Promising Light (38 page)

“But my father and the
prince—”

“Look, if we go rescue Vin and
Amina, then we have to worry about them. Are they going to go with
us? We already have five people.” Matilda motioned to the group of
them. “And hopefully we’ll pick up a Boren to help us. That’s six
people that I have to keep hidden, six horses we have to keep fed,
six people we have to keep alive. We don’t have the time or
resources for Vin and Amina.”

“But it’s our fault they’re in
trouble at all,” Sierra said slowly.

Matilda’s eyes flashed as she
turned on Sierra. “Don’t agree with her because it’s the opposite
of what I’m saying.”

Evan put his hand up. “She’s right.
Vin and Amina will be fine. Lisbeth will probably go try to
negotiate for them soon. We have to get moving while we
can.”

Sierra glared at him for a moment,
but Grace felt the decision was settled. She hated the thought of
leaving Vin and Amina with the Protectors after all they’d done to
help her, but if the ancient texts could lift the curse, then
wouldn’t that really be the best in the end? They would help Vin
and Amina later. Then Amina could actually have the baby Grace saw
in Lisbeth’s vision.

“All right,” Grace said. “Let’s
get going.”

“If we visit the settlement half a
mile east, we could get a horse for Evan,” Matilda said.

“Lead the way,” Dar said, reaching
for the reins of his horse.

They walked along the path, Matilda
in front. The only sounds of the forest were their footsteps. Not a
bird flew in the sky, nor was there any land creatures running
along the ground. Grace felt as though they were the only people in
the world, as though the forest was untouched by the outside
world.

The first sound Grace heard outside
of their group was a whistle from ahead. She looked up in alarm
just as a second whistle sounded behind them, then a third
somewhere to the left. Suddenly, men, women, and even children came
out of the trees and surrounded them. A quick glance told Grace
there was at least ten of them. They wore unassuming clothes in
brown, and most of them had fair features: red or blonde hair, and
pale, freckled skin.

Matilda held up her hands, smiling
at the woman in the front of the pack. The woman was tall and
slender; she had copper-colored hair falling down her back, leaves
entwined with the strands, dirt streaked across her
face.

“Dalya,” Matilda said.

“Matilda,” Dalya said coolly,
surveying the others. “You’ve brought the Avialies to our
stronghold.”

Matilda lowered her hands. “We’re
searching for a way to break the curse.”

Dalya approached Grace, her bright
blue eyes sparkling. “You know how much the Protectors are asking
for this one?”

Dar stepped forward to stand next
to Grace.

Matilda moved over, as well. “No,
how much?”

“Two thousand ryrels alive,” Dalya
said.

Grace swallowed. “How much if I’m
dead?”

“Five hundred.”

Grace saw a few of the other Cosas
move in closer. “Well, how do you know I’m the one you seek?” Her
voice was stronger than she felt.

“Blonde hair, walks like a noble,
traveling with an Avialie that matches his description.” Dalya
motioned to Dar. “You all look the same to me, though.”

“Funny, I was going to say the
same thing,” Dar said as he put his hand on the hilt of his
sword.

“
Let’s not get
carried away,” Matilda said, putting her hand on his wrist. “Dalya
knows the Protectors are a harm to everyone, not just the Avialies…
don’t you, Dalya?”

Dalya said nothing for a moment as
she gazed at Grace. She finally looked at Matilda. “I do, but I
can’t say the same for the rest of the settlement. What do you
want?”

“We need another horse,” Matilda
said.

“How much do you have?” Dalya
asked.

“How much will it
cost?”

Dalya turned and conversed with a
bearded man for a few minutes. Grace didn’t catch any of their
words, but everyone else’s gazes rested on her.

“Was this really the wisest place
to come?” Sierra whispered to Matilda.

“Cosas have the best horses
around,” Matilda said. “For long distances, we shouldn’t go
anywhere else.”

“I’m talking about the greedy
looks on everyone’s faces,” Sierra hissed.

Grace glanced around at the
ruddy-faced Cosas surrounding them. Two men were speaking with each
other in low tones. She thought of Adrian, shuddered, and
instinctively took a step closer to Dar. She didn’t think she’d be
able to handle a man other than Dar ever touching her again. Even
Dar would be difficult… especially because Adrian had looked just
like him.

“Two thousand ryrels,” Dar said
under his breath.

Grace’s family could spend a
thousand ryrels in a month. It wasn’t that much, was it? She bit
her the inside of her lip and tugged on Dar’s sleeve. Her face
warmed as she whispered in his ear, “How much is that for—for a
normal person?” She knew little about finances.

“It’s about half a yearly wage,”
he replied just as quietly.

Grace’s eyes widened. She must look
very tempting.

Dalya and the bearded man turned
back to Matilda. “We’ll give you a horse for fifty ryrels and for
information.”

Matilda crossed her arms over her
ample bust. “What kind of information?”

“We’re missing two kinsmen,” Dalya
said. “One is female. She’s short, blonde, thick. She’s missing her
pinky finger.”

Grace shook her head. The others
didn’t know her, either.

Dalya continued, “The second is
male. He’s tall, pale, red haired, has a mole on his
chin.”

Grace grabbed Dar’s arm as she
remembered the face of the man she’d stabbed in the tunnels. Her
throat went dry, and she wasn’t sure what to say, if
anything.

“He’s working with the
Protectors,” Dar said. Whispers flew around them as they took in
the information. “Last we saw him, he was at Vin and Amina
Avialie’s house in Onirus.”

Grace nodded to Dalya, hoping she
didn’t look as upset as she felt. She couldn’t stop seeing the man
slide down the wall, staring up at her in shock. She swore she
could feel his blood on her hands again, or maybe that was her own
sweat.

Dalya turned to the bearded man,
who nodded at her. “Back to the camp!” he called. “Anyone who
touches Lady Grace will be disowned from this
settlement.”

A teenage boy next to them grumbled
and trudged after the bearded man. Others trailed along, but a wide
man with a squashed nose didn’t move. He crossed his arms and
raised his voice. “We should consider this reward,
Dalya.”

The other Cosas stopped, whispering
to themselves.

Dalya looked at him with a pinched
expression. “Hash, I will not entertain the risk of offending the
Avialies.”

“Why not? Two thousand ryrels?
That could pay for food for all of us for a month. Or for weapons.
Or or more horses since you’re getting rid of so many
for—”

“No one is turning Lady Grace in
while Ned and I are in charge of this settlement.”

Hash bared his teeth. “You’re
making a mistake.”

“You can find another settlement
if you’re not happy with the way we run things,” Dalya
spat.

He glared at her. He looked at
Grace, his gaze sweeping over all of her. Her face warmed, and she
raised her chin, refusing to look away from him. He finally huffed
and walked off. Her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a breath she
hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The bearded men, who Grace
assumed to be Ned, left with the other Cosas following
him.

Dalya approached Grace and Dar.
“I’m sorry about that.” She paused, looking over Grace’s shoulder
into the distance. “That Cosa with the Protectors, is he
dead?”

Neither of them responded at first.
“Please be honest,” Dalya said. “It won’t influence our sale. Or
our refusal to turn you in to the Protectors.”

“Yes, he’s dead,” Grace said
breathlessly. She was grateful for Dar standing next to her; her
knees were weak, and she held onto his arm.

Dalya frowned and she averted her
eyes. She heaved a sigh. “He was always concerned about power,
money, those things…”

“What was his name?” The moment
she said it, she wondered if she’d regret knowing the name of the
man she killed.

“Ty.” Dalya held Grace’s eyes for
a moment. “Are you really going to break that curse?”

Grace swallowed. “We’re going to
try.”

“But you’re the one they’re all
worried about.” Dalya shook her head. “Two thousand ryrels. You
better watch yourself on the way out. For some, being disowned
would be worth that reward.”

“Thank you, Dalya,” Matilda
said.

A moment later, the bearded man
returned with a brown horse. “No saddle?” Matilda asked, crossing
her arms.

“You said a horse,” Dalya said
with a huff, and Grace held back a smile.

Twenty ryrels later, Evan had a new
horse, reined and saddled. “Thank you,” he told the
Cosas.

“Be careful on your way out,” the
bearded man said as the group mounted their horses. “You should
probably find a way to disguise her.”

“Thanks, Ned,” Matilda said with a
smile.

“What is your fascination with
Avialies?” Ned asked, shaking his head.

Matilda grinned, glancing back at
Dar. “There’s something irresistible about them.”

Grace had to agree with her about
that.

* * *

Matilda made Grace and her horse
invisible to outsiders, but those in their group could see them.
Once she was done, they mounted their horses and discussed where to
go to find a Boren. Grace gathered from the conversation that most
of them lived in Kleisade, and the ones still in Haltar lived in
hiding from the Protectors. Unlike the other magical families, they
hadn’t been willing to stay around to see how long they could
last.

“What about Chad?” Sierra asked.
“Is he still in Rahuda?”

Dar visibly tensed. Grace glanced
at him, wondering who Chad was.

Matilda frowned. “Last time I
checked, yes.”

“But won’t that be where the
Protectors expect us to go?” Dar asked. “That’s where most of the
Borens still left in Haltar live.”

“We don’t know any other Borens,
though,” Sierra said. “Unless we went to Kleisade, which is… a four
day trip from here, and we’d still pass through Rahuda on the way
there.”

“We should go,” Grace suggested,
“and only stay in Shyra long enough to see this Chad person. If he
won’t help, or if he’s not there, we keep going to Kleisade.” She
paused. “Maybe Matilda could be the one to go find him, since the
Protectors know the rest of us are together.”

There was a moment of tense
silence, and Grace glanced around, wondering what she’d said.
Finally, Evan spoke, “Sounds good to me.”

“Do you trust him?” Dar
asked.

Matilda huffed. “Of course. Chad
would never hurt the Avialies.”

“Then why didn’t you suggest
him?”

“I didn’t want to pull him into
this.”

Before Dar could respond, Evan
said, “We only have to worry about trusting him if he’s actually in
Shyra. Sierra’s right—we have to pass through anyways.”

“Come on,” Sierra said, looking
around again. “We’ve lost time chatting. The Protectors are already
finished with Adrian, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few Cosas
come looking for Grace.”

“Fine, let’s go,” Dar said with a
sigh.

Matilda led the way out of the
forest, Grace fourth in line with Dar behind her. She wondered why
everyone seemed so tense about this Chad fellow.

* * *

Chapter
Twenty-Three

The next evening, they stopped when
they were a mile from Shyra. “All right,” Dar said, looking ahead.
Past the hills lay the border that separated Wharfedale, the royal
state, and Shyra, the state with the city of Rahuda. That was where
his parents lived, where Chad should be. “If the Protectors aren’t
here yet, they will be soon.”

They’d found out on the way that
the reward for Grace was still out. Magical families were being
told she was an Avialie sympathizer, but others thought she was
kidnapped yet again. Dar didn’t doubt the Protectors would go to
Rahuda to see if they arrived. His father would try to keep them
out, but he probably wouldn’t be very successful this
time.

“We should split up,” Matilda
said. “Grace and I will go into the city to get Chad, and we’ll
meet you three on the other side of the walls.”

“No,” Sierra said as Dar shook his
head. “Why would we leave Grace with you?”

“If anybody sees me with one of
you, it could implicate me in all of this,” Matilda said. “And the
fact that they don’t know about my involvement is only working to
our advantage. But I’m the one who should speak to
Chad—”