Promising Light (37 page)

“Thank you for stopping him,”
Grace said breathlessly.

Kaiden nodded. “We should get your
face cleaned up.”

Dar pulled Grace into a hug, and
she held back tears as he held her tightly. She breathed in his
familiar scent, the one she should have realized Adrian was
missing.

“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I
shouldn’t have left you alone.”

She met his eyes, even though she
knew tears were shining in hers.

He wiped bits of blood and saliva
off her face, his brow furrowing. “I’ll kill him,” he muttered.
“Did he hurt you?”

“He hit me in the face,” Grace
said quietly. “But I think I hurt him more.”

“He was bleeding pretty badly,”
Dar said with approval. He took her hand, and they followed Kaiden
to a small creek. He turned to Kaiden, who was crouching by the
water with a towel. “Was he in the room this morning?”

Kaiden nodded. “He said he thought
you might have information you wouldn’t be willing to tell
him.”

Dar shook his head, pursing his
lips.

“I guess we should be more
careful,” Grace said.

Kaiden handed her a damp towel, and
she wiped her face. Her cheek was starting to ache already; Kaiden
touched her face softly, and the pain vanished. Grace gave her a
grateful smile. She looked at Dar. “What now?”

“I think we should look for Sierra
and Evan. Evan may have had the chance to talk to Jeshro about the
ancient texts before he left.”

Grace nodded. She hoped they were
all right.

They heard a call behind them.
Kaiden spun around. “No one was supposed to find us.”

* * *

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Sierra, Evan, and Matilda stood by
Kaiden’s cottage, two horses with them. Grace smiled, relief
flooding through her, and got to her feet. “They’re
okay!”

The three of them were glancing
around the area as though looking for something. Grace’s brow
furrowed, and she looked at Kaiden. “Can they see us?”

“Probably not,” Kaiden said. “The
Cosa magic surrounding us is strong.”

“Grace? Dar?” Matilda
called.

Dar stood. “What is she doing with
them?” He walked over to the others.

“How can we make ourselves known
to them?” Grace asked Kaiden as they followed Dar.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about
Cosa magic.” Kaiden folded her hands in front of her. “Perhaps if
we touch them.”

Sierra’s dress was torn, and her
hair haphazardly pulled back. There were dark bags under her eyes.
Evan looked alert, though, his eyes darting around, his hand on the
hilt of his sword.

“I know they’re nearby,” Matilda
said through gritted teeth. “I can feel it.”

Dar hesitated, then reached out and
touched Sierra on the shoulder. She yelped and jumped back.
“Something just touched me.”

“You can’t hear us?” Grace
asked.

Matilda walked over to Sierra,
reaching out blindly for Dar. He held his hands out, and Matilda
took them. She started to mumble under her breath. Beads of sweat
broke out on her forehead, and her voice grew gruff. After long
minutes, Sierra gasped. “I can see him!”

Matilda dropped his hands and wiped
her forehead. “This Cosa magic is strong.”

“Is it really you?” Evan asked,
studying Dar up and down.

“It’s him,” Matilda said. “He’s
completely revealed.”

Evan gave a short nod.

“How did you find us?” Dar
asked.

“Adrian went storming off to the
manor, and we backtracked his horse’s tracks to this area,” Sierra
said. “His face was covered in blood. What happened?”

Grace wrapped her arms around
herself, shuddering. Dar glanced at her, then back at Sierra. “He
knows Grace and I aren’t trying to get her pregnant. He left to
tell Jeshro and the others.”

“Oh, no,” Sierra said, her eyes
widening.

“Wait…” Matilda smirked at Dar.
“You two aren’t sleeping together?”

“That’s none of your business,”
Sierra said.

Grace couldn’t believe her face was
so warm; she must have been bright red. At least no one could see
her.

Matilda rolled her eyes. “Where’s
Grace?”

Grace stepped forward and touched
Matilda. Matilda jumped, then grabbed Grace’s hands and mumbled the
same language.

Grace examined Matilda’s face as
she whispered to herself. Freckles were scattered across the bridge
of her nose and red curls stuck out in every which way. She had an
unconventional beauty, and Grace could understand what Dar saw in
her. Looks-wise, perhaps not personality. But she was here helping
them, even though she hated Sierra. That was something.

Grace suddenly felt like the air
around her was tightening, pushing on her shoulders. When it eased,
Sierra grinned. “Grace!” She stepped forward and hugged
her.

Grace smiled, hugging her back.
“It’s good to see you. I was so worried.”

Sierra pulled away. “Me, too. How
did you get through the tunnels?”

“We should move on,” Dar said.
“Adrian might reveal our location to the Protectors.”

“I don’t think he will,” Kaiden
said. “Though his loyalty is twisted, he will never betray them.
Your friends may come inside and rest.”

Grace looked at Matilda, who had
her eyes closed as she rubbed her temples. “I don’t know if Matilda
can reveal your house.”

“There’s an entire house here?”
Matilda asked, her blue eyes widening.

“I agree with Dar,” Evan said. “We
should go into the Cosa forest to talk. The Protectors are still at
the manor, so we need to get somewhere safe for now.”

Grace and Dar went into Kaiden’s
house to get their bags. Grace hugged Kaiden, thanking her again
for her hospitality and her help with Adrian. Kaiden apologized
once more. Dar bowed to her, then they took the horses from the
stables and left with Sierra, Evan, and Matilda.

As they walked to the Cosa forest,
Grace worried about what Adrian might say. Sierra said the
Protectors were at the manor, including the prince. Maybe it would
be good for the prince to know she wasn’t intimate with Dar, if it
abated his anger. Would they believe Adrian? He was so upset, she
had no idea what he might say. She didn’t know if she believed
Kaiden that he wouldn’t betray their location.

She was eager to hear about Evan’s
conversations with Jeshro and Lisbeth about the ancient texts, but
they remained silent until they reached the forest. She had crossed
through the Belisha forest with Vin the night she’d first arrived
at the manor. They’d found the shortest path through the thick
trees that blocked out any sight of the sky. Vin had mentioned that
it was a stronghold of the Cosas in their war with the Zinnas, and
they might have to speak with someone, but they got through the
stifling trees without seeing a soul.

During the day, she could see how
the forest stretched to the west as far as her eyes could see. She
led her horse behind Matilda, who walked to the line of trees with
confidence.

Inside the gnarled trees, the
sunlight was dim. It could have been late afternoon instead of
midmorning. Like last time, Grace’s horse fussed, trying to pull
away from her. Grace patted him on the snout, shushing
him.

Matilda found a path and led them
deep into the forest. When Grace looked up, she could hardly see
the sky through the thick leaves.

They came to a small clearing, and
Matilda stopped. After Matilda reassured them it was safe to talk
here, they exchanged stories. Sierra told them about the Protectors
who’d come into Vin and Amina’s house, the truth potion Vin had
taken, and Matilda’s help escaping. Grace let Dar speak about the
tunnels and the men they killed.

According to Evan, all Jeshro knew
about the ancient texts was what Sierra and Evan had already told
them: that the tigers knew where they were. Apparently it was a
phrase that had been passed down from elder to elder for
years.

“So,” Grace said, “has Jeshro been
looking for the ancient texts?”

“Of course,” Evan said.
“Especially since the curse, but no luck. There are hardly any
Borens left in Haltar—”

“Any what?”

“Borens. They communicate with
animals,” Dar explained.

Grace faintly remembered something
about them in the book of legends in her bag. That reminded her:
she needed to tell Sierra about the two marked girls she’d read
about. “Do you think Jeshro and Lisbeth will tell the Protectors
that the tigers knew?” she asked.

“It’s definitely possible,” Evan
said, frowning. “I’m sure the Protectors showed up with Cosas,
Zinnas, truth potions.” He shook his head. “At least Jeshro isn’t
there.”

“But Lisbeth knows it, too,
right?”

“Yes, but it’s paired magic.”
Grace just looked at him questioningly, and he went on. “It’s an
ancient kind of Cosa magic connected to a bit of information. A
couple is told the phrase, and they can only repeat it in each
other’s presence. So when the Protectors searched my mind for the
past two years, it wasn’t there.” He glanced at Sierra, who smiled
at him and took his hand. “It’s only there when she’s there, and
it’s the same with Jeshro and Lisbeth.”

Matilda nodded. “I’ve heard of it.
It’s a paired magic, hinges on the connection between two
people.”

“But wouldn’t it make sense to get
two random people who would never be together?” Grace asked. “If it
was information that was that valuable?”

“Yes, it would make sense, but
that’s not how the magic works,” Matilda said. “It thrives on the
relationship between the two.”

“That’s fascinating,” Grace said.
“And if one of them dies? Is the information lost
forever?”

“Yes, unless someone else knows
it. Supposedly a strong Cosa could undo it, but I’ve never heard of
anyone who could.”

“They got Jared to try to undo it,
and he couldn’t,” Evan said.

“Jared?” Grace asked.

“He’s a Cosa working for the
Protectors,” Dar told her. Despite herself, Grace wondered if a
similar magic would work with her and Dar. “He’s extremely
powerful.” He turned to the others. “Jeshro wasn’t there when you
left the night before last, but he could be there now. If not,
he’ll probably be back home soon.”

Evan shrugged. “Probably. And if
they find out, they’ll go looking for them. The Protectors only
care about Grace because they want to send a message. And because
her father and the prince are involved.” Grace’s stomach twisted as
she thought of that. “But they care about the ancient texts because
they’re worried they might actually lift the curse.”

They stood in silence for a moment,
and Grace’s previous anxious thoughts about her father disappeared
as she realized the magnitude of this.

“But where do we start?” Grace
asked. “What tigers could they possibly be talking
about?”

“This phrase originated at least
two hundred years ago,” Dar said. “Those tigers have to be
dead.”

“Not necessarily,” Matilda said.
“If they bonded with Borens, they could live longer.”

“Bonded?” Grace repeated. How many
different things about the magical families didn’t she
know?

“Most Borens can bond with a
certain animal, and they’re partners for life,” Matilda said. “It’s
a rare form of magic. Some Borens bond an entire bloodline with an
animal. So that animal is perpetually bonded with the firstborns of
that bloodline until it dies out. Most think that bonding an animal
with a bloodline is cruel and unnatural.”

“But if there aren’t any Borens
left in Haltar, where are they?”

“Most are west in Kleisade,”
Matilda said. Grace had only heard about Kleisade when her friends
were talking about the sea and treacherous mountains in the
west.

“So, that’s one interpretation,”
Dar said, shifting his weight. “I think it’s clear we need a
Boren.”

“And another horse,” Sierra said,
motioning to Evan.

“What about Vin and Amina?” Grace
asked. “Are they all right?”

“As far as I know, they’re being
held by the Protectors… for kidnapping you,” Sierra said. “Jeshro
probably went to negotiate a release, but…” She shook her head.
“They want someone to blame.”

Grace’s shoulders sagged. “That’s
horrible. Are they going to be hurt?”

“I don’t know,” Sierra said,
frowning.

“Well… shouldn’t we help them?”
Grace asked.

The others glanced at each other,
silent.

“We all want to help them, Grace,”
Dar said after a pause. “But… you heard Evan, the Protectors are
going to start looking for the texts soon. Right now, we have a
little bit of a head start while they’re waiting for
Jeshro.”

“If we stay out of the Protectors’
way, maybe they’ll forget about us while they’re looking for the
texts,” Matilda said.