunic and
pants. His shoes were gone, and Grace looked at his feet for a
moment. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen
him without his shoes, and this was the second time she’d worn so
little in front of him.

She ate a berry from the table
before walking to the bed, Dar’s eyes on her.

“I was ready to say goodbye, too,”
he said. “Now…”

Grace sat on the bed, folding her
legs underneath her, too conscious of how the underdress crept up
her calves, nearly revealing her knees. “Now what?”

“Now I don’t think I’ll ever stop
worrying about you.”

“Shouldn’t I be worried about you?
They killed Sierra’s husband, not Sierra.”

He met her eyes. “They would have
killed Sierra, but she escaped.”

Grace felt a surge of fear for him.
How could she have only thought of herself this whole time? She
didn’t know what she’d do if something happened to him. “Maybe you
shouldn’t have told them you’d do this. What if the prince finds
out?”

“The prince knows I’m on his
side.”

“But will the Protectors? What if
Jeshro and Lisbeth tell them you’re on their side?”

“Who are they more likely to
believe, the prince or them?”

Grace chewed on her lip for a
moment. “You said they killed those other people just to make a
point.” She moved closed to him on the bed and rested her hand on
his shoulder.

“They’ll know I’m on their side
because this is the last night you’re going to see me like this.”
He propped up on his elbow and touched a hanging lock of her hair.
He twirled it around his finger, then met her eyes.

She lay down next to him, breathing
in his scent again. “Where do they find these
fragrances?”

“I don’t know.” Dar’s hand rested
on her stomach now. She could feel his warmth through the thin
fabric. “But they’re amazing, aren’t they?”

“Maybe they’re aphrodisiacs,” she
whispered.

“Don’t you need to ingest
aphrodisiacs for them to be effective?”

She pulled him closer by the collar
of his tunic and kissed his neck. She opened her mouth and sucked
lightly on his skin. His hand tightened his grip, squeezing her
side. He pulled away slightly, but then leaned down again and
kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms
around his neck. His hands traveled up and down her underdress; it
felt like his fingers were lighting a trail of fire everywhere they
went. He leaned forward, the weight of his body pushing against
hers.

He broke away after a short while.
“We can’t.”

“We won’t… but they’re going to be
expecting your scent all over me, aren’t they?”

He lowered his head, kissing her
neck. “They told you about our aura.”

“Myra said I smelled like her
family while she stared at my mouth.” Her breath hitched in her
throat when she felt Dar’s tongue on her skin.

Dar pulled her underdress up, and
his fingers brushed against her legs. “This is really it,” he said
gruffly.

“That’s what you said in the
library,” Grace said with half a smile

“Everything’s changed.” Dar kissed
her again.

* * *

“Grace,” a soft voice said.
“Grace, wake up.”

Grace stirred and slowly opened her
eyes. Dar was bending over her, his hand on her shoulder. “It’s
time to get up,” he said.

Grace gave him a soft smile. It
would be nice to wake up next to him like this every morning.
“Morning.”

“They’re going to give us
breakfast and then we can leave.” Dar kissed her on the forehead
and rolled out of bed. Her smile faded as she thought of the
prince. He was waiting for her, and that’s who Dar would leave her
with as soon as they left the manor.

With a sigh, she pulled back the
covers and sat up. It was either the prince or the shape changing
crazies who thought if she got pregnant, it would break a magical
curse. She wasn’t just going back to the prince, she was going back
to her brother, her friends, her parents. She suddenly missed them
greatly: Kyler’s soft chiding, Jocelyn’s wild spirit. She was going
back to her old life where people weren’t staring at her
expectantly, where no one thought she was extraordinary. But it
wouldn’t end here. Eventually, Jeshro would find out. Would they
come for her again?

She found her old dress hanging on
the back of the door. The one she’d been wearing when Vin and Caleb
kidnapped her. She ran her fingers over it, thinking at how
different things had been when she’d put it on a few days
ago.

Dar came out from behind the
changing screen, wearing the tunic and pants he’d had on yesterday.
Not their fancy outfit.

She took her dress off the door and
changed behind the screen. As she took off the underdress, she
thought of last night and smiled. She only wished it could have
lasted longer.

She’d had the strangest dreams. She
and Dar were running in the labyrinth of the manor, Lisbeth and the
other elders behind them, their shouts echoing off the stone. Dar
pulled her into a room for safety, but the prince was there, and he
ordered Protectors to kill Dar. One of the men that tackled Dar was
her father. She had so many other dreams, too. She could only
recall the faintest images from them.

Grace walked to the vanity and
picked up the brush next to the mirror. She looked at the designs
on it, reminded her of the mirror Jocelyn bought so long ago. She
turned to Dar, who sat on the edge of the bed tying his shoes.
“They’re going to find out eventually,” she said quietly as she sat
next to him.

“I know,” Dar said. “I’m just
hoping I can talk them out of it before they do.”

“How long do you think it’ll
take?”

“Talking them out of it or until
they realize we’re not doing what they want us to?”

She pulled the brush through her
hair, the motion somewhat soothing. “Both.”

“I don’t know.” He
stood.

“What about my father?”

“What about him?”

She frowned, looking down at her
lap. “I don’t know… what if he finds out?”

“Finds out what?”

Grace let out an exasperated sigh.
“About everything. About you and me, the kidnapping, Lisbeth’s
prophecy.”

“He won’t find out unless somebody
tells him. We’ll talk with the prince about it, since he knows most
of the Protectors who are in power.” He crouched down and put his
hands on her knees. “I’m sure some of them will want to talk to
you. Tell them you don’t believe the prophecy and that we made a
deal never to see each other again.”

Grace felt her face fall and looked
away from him. It was cruel, having this one night with him and
knowing she probably wouldn’t have another.

“I knew you wouldn’t—”

“If it keeps you safe, fine.”
Grace dropped her brush and touched his face. “It’s like you said…
I think I can live without you, but not if it’s because you were
hurt because of me… or killed.”

Dar nodded. He took one of her
hands and kissed her fingers.

There was a knock on the
door.

“Come in,” Dar said.

Myra poked her head in the door.
“Ready for breakfast?”

“Yes, just a moment.” Grace
finished her hair, pulling it back with a ribbon. She motioned to
the blue dress they’d dressed her in last night. “Should I…
?”

“Someone will get it ready for you
to take home,” Myra said.

Grace’s eyes widened. They were
giving it to her? “I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s all right,” Myra said.
“Come.”

They spent most of breakfast in
silence. The elders watched Grace and Dar, either imagining their
night or expecting them to sob at their departure. Grace kept her
eyes fixed on her food, her cheeks heating up when Jeshro asked if
they’d enjoyed their night.

On the way outside, Jeshro again
went over the conditions of Grace’s release with Dar. He’d visit
her once a month while Grace courted the prince. He’d give the
Protectors a letter from Jeshro proclaiming their grave mistake in
believing in Lisbeth’s prophecy again. In the garden, Dar’s horse
waited, hooked up to a small carriage.

“Your gifts, Lady Grace,” Lisbeth
said.

“Oh, you really shouldn’t,” she
said. “I haven’t even done anything.”

“But you will,” Lisbeth said,
squeezing her hand. “Everyone left these gifts for you; you must
take them.”

“The Protectors will review them
for magic,” Dar said.

“That’s fine; there’s nothing like
that on them,” Myra said. She pulled Grace into a hug, squeezing
her. “Thank you.”

Amina also gave her a hug. “I hope
to see you again.”

Grace smiled at her. She hoped the
image she saw of Amina with a child came true somehow. Even if she
was upset she hadn’t told Grace about the last time Lisbeth tried
to fulfill the prophecy. Vin and Adrian shook her hand, but each of
the elders hugged her. Each goodbye made her feel guiltier for
leaving them behind. She knew nothing about magic, but there had to
be a way to save the family besides Lisbeth’s prophecy. She didn’t
know how, though; she only knew that their way could end with
herself or Dar dead.

* * *

An hour later, their carriage
approached the forest. In the daylight, it looked different, though
still overrun with tangled trees and plants. After a few minutes on
the path, Grace saw the prince and his entourage ahead of them. He
left his carriage to walk toward them. The moment Dar stopped,
Grace stepped out of the carriage and hugged the prince,
disregarding the unorthodoxy of the personal gesture. At first,
she’d done it for show, but as Prince William hugged her back, she
was grateful to be back with him.

“Are you all right?” He pulled
away, and his gaze moved over her face. “Did they hurt you at
all?”

“No,” she said. The prince’s
advisor Lesado stood nearby, watching her. “They were actually very
nice. Aside from being insane.”

The prince squeezed her shoulders
and turned to Lesado, who’d approached from behind. “Is it
her?”

Lesado called forward a woman with
white-blonde hair. She spoke in the language Grace now knew was the
Cosa language, pointing her fingers at Grace. Everyone watched her
expectantly, but nothing happened.

“I’m sorry, I had to be sure you
were yourself,” Prince William said. He turned to Dar, who had
dismounted. Grace avoided looking at him, afraid her facial
expression may betray her. “You brought her back,” the prince
said.

“Of course, your Highness,” Dar
said. She saw him bow out of the corner of her eye. “I have a
letter from Jeshro.”

Prince William took the letter and
read it, Lesado looking over his shoulder. After they finished,
they exchanged glances. “Let’s move to the other side of the
forest, and we’ll have a meeting,” Prince William said. He motioned
to the carriage. “What’s in the carriage?”

“Gifts for Lady Grace,” Dar said.
“They insisted we take them, even though I told them the Protectors
would need to survey them for magic.”

“Yes, we will,” Lesado said,
walking to the carriage. “So even though they don’t believe she’s
the one to break the curse, they showered her with
gifts?”