Promising Light (35 page)

“I am. Even after the Cosas tied
me up and kept me in that hut all night. I’m perfectly
fine.”

She gritted her teeth and nodded.
She felt Matilda’s eyes on her, and her cheeks warmed at the
thought of her watching this argument. “Okay, we need to find Grace
and Dar.”

“They’re probably still in those
tunnels,” Matilda said.

Sierra remembered what Vin said
about them, that they were a maze. She hoped they didn’t get lost
in them.

* * *

Chapter
Twenty

Grace and Dar walked on for what
seemed like hours. They held hands and felt the walls with their
free hands most of the time so they wouldn’t miss the forks.
Occasionally, the tunnel would be too wide, and they had to walk
separately. These times terrified Grace, even though she could hear
Dar walking, and he would whisper over to her often. She imagined
with horror that he would fall silent, and she’d call out for him,
grope around in the suffocating darkness, but find out she was
alone. What if she had to wander these tunnels without him? The
Protectors would find her and ‘take care of her’ as Lesado had
said.

Dar would change into a bat at
every fork and leave her alone for a few minutes. One time, it felt
much too long to Grace, and she’d been ready to panic just before
he came back. The darkness was starting to play with her head.
Sometimes, she thought she could hear voices or see flashes of
light. Dar assured her that even if the Protectors were behind
them, they were far.

They only stopped to catch their
breath, drink some water, eat a few pieces of fruit. Grace was glad
she’d had some food in her bag, but she longed for more, especially
after throwing up her lunch. They often stumbled over rocks. At
least, Grace hoped they were rocks. She hated to think of dead
animals or, worse, humans. She thought back to the bodies of the
Cosa, Lesado, and the other Protector. It still felt like the
Cosa’s blood was on her hands, no matter how much she wiped them
off on her skirt.

What must have been a couple hours
later, Dar stopped suddenly. “Dar?” Grace asked.

A moment later, he said, “Jeshro
just contacted me.”

“With a Zinna?” Grace squeezed his
hand. “What did he say?”

“He said that the Protectors have
Vin and Amina, but Sierra escaped.” Dar started to walk again.
“He’s staying at a town about halfway between Vin’s and Belisha. He
contacted Lisbeth. The Protectors already arrived at the manor, but
she got Evan out of the house and she assigned Adrian to watch the
tunnel opening.”

“Does it open to the
manor?”

“No, it’s about a mile away.
Fortunately.”

“How did the Protectors find out
where we were?” Grace asked.

“I don’t know; Jeshro didn’t
say.”

Grace swallowed. The only way they
could know was if Vin, Amina, or Sierra told them. “Do you think
they told?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” Dar repeated.
“They said your safety was the most important thing… but there are
other ways to find out. Truth potions, Cosa and Zinna
spells.”

Grace remembered with a jolt their
trip to Matilda. “Do you still have that truth potion?”

“Yes, and the love potion and
sleep syrup,” Dar said.

She sighed. “I’d like some of that
sleep syrup right now.” She’d like to curl up in a warm bed and
sleep.

“Do you think the prince is with
them?” Dar asked her. His voice was light but slightly
hoarse.

She hesitated before answering.
“Yes, I do. After I lied to him about going to meet Sierra and
Evan, I doubt he’d let me go. I didn’t realize he was so…
possessive. Controlling. He says he just wants to keep me safe,
but—” She stumbled on a few rocks, and Dar steadied her by the
elbow. “I don’t think I can trust him anymore.”

Dar made an exasperated sound, but
didn’t respond.

“What? What are you
thinking?”

He paused. “I’m just surprised you
ever trusted him.”

“I didn’t trust him the way I
trusted you, but I still thought he had my best in mind.” She shook
her head. “He wants someone who will bow to his every beck and
call.”

“He’s the prince. What did you
expect?”

She scoffed. “Oh, come on. Before
we were kidnapped, you said I belonged with him! You trusted him,
too.”

Dar said nothing, and she wondered
if she were wrong. What if he knew the prince was like that and
still thought she should be with him? The thought made her shudder.
Dar did have her best intentions in mind.

“You wouldn’t have said that if
you knew what he was like… right?” Her voice sounded slightly
pathetic as she searched for validation. She gritted her teeth. Why
did she still care so much about his emotions for her? Maybe it was
last night, or riding with him and talking about Matilda, or
realizing he was on this trip even though he didn’t believe the
ancient texts could do anything.

“You’re right,” he said quietly.
“I hate to think of you with him, and even though I pushed you
away, I still resent the fact that you decided to court
him.”

“But you—”

“I know it’s stupid. I did
everything I could to distance myself from you.” He lowered his
voice. “Doesn’t change the way I feel about you with someone
else.”

She smiled, feeling a strange sense
of pleasure at that. “Well, that’s a bit how I felt about you with
Rebekah. Except for I had nothing to do with the two of
you.”

He stopped walking and pulled on
her arm to stop her, too. He stepped closer to her, and she could
feel his warm breath on the top of her head. Odors of blood and
sweat rose up to meet her nostrils, and he softly touched her chin.
“I’m sorry. If the world was different, I never would have courted
Rebekah. You would have been the only woman in my life.”

Her mouth fell open, and she
couldn’t breathe properly for a moment. She had no idea what to
say. Things had changed so much since their innocent meetings in
the vineyard. Back then, that’s all she would have wanted to hear,
but now it seemed there was so much keeping them apart. Most of it
Dar himself. And why was he saying these things now, when they were
lost in endless tunnels and he was covered in blood? When she
couldn’t stop picturing the Cosa’s shocked face?

“But then again,” he said, a smile
in his voice, “if I wasn’t mysterious and secretive, you probably
wouldn’t have been very interested with me.” He stepped away,
tugging on her hand.

She managed to say, “That’s not
true.” She swallowed, but her mouth felt dry. “I was flirting with
you long before you told me my father didn’t like men like
you.”

He chuckled. “I suppose you
were.”

“No, I definitely was. Do you
remember when I first visited Shyra, and we were trying to find you
a woman in Renaul to court?”

He squeezed her hand. “Of course.
You ruled every lady out but yourself.”

She smiled. “And I still
do.”

They walked on for hours. Her face
ached from where the Cosa had hit her, and her feet were tingling
with pain. Their breaks became longer and longer, even tough there
might have been someone behind them. Dar was even getting tired of
changing. They ran out of food first, then water a couple hours
later, even though they were only drinking a few sips at a
time.

During one of the breaks, Grace
actually dozed off, her head leaning up against the wall behind
her. Dar snapped her awake. “Grace. We have to keep going. We fell
asleep.”

“How long has it been?”

“I don’t know, but we need to get
up and walk.”

Her body was so stiff, but she
forced her legs to carry her onward. They’d find Lisbeth and Jeshro
and they’d find the ancient texts or another way to break the
curse. They’d make sure Vin, Amina, and Sierra were safe. They’d
make it. They’d reach a world where light was abundant and the
darkness fled before it. Warm, promising light.

Finally, Dar spoke, his voice
hitched. “I feel someone. An Avialie.”

“What? You do?” Grace asked, tears
of relief pricking her eyes.

“Yes. We’re close,
Grace.”

She was aware of the air changing
around them. The path got wider and wider so they had to let go of
each other’s hands again. She saw a crack of light
ahead.

“Light,” Grace
whispered.

She rushed forward; it was coming
from the ceiling. Could it be a trapdoor? She held her arms out in
front of her, and her fingers brushed against the wall.

“Wait,” Dar said, his voice coming
from her right. “I’ll change into a flame.”

Before Grace could ask if he could
actually do that, a flare of light caused her to close her eyes.
She blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the light coming from
the flames on the ground. She looked around; they were in a shelter
much like Vin and Amina’s except for devoid of trunks and blankets.
The steps were right in front of her, leading to the trapdoor. She
let out a yell of joy, and the room went dark again.

“Did you see it?” Grace asked,
reaching out for Dar.

He leaned into her, pushing his
weight into her, and she held his arms. It took her a moment to
realize he’d lost some of his strength to stand. “Sorry.” His voice
came out gruff as he righted himself. “Changing into elements… is
hard… here, take my bag. I’m going to go up with the
sword.”

“Be careful.” She swung his bag
over her shoulder.

She heard his feet on the steps,
and a moment later, it sounded as though he was pushing on the
trapdoor. She held her breath, and then it flung open.

The outside light poured in; it was
dusk, or maybe even dawn, but it was still lighter than the
tunnels, and she walked toward the steps. She saw Adrian standing
outside, helping Dar out. She looked up at the opening, up at the
late afternoon sky and the tops of the trees. A moment later, Dar
beckoned for her to come up.

She sprinted up the steps and took
a deep breath of fresh air. The three of them stood in a sparse
forest. Dar beamed at her; he had dried blood on his chin and neck,
and dirt all over his face. She couldn’t imagine how she looked.
She smiled tiredly at Adrian. “It’s so good to breathe fresh
air.”

Adrian half-smiled as he closed the
trapdoor. They set about covering it while Dar asked questions
about Sierra and the others. “Well, when the Protectors showed up
yesterday—” Adrian began.

“Yesterday?” Grace looked up at
the sky. “Is it dawn or dusk?”

“Dusk.”

Her eyes widened. “We’ve been down
there for a whole day?”

Adrian nodded. “Yes. When they
showed up, they had a Zinna and a truth potion get the information
from Vin.” He paused, examining the trapdoor. It looked like the
rest of the forest door. He motioned for them to follow him and
continued, “Four of them showed up at the manor last night. They’ve
searched every inch for you two or for some kind of tunnel opening.
But Lisbeth was ready, and she’d already helped Evan escape. Jeshro
contacted you, right?”

“Yes, he did. Where is
Evan?”

“Lisbeth tried to talk him into
coming with me, but he went off looking for Sierra.”

“She hasn’t shown up
yet?”

Adrian shook his head. “No one has
seen her.”

“But where could she be?” Dar
frowned. He looked back at Grace and started. “Oh, Grace, I’ll take
my bag back. I’ll take yours, too.”

They approached a few horses tied
up. Grace let out a breath of relief at the sight of them. They
rode to a small cottage, and a thin woman with curly white hair
greeted them. Adrian introduced her: her name was Kaiden, and she
was a Thieran who’d offered her house for Grace and Dar.

She put her hands on both sides of
Grace’s face, closed her eyes, and chanted in a low voice. Her body
relaxed, and she let her eyes shut. A moment later, Kaiden pulled
away.

Grace opened her eyes to see her
doing the same thing to Dar. Kaiden turned him around and raised
his shirt. The cut on his back was an angry red, but she touched
the skin around it, chanting, and it slowly went back to its
original color. Only a faint scar was left.

She’d prepared warm baths for them,
and Grace nearly fell asleep again, but forced herself to finish
the bath. She stepped out, pulled on the nightgown left for her,
and went to the bed made for her and Dar. She lay down and she was
asleep before Dar joined her.

* * *

Chapter
Twenty-One

When Grace woke up, the smell of
meat had filled the room. She was sleepy, still tired enough to go
back to sleep, but the smell roused her. She turned over; Dar lay
next to her, also stirring.

“Do you smell that?” she
whispered. “It’s that sausage we were fantasizing about yesterday
in the tunnels.”

Dar moaned, rubbing his eyes. It
was dim in the room, but some light came through the curtains. They
were in a small bedroom off the kitchen, so Grace could hear the
sounds from Kaiden cooking: pots clanging, water sloshing. Dar’s
face was clean, the blood gone. Grace looked at her hands; they
were clean, but if she tried to imagine the blood from the Cosa,
she could easily see it.