Promising Light (57 page)

“Will you heal him or won’t you?”
Grace demanded.

Kilar glared at her. “What makes
you think I care about your life?”

“You probably don’t. But what
about my father and the prince? A general in the king’s army. The
next in line for the throne.”

Kilar shrugged. “They don’t need to
know about this deal you’re trying to make with me.”

“My friends know the truth.
They’ll tell them that you could have saved my life.”

Kilar looked past Grace into the
cave. She pulled the other potion out of her pocket. She was about
to tell him what it held when more yells came from behind Kilar and
the two others. She swore under her breath; she couldn’t waste
anymore time.

Her father burst into sight. When
he saw Grace, he let out a cry of surprise and walked toward
her.

“Wait, Father,” Grace said,
backing away. “This is a fast-acting poison, and I’ll drink it
unless you heal Dar.”

Father stared at her, pausing where
he stood ten feet from her. “What?”

Grace motioned to Dar, who she
hoped was still alive. Grace heard him groan and say something to
her, but she turned to her father. “Please, Father.”

“Grace, you can’t do this.” He
raised his voice, shaking his head.

“If you let him live, I’ll take a
love potion. I’ll court Prince William and do anything he wants me
to do.”

“He won’t take you back,” Kilar
spat. When Father glared at him, Kilar stepped back. “She’s done
many unforgivable things.” He looked at Grace. “How do we even know
that’s a love potion?”

“How do I know you won’t kill Dar
right after you heal him?”

“We won’t heal him.”

“I’m counting down from ten,”
Grace announced, forcing her voice to stay steady.
“Ten…”

“Heal him,” Father said, turning
to the axe-holding man.

“Daniel,” Kilar said with a
warning tone.

“Nine…”

“Do it; I don’t care about him!”
Father exclaimed. “I want my daughter to live.”

“She’s not going to take that
poison!” Kilar said.

“Eight…”

“She’s unpredictable!” Father
yelled. “She’s been with those Avialies for weeks. Who knows what
they’ve told her?”

“It’s probably not even poison,”
Kilar spat.

“Seven.” Grace closed her eyes,
fighting back tears. She didn’t want to take either of these; she
wanted to pull Dar into the tunnel and run from the
Protectors.

“If she dies, I’ll disown the
Protectors!” Father’s voice rose. “I’ll tell the prince everything.
You know I can sway him and the king.”

“Six.” She supposed it was kind of
a peaceful place to die. The waterfall roaring behind her, the
jungle plants surrounding her. She opened her eyes, looking up at
the afternoon sky. Maybe she should have thought of a better
plan.

“Fine. Kris, heal him,” Kilar
said.

Grace looked at him in shock. Kris
hesitated, and Kilar motioned him to go. Kris walked toward
her.

“Leave the ax,” she said. Kris
glared at her, and she added, “Please.”

Kris flung the ax on the ground and
stalked into the cave. Grace followed him toward Dar. Jael, Kilar,
and Grace’s father came in, as well.

“Heal him completely,” Kilar said,
“and then Grace will take the love potion.”

Kris dropped to his knee next to
Dar and lifted up his shirt. He put his hands over the bandage and
closed his eyes. Grace clenched her hands into fists, her
fingernails digging into her palms. She stared at Dar’s face as he
stirred awake. He looked at Kris in alarm, squirming a bit, then he
closed his eyes and hissed in pain.

“What are you doing?” Grace
asked.

“It’s a deep wound,” Kris said,
his eyes still closed.

Would Dar be angry? Grace shook her
head; at least he’d be alive. Sierra would come for her soon; she
knew it. Even if Dar thought she was living a better life without
him, Sierra knew Grace wouldn’t be happy for long. What would the
love potion do to her? Would she stop loving Dar? It was just a
mild love potion, but would the Protectors give her a stronger one?
Would they mess with her body like Tisha said they might? She
swallowed hard, her mouth dry.

The color came back into Dar’s
face, and panting, he sat up straight.

Kris pulled his hands away and
studied Dar’s face. “Better?”

“Yes,” Dar said breathlessly. He
looked around at the others. His gaze fell on Grace, and he
frowned. He knew she’d done something.

“Where’s the love potion?” Kilar
grabbed her arm. “Take it.”

Dar’s face fell, looking down at
his lap, and she blinked away tears. She wished he hadn’t heard it,
though he would have found out about it eventually. She took a deep
breath and unscrewed the flask with the purple liquid. She
whispered William’s name and took the potion before she could
reconsider.

* * *

Sierra nearly cried with relief
when she climbed out of the cave into daylight. She took in deep
breaths of fresh air as she extinguished her torch, then took in
her surroundings. The rushing river next to her led to the
waterfall. She inched forward; she knew the cliff was somewhere
ahead of her. She reached the edge and gasped. Ahead of her, she
could see miles of jungle and beyond that flat lands that led to
Nyad. The lake was below her, as well as the cliff face that hid
the caves from where she’d just come. The sky was a brilliant blue,
the horizon hazy in the distance.

She took out a dagger. She had to
find the others.

It took her close to an hour to
find her way down to the lake. A frightening monkey attacked her,
and she had to stab him to get him off of her. Then she tore open
her arm when she fell down a steep incline. The amount of blood
that poured out of the gash made her nauseous. The sun was low in
the sky, and she didn’t want to face the night alone. By the time
she heard human voices, she was sweaty, bleeding from various
spots, and nearly crying.

She listened for the voices again.
They were coming from ahead. She moved quietly, careful not to even
break a twig on the ground. Her heart leapt when she recognized
Evan’s voice. He was arguing with someone, and she called, “Evan!”
The moment she spoke, she realized he could be with Protectors. She
held her dagger up.

The voices stilled, and Evan came
into view, fighting through bushes. “Sierra,” he said, his face
brightening. He stopped, pulled the Mahri manacle out of his bag,
and held it out for her.

She took it, but was staring at him
to make sure he was okay. He had a bloody nose and a bruised face,
and his hand was wrapped in a makeshift bandage. “Are you okay?”
she asked, walking toward him.

“I’m fine. Where’s Grace?” He
pulled her into a rough hug.

“She’s back with Dar.”

Evan pulled her back toward where
he’d been. Matilda and Lee stood with Caleb and Adrian. They all
looked injured, though nobody fatally so.

“Where’s Grace?” Matilda asked.
She had a makeshift bandage wrapped around her head; a wound from
her forehead soaked the fabric with blood.

“She’s with Dar,” Sierra said.
“And the Protectors?”

“A few of them went back to the
cave,” Lee said. His right pant leg was covered with blood. “Most
of them are dead. We were trying to figure out what to
do—”

“Do they know where we are? The
Protectors?” Sierra asked.

“No, we ran,” Matilda said. “We’re
all injured.”

“We should go back and kill as
many as we can—” Adrian said.

They began arguing again, but
Sierra shushed them. If they got too loud, everyone would hear
them. “We need to leave now,” she said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Adrian
spat. Caleb agreed.

“What about Dar and Grace?”
Matilda asked.

“Grace has a plan,” Sierra said.
“I told her I’d come back for them.”

The others hesitated or stared at
her in confusion. “What about the ancient texts?” Lee
asked.

“I have them in my bag,” Sierra
said in a low, quick voice. Matilda gasped, covering her mouth.
“That’s why we need to go now! Grace and I separated an hour and a
half ago; she’s probably already met up with the Protectors and
she’s either made some kind of deal, or they’re both dead. Where
are Jeshro and Lisbeth?”

“Wait, you found
the ancient texts?” Caleb asked. “
The
ancient
texts.”

“Yes, and Grace and I… we… I don’t
know how to explain it, but the curse is gone.” Sierra took Evan’s
hand. “We connected, and it’s… it’s gone. I know it is.”

Evan laughed breathlessly. “I knew
it. I knew it!”

They set off, and Sierra explained
to the others all that had happened. They told her about the battle
between the Protectors and the Avialies: who’d fallen, who was
still alive. They said the prince was somewhere in the jungle, too,
though he was staying out of the way. The elders were acting as
messengers between the fighters. They considered changing to go
find the others, but the men were tired from the wounds, and Lee
said it might be hard to find them again.

They dressed each other’s wounds as
they walked. Lee said infection could kill in the jungle, even
though they were leaving. By the time the sun had set, they were
low on food and energy.

“I can tell we’re close,” Lee
said. “We just have to push through the end.”

“We can do it,” Sierra said
breathlessly.

A brightly colored bird landed in
the path before them and changed into Lisbeth. “Grace is with her
father and Kilar,” she exclaimed.

“She had to do it,” Sierra said,
pushing past Adrian. “Lisbeth, she made a deal with them to save
Dar’s life.”

Lisbeth stared at her. “What kind
of deal?”

“I don’t know,” Sierra lied. She’d
tell Lisbeth later, when Sierra was sure she could trust her. “But
I know she wouldn’t be with them unless she felt Dar was all
right.”

Gazing past Sierra, Lisbeth wrung
her hands together. “Well, of course Dar is important, but what
about Grace? What about the prophecy?”

Sierra stepped forward and touched
Lisbeth’s hands. “It worked, Lisbeth. We found the ancient texts.
We broke the curse.”

Lisbeth stared at her. “What do you
mean?”

“I’ll tell you as we walk,” Sierra
said. “I don’t want to be in the jungle overnight.”

Sierra again explained what had
happened in the cave: the scroll about the marked women who’d acted
as protectors for the Avialies, she and Grace clasping hands, the
flow of energy and magic she’d felt. Lisbeth didn’t respond for a
long period of time, her gaze on the plants surrounding
them.

“Are you sure?” Lisbeth asked.
“Are you absolutely sure?”

“I’m sure,” Sierra
said.

Lisbeth caught Sierra’s arm. “I’m
sorry, Sierra.” She glanced at Evan. “Two years ago, I made a grave
mistake… we all paid for it.”

“At least you weren’t wrong this
time.”

“I must go tell the others.”
Lisbeth changed into a bird and flew away, disappearing into the
foliage.

They reached Nyad when the moon was
high in the sky. They debated for a few minutes about what to do.
If Grace was with the others and she was under the influence of the
love potion, she may tell the prince anything. Sierra didn’t
mention the love potion to the others, only talked about the
influence a Cosa or a truth potion might have on Grace. The
Protectors would know Sierra had the ancient texts.

Their discussion was cut short when
more Avialies joined them. They hammered Sierra with questions, and
she knew the night was far from over.

* * *

The world around Grace was hazy.
Why was she in a jungle? What was her father saying? She moved
through the vegetation with one thought on her mind: William. His
name echoed in her mind like a heartbeat. She had to see him, and
soon. She didn’t know what she’d do if she couldn’t see him
soon.

It was dark when they finally found
him. His dark blonde hair fell over his eyes as he hacked through a
bush, a collection of men in front of and behind him. He had a
scratch on his cheek.

Grace ran to him, calling his name,
and one of the guards held her back. William stared at her in
shock, and she fought against the guard keeping her from him. From
Kilar and Father’s yells, the guard released her.

Grace closed the distance between
her and William and she threw her arms around his neck. He took a
step back, then patted her back a few times. Grace wished he would
pull her tight and never let her go. But he pulled away and stared
at her as though he didn’t know her.

“You’re all right.” He examined
her face. “You’re filthy, but you’re all right.”

“Of course I’m all right,” she
whispered. She’d give anything to listen to him before, to change
her decisions so she never left him. “I’m sorry. I should have…
goodness, there are so many things I should have done. I’m back,
though.”