Promising Light (28 page)

“There’s another option,” Kilar
said. “We haven’t mentioned it to the prince yet, but we know how
he’d react.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a Thieran technique used
in the north that disables a woman’s childbearing capabilities. Not
like the curse the Avialies currently have on them. This would be
for an individual, permanent. It changes something in the
body.”

Grace wanted to burst out of the
closet, run to her horse, and never return. How could these men
ponder these fates for her? Killing the ones she cared about, love
potions, taking away her ability to have children?

“She wouldn’t be able to have
children?” Father asked.

“No,” Kilar said. “It would take
away what the Avialies find so valuable in her. She may still try
to help them, though.”

“I don’t like either idea,” Tisha
said. “The more reliant we are on the magical families to solve our
problems, the more power we give them.”

“Please, Tisha, we can’t pretend
they don’t exist. Their powers are useful—”

“Their powers are disgusting,”
Tisha said.

Tisha continued, but Kilar began
talking too, and Grace lost their words as they jumbled together.
Father raised his voice, speaking over them. “Please, please,” he
said. “We don’t need to get into an ideological debate right
now.”

“It’s much more than ideology,”
Tisha said. “It’s our very safety at stake. If it were me, I
wouldn’t let any magical person touch my daughter, even if it kept
her from another.”

Kilar mumbled something, his voice
so quiet his words escaped her.

Then Father’s voice rose again.
“I’ll have to think about this.”

“Of course,” Tisha said. “But we
hope to do something soon. We’ll speak with the prince about his
future intentions. We could all meet at the palace
tomorrow.”

“Yes, let’s do that. I’ll do
anything to keep her safe.”

The scraping of chairs alerted the
end of the conversation.

Grace flung the closet door open
and stumbled out into the kitchen. No one was in the dark room, and
she stopped by the door. She fought back tears, struggled to keep
her breathing even. She had to get out of here. Lying wasn’t going
to work anymore, and she couldn’t leave the Avialies behind. She
had to warn Dar. But how? It felt as if they were watching her on
all sides. Maybe even now.

Grace jogged up to her bedroom and
locked the door behind her. The trip to Shyra was three days. Would
Dar have waited until the next morning to leave or did he leave
right after galloping out of the castle gates? She had no way to
contact Sierra and Evan or Vin and Amina or anyone else. She could
probably make it to Belisha on her own, but when would Father
notice her disappearance? When would they come after
her?

She curled up on her bed, trying to
think of a way out. She was trapped.

She tried to decide what to do as
the night went on and on. The stars came out; the moon rose high in
the sky. Her mother and maidservant came to say goodnight, and
Grace knew she had to act.

Her bag from earlier was still
packed, and she now wore her traveling dress. This could be her
only chance. She could ride as far as she could before they
realized she was missing. She went to the door various times, but
each time the thought of Dar stopped her. What would they do to
him? Would she have time to warn him? She wasn’t sure whether to go
to Shyra or Belisha. Which would be worse if the Protectors caught
her?

Grace walked over to the birdcage
by her window. The little bird, whom she’d named Heather after her
favorite dress designer, flitted around the cage, twittering as
Grace put her fingers through the bars. What it must feel like for
her, to be locked in a cage all day. Grace glanced out the window.
The stars twinkled down at them. During the day, they could see the
almond trees lining the manor, the well and the servants as they
came to fetch water, and far ahead, the path that led to
Renaul.

Grace flung the window open, and
cool night air washed over her. She opened the door to the
birdcage. The bird fluttered around, its wings
twitching.

“Go on,” Grace whispered. “Be
free.”

The bird took flight. Grace watched
her fly into the night, but she soon lost sight of the little bird.
She gritted her teeth as she closed the window. She couldn’t stay
here anymore, not anymore than a bird could stay in a cage all its
life.

After grabbing her bag, she left
the room. She went to the stables, trying to work out a plan. One
that could save both her and Dar.

She pulled her horse out of her
stable and heard someone whisper her name. She spun around,
gasping.

“Grace!” someone called from the
back side of the stables. “It’s Sierra!”

Grace saw her dark form standing by
the door and led her horse to her. “Sierra?”

“What on earth happened today?”
Sierra asked.

“Look, I…” Grace trailed off,
wondering if this was Sierra at all. Why wouldn’t the Protectors
use an Avialie to pull her into a trap? “How do I know it’s really
you?”

“There are Cosa spells all around
your house. That’s why Evan isn’t here.”

Grace nodded, glancing around them.
“Right,” she said, remembering how Vin was revealed by the spells.
“What are you doing here?”

“I’m checking up on you,” Sierra
snapped. “We waited for you, but a bunch of Protectors showed up
instead.” She paused, looking at her horse. “Are you going
somewhere?”

Grace swallowed. “Let’s get
somewhere safe.”

They walked nearly half a mile
before speaking again. They met Evan and their two horses by a
cluster of trees. Evan looked healthier than a couple days ago—he
wore riding clothes and a sword was strapped to his side. He
studied her, his arms crossed. “Your hair looks right.”

Grace swallowed. “You mean from
your vision?”

He glared at her. “Why did the
Protectors show up today instead of you?”

“I’m sorry, I…” She explained what
happened with the prince and Dar, feeling upset all over again. Had
that only been today? Could this day get any worse?

“Is he all right?” Sierra
asked.

“Yes,” Grace said, but then she
had to tell them about the conversation she overheard. “He’s not
safe. Neither am I. I was going to go to Shyra to warn Dar or to
Belisha to join the Avialies. I didn’t know how to contact
you.”

“Well, we better get going,” Evan
said.

“Where should we go?” Sierra
asked, mounting her horse.

After a moment, Grace said, “Shyra.
I don’t want anything to happen to Dar when they find out I’m
gone.”

* * *

Chapter
Sixteen

They rode all night, as quick as
they could with the horses. It reminded Grace of the night she
spent riding with Vin, and she wondered about him and Amina. She
hoped they were both all right. If the Protectors planned to do
those things to her, then what horrible plans did they have for the
Avialies themselves?

The sun was just rising when they
reached a town called Gladin.

“Dar probably stopped here for the
night,” Evan explained as they entered the quiet town. “His father
knew the innkeeper; we used to always stay here on our way back
from Renaul.”

Grace’s throat was burning, and her
back ached as they moved through the streets. Hardly anyone was
awake, the dawn’s fingers only just stretching out into the
sky.

The inn was on the west side of the
town and had some small stables next to it. A stable boy,
bleary-eyed with sleep, told them they could get breakfast in the
inn.

“Let’s stretch our legs,” Sierra
suggested. She turned to Grace. “You go in and find
him.”

“Why me?” Grace asked.

Sierra motioned to Grace, then to
herself. “You look more respectable.”

Grace looked down at her blonde
hair, wild from the riding, and ran her fingers through it. “Fine,”
she grumbled. She dismounted, and the stiffness in her legs seemed
to intensify as she straightened them. Once she made it to the door
of the inn, she wasn’t limping, even though her lower back was
cramping up. A nice, warm bed sounded perfect right now.

She found a small tavern through
the front doors. Only a few men ate around the area. She walked to
the bar and looked around for someone in charge.

“Can I help you?” a bearded man
asked.

“I’m looking for Dar Silva,” Grace
said. “Is he staying here?”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Who’s
asking?”

“My name’s Grace. I’m with his
cousin who’s outside. It’s very important I speak to
him.”

The man paused, looking Grace up
and down. “Come with me.” He led her past the
restaurant.

Grace glanced over her shoulder,
wondering if Sierra and Evan were going to come in. She wasn’t sure
she could face Dar alone; she knew what he was going to say. She
needed Sierra and Evan to help defend her.

They walked upstairs, and the man
led her to a door on the right. He knocked and called, “Someone
here to see you, Dar.”

The door opened a crack a moment
later, and Dar looked into the hallway, rubbing his eyes. When he
saw Grace, his mouth fell open. “What are you doing
here?”

“I’ll leave you to it,” the
bearded man said before leaving them.

Grace almost wished he would stay;
she watched after him, then turned back to Dar. He didn’t have a
shirt on, and his dark hair was tousled. He must have just woken
up. She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”

“Are you alone?” Dar looked out in
the hallway past her.

“Sierra and Evan are
outside.”

Dar narrowed his eyes and let out a
breath. “Come in.”

She stepped into the room, and he
closed the door behind her. It was a simple room with a small bed
and not much else. They stood in the dark, the sun not yet having
reached his window, and he lit the lantern on the
nightstand.

“How do I know it’s really you?”
Dar crossed his arms.

Grace frowned, wishing they didn’t
have that problem at all. That’s the kind of world the Protectors
were looking forward to, after the Thieran curse did its work.
“When we stayed the night at the manor in Belisha…” she trailed
off, thinking about all they’d done and talked about. “We loved
those fragrances, and I said they could be aphrodisiacs…” Her
cheeks grew hot, and Dar looked away.

He turned away and pulled on a
shirt. She stepped closer, trying to get a look at his ears. She
could see the fresh scabs.

“So, what are you doing here?” he
asked.

She took a deep breath. Whatever he
said, she wouldn’t go back. “Two Protectors came to my house—Tisha
and Kilar. I heard them talking with my father. They were trying to
figure out what to do with me.”

Dar met her eyes, and she shuddered
remembering the conversation.

“They wanted to force me to marry
the prince. Or they had a potion that would make sure I would never
have children.” She took a deep breath. “They were talking about
killing you.”

Dar frowned a bit, then he began to
pack up his things, his shoulders tense. “We wouldn’t have any of
these problems if you weren’t so interested in helping.”

Grace threw her hands up. “I knew
you were going to be like this!”

“What do you expect?” Dar
demanded. “I’ve been trying to keep you out of this—”

“Then we shouldn’t have been
together in the first place! I could blame you just as much as
you’re blaming me, but I’ve never said anything.”

Dar sputtered for a
moment.

Grace felt horrible for saying it,
but it was true, wasn’t it? He stayed with her for six months, and
even though they were secret about it, he must have known that his
family could have found out. But she had never once blamed him for
what had happened to her, never even thought he was at fault until
now.

“I didn’t know they were going to
find out,” he shot at her.

“I know,” Grace said, trying to
calm her voice. “I said I wasn’t blaming you, but—”

“You’re the one who keeps pressing
it. I’m trying to leave it behind us.”

“Why?” Her voice rose. “Why are
you okay with the Protectors controlling your life and killing your
family?” So much for trying to stay calm.

“I’m okay with it because it will
save both of our lives!” Dar yelled. “Why aren’t you okay with it?
You don’t even know the Avialies.”

“I can’t live like that. I can’t
marry the prince after he let Lesado torture you and Vin. I can’t
fear everything I drink. I can’t lie to them anymore.”

Dar scoffed. “Why not? You’re great
at lying.”

Grace glared at him and fought back
sudden tears. Is that really what he thought of her? “I want to
help with the Avialies, and I know I can—”