Promising Light (3 page)

She tried to meet his eyes, but he
was looking at her blonde hair as he twirled some of it around his
finger, like he used to when they were hidden in the vineyard. “Is
this about Sierra? And the people who died?”

“Stop it,” he whispered. He
stepped closer, tracing his finger along her jawline. “I could live
without you, but not if it was because something happened to you on
my account.”

“Nothing is going to happen…”
Grace trailed off. There was something, probably many things, she
didn’t know about him. Something he was hiding.

Dar leaned down, taking her face in
his hands, and kissed her. She closed her eyes, putting her hands
on his waist. What if this was their last kiss? She held onto him
as though he may fall through her fingers like water. His fingers
wove into her hair, sending chills down her spine.

He pulled away first and set his
forehead on hers again.

“Dar,” she whispered.

He stepped away, and his shirt
slipped from her fingers. He turned and walked to his horse. She
leaned against the nearby stable door, holding back tears. After he
mounted, he said in her direction, “Goodbye, my lady.”

Grace let her tears fall once he
was out of sight. She tried to tell herself this was best, even
though she wanted to run after him. She dropped to the ground and
buried her face in her hands as she cried.

* * *

Chapter Two

Two weeks later…

Victory Day was Grace’s favorite
time of the year. The celebrations spread through the country of
Haltar, and its capital Renaul filled with people. The city square
was bustling with activity. Grace had to hold onto Jocelyn’s elbow
as they weaved through the crowds.

Entertainers stood on every street
corner, competing for attention. One man was juggling dozens of
oranges, another was doing magic tricks, and a trio of children,
probably siblings, were singing the customary songs of the holiday.
The smells of exotic food hung in the air. Merchants yelled out,
hawking their mirrors, dresses, weapons, fabrics, and
more.

Beggars with dirt on their noses,
their clothes only rags, moved from person to person as they
searched for change. When Grace stopped to give them money, her
friend Jocelyn rolled her eyes. She grabbed Grace’s hand and pulled
her along. “You’re going to empty your purse if you’re not
careful.”

Grace smiled at Jocelyn, squeezing
her hand. She wanted to tell her all about what had happened
between her and Dar, but she feared her friend wouldn’t understand.
She’d be offended Grace didn’t tell her in the first place, of
course, since they’d shared nearly everything with each other since
they were four years old. Plus it would be hard to admit he’d left
her so easily.

She also didn’t want to bring it
all up again. It’d been two weeks, and this was her first real
chance to distract herself from Dar’s departure.

They stopped by a booth of dresses
and jewelry. Jocelyn saw a mirror and gasped. She picked it up and
admired it. “Look at this!”

Grace leaned closer, running her
fingers over the design: lines and zigzags crossed with dots and
flowers. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s from Shyra,” the merchant on
the other side of the table said.

She dropped her hand to her
side.

“They make beautiful things there,
don’t they?” Jocelyn asked.

Grace forced a smile,
nodding.

Jocelyn put the mirror down and
grinned at her. “Speaking of Shyra, have you heard?” She dropped
her voice, leaning closer. “Lady Rebekah is with a new suitor. Sir
Leonard. I can’t believe it took her a whole two weeks. When she
and Sir Hunter ended it, it was a couple days before she started
courting Dar.”

It felt much longer than two weeks
at times. Other days, Grace replayed her conversation with Dar like
it were yesterday. She looked over the jewelry idly. “He must not
have returned her letters.”

“He left without telling her,
right?” Jocelyn’s hazel eyes were wide. She loved gossip, and
usually Grace joined in, but she’d do anything to avoid talking
about Dar.

“Yes.”

Grace had no idea why Rebekah had
come to her, of all people, for advice on Dar’s disappearance. At
first she thought Rebekah might know about her connection to him
and wanted Grace to admit it. When Rebekah opened up about their
relationship, though, it was clear she didn’t have any idea. She’d
talked about Dar as though Grace had never met him. She’d brought
up his distance and his insistence that they remain chaste as
though Grace had never faced those things herself. Rebekah had even
hinted at a fling she had with Sir Jacob, and Grace felt an
irrational anger. Grace could only tell her that his leaving
probably had nothing to do with Rebekah, and she should move on.
Like Grace was trying to.

Still, why had Dar said their
courtship was a cover-up when Rebekah seemed convinced it was real?
Then again, Grace had thought her relationship with Dar had been
real, as well.

“Let’s go see the fire jugglers,”
Grace suggested, eager for a distraction.

They watched performers, ate until
their bellies were protruding, and bought too many items. Grace’s
brother Kyler walked with them for a bit; he and Jocelyn flirted
shamelessly. Later Grace saw Lady Rebekah and Sir Leonard laughing
by the fountain.

They wandered out of the square for
a few minutes, searching for some fresh air. Jocelyn sighed with
relief. “I can move freely.”

In an alley, they moved around to
look at the lesser-known merchant booths. About a dozen people were
ambling around in the area, as well. The light didn’t reach them
very well, casting strange shadows on the ground. Grace had to pick
up her skirts to avoid the mud on the ground as she stopped at a
bookseller’s booth. The merchant was a woman with long, black hair.
She sat on a stool, watching Grace with her dark eyes.

A few of the spines of the books
were falling apart, and others had strange markings on them. “What
sorts of books are these?” Grace asked.

The woman’s eyes rolled over
Grace’s blue dress and silver jewelry. “Not books a lady like
yourself would enjoy.”

Grace looked at one of the books,
which had outlines of people on it. She opened the cover as the
woman stood up. “Do you believe in magic, m’lady?” the woman
asked.

The first page of the book was in a
language Grace had never seen before. “I don’t know,” she told the
merchant. “I’ve never seen it.”

“Ah, but just because you haven’t
seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“True. What kind of magic are you
talking about?”

The woman waved her hand. “All
kinds. Different families are gifted with different magic.” When
Grace raised her eyebrows, the woman said, “There are those who can
heal the body or break it. There are shape changers from Shyra.
There—”

“Shyra?” Grace
repeated.

“Yes. They say the shape changers
have the power to look like anybody, dead or alive. Some can change
into animals. Some can even change into things that aren’t alive.
Trees, rocks, water.” She smiled. Her teeth were dirty and cracked.
“Perhaps you knew someone from Shyra? Or perhaps you don’t know
that you know someone from Shyra because they pretend to be someone
else.”

Grace swore she could feel her
heart pounding in her ears. Shape changers? It couldn’t be real.
They were legends, tales from storybooks. They couldn’t have
anything to do with the man who warned her about Dar or with Dar’s
sudden departure. “Perhaps. Why should I believe the magic is
real?”

“You don’t have to.” The woman sat
down again. “But my books will convince you.”

Jocelyn approached the booth.
“Grace, are you ready? You’re supposed to meet the prince
soon.”

“Ah, I know someone from Shyra who
lives at the castle,” the woman said. “Tell Sashe that Tia hasn’t
forgotten about her.”

Jocelyn tugged on Grace’s arm.
Grace turned away as the woman laughed.

* * *

Grace was soon moving through the
crowds with the prince, who’d asked her to escort him to the
festivities. She could hardly fathom why, and she overanalyzed
every one of her actions. It was strange being with another man,
even though they were only enjoying the celebrations. She felt like
she was being unfaithful to Dar, which she knew was
ridiculous.

“I’m glad Victory Day is only one
day a year,” the prince told her, his voice raised over the
sound.

She smiled. “I wish there were
more. One every three months.”

He paused, a smile coming to his
face. “Perhaps I could handle two. What do you enjoy about this?”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow, motioning to the jubilant
crowd.

“Well, everything… the sweets from
the west, the booksellers, the horse show, the fireworks. Oh, and
every year, your Highness, there’s a bird merchant I
visit.”

“A bird merchant?”

“Yes.” She scanned the streets,
trying to get a bearing on their location. They weren’t far from
the fountain in the middle of the square. This area of Renaul was
mostly cobblestone paths and small shops and houses, and today it
was full of celebrators and visitors from the rest of the country.
“Usually, he’s near the fountain.”

The crowds parted for the prince as
they went to a fountain with sculptures of dolphins, water spraying
from their mouths into the bowl of water below. An old man stood
nearby, only a few teeth left in his wrinkled mouth. He had an
array of birds on display, some plain, some exotic. Their wooden
cages hung from every available spot of his booth. Their chirps and
calls blended in with the noise of the surrounding
people.

“They’re amazing, your Highness,”
Grace said. She approached the cage of a small bird that was both
bright yellow and dark blue. The lady’s legend about shape changers
echoed in her mind. Could they change into birds? She shook her
head; they weren’t even real.

“They are beautiful,” Prince
William said, his eyes on a bright red parrot. “You’ve never wanted
to buy one?”

“Oh, of course I have.” Grace
watched as the blue and yellow bird climbed on the bars. “My father
bought me one when I was ten, but I let him out in my room to let
him fly around, and he started…” She laughed. “Well, you know what
birds do.”

The prince smiled, nodding for her
to go on.

“All over my clothes. I couldn’t
catch him, and I was too scared to ask my dad for help. I asked
Kyler, but he couldn’t catch him, either. We had to tell my parents
eventually, and my dad just opened the window so he could fly out.
He told me I could never have a bird again.” Grace grinned, shaking
her head, and her face flushed when she saw Prince William’s eyes
on her. “It’s an embarrassing story, I know.”

Prince William shook his head.
“It’s endearing.”

She laughed. “If you say so.” She
tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She only thought of how
flirtatious the gesture seemed after Prince William smiled and took
a step closer. She couldn’t believe this was happening; she was
actually flirting with the prince.

“Your Highness.” One of the guards
motioned to the sun. “It’s nearly time.”

Prince William sighed. “Lady Grace,
I must leave to help my father with the royal speech. You’ll be
attending the banquet tonight, correct?”

With a nod, Grace said, “Yes, your
Highness.”

Prince William glanced at his
guards and hesitated. “I know your father wouldn’t prefer me to ask
you first, but the ways are changing, yes? Would you accompany me
on a political trip to Nyad?”

Her eyes widened. The prince of
Haltar was asking her on a trip. It felt all wrong, as if she was
in someone else’s body for a day. Thoughts of Dar ran through her
mind. Again she felt like she should decline because of Dar, but of
course she wouldn’t. Even if Dar was still here, still with her,
she wouldn’t turn down the prince and risk offending him. And a
small a part of her did want to go with him, just to see what might
happen between the two of them.

She smiled at Prince William,
keeping her expression shy. She didn’t want to seem too eager. “Oh,
your Highness, of course. I’d be honored to accompany
you.”

He smiled, and his face seemed
younger, like he was a teenager again. He was only a year older
than Dar.

She really needed to stop thinking
about Dar.

“Wonderful,” he said. “We’ll speak
more of it tonight. And perhaps you shouldn’t mention it to your
father just yet.” He gave her a wink.

She laughed. “Yes, that sounds like
a good idea.”

The prince motioned to one of his
guards. “Jacob will escort you wherever you like.”

“Oh, thank you, your
Highness.”

“I had a very pleasant time with
you today,” Prince William said.

She extended her hand, and he
kissed her knuckles, his blue eyes meeting hers. Her stomach
fluttered, and she waved goodbye to him reluctantly.