Promising Light (60 page)

“Actually…”
William reached out to still her twitching fingers. “Your father
and I think you might be safest if you stay at the palace.”

“Oh, William, that would be
wonderful,” she said breathlessly. She paused. “But what do you
mean? You don’t think I’d be safe at home?”

“Not from the
Avialies. I’m not sure what they’re going to do next.” He gazed out
of the carriage’s open window, biting his lip.

“They got what
they wanted from me, didn’t they?” she asked. “I broke the
curse.”

“So you say.”

Grace frowned. “I did. I don’t know
why you don’t believe me.” She was fairly sure Kilar and Tisha
didn’t believe her, either, though they did believe her when she
said Sierra had the ancient texts. Grace tried not to think of what
would happen to Sierra if they would find her. She only wanted to
please William—Sierra would have to take care of
herself.

William looked at her, his brow
furrowed. “Holding hands with another Avialie doesn’t seem to be
enough to break a curse like that.”

“Sierra isn’t an
Avialie. I told you, the two of us were marked to protect them.”
She shook her head. “And we did it, and it’s over now. They
shouldn’t want me anymore.”

William said nothing at first. The
silence stretched on, and Grace fiddled with her ribbon again,
wondering what she could say to make him happy. He’d been so
hesitant with her since they’d been reunited. She wanted to make
things right, and she couldn’t count the number of times she’d
apologized. She’d do it again, but last night at dinner, he’d told
her that she apologized so much he was beginning to think she was
only saying it because she thought it was what he wanted
hear.

“How can you have changed so much
from that day in Aron?” he asked. “How can you be fighting for them
one second and not care the next?” He leaned forward, setting one
of his elbows on his knee. “If you’re trying to be a spy, you’re
being much too obvious.”

Grace gasped. “How can you think
that? William, I told you… I care about you.” She would have told
him she loved him if her father hadn’t warned her against it,
saying she’d seem desperate. “And I’m—” She cut off the apology
before she said it. “I’m finished with the Avialies.” Even as she
said it, she thought of Dar. She hesitated before continuing, “But
Dar…”

“But Dar,” William scoffed. He leaned back.
“That’s what our courtship has been about since day one.
But Dar
.”

“I just don’t
want him to be hurt,” Grace said.

“He’s broken the
law.”

“How? I told you he didn’t kidnap
me.”

“He assisted in
Sierra and Evan’s escape from Rahuda,” William said.

Grace sighed. Did she want to argue
with him about how Sierra and Evan had been unjustly arrested? Was
upsetting him worth it? “I know. I’m concerned for his safety,
though, especially with Tisha and Kilar.”

“Let’s talk of
anything but Dar. You can’t do a thing for him right now.”

She nodded, glancing out the
window. “Do you remember our trip to Nyad? When this all
started?”

“Yes, of
course.”

She launched into conversation
about the trip, avoiding Dar or the Avialies or any other
unpleasant topic. She talked about the circus – but not Sierra –
and Governor Peter’s family and his unique manor. Nagging at the
back of her mind, however, was Dar’s fate.

* * *

Dar gazed up at the palace,
wondering what awaited him. Kilar had questioned him for hours the
day after they captured him in the jungle. Dar knew Grace would
probably give them all the information they wanted, but it still
felt wrong answering the questions. He lied, but Kilar knew when he
wasn’t telling the truth and would wave to Kris the
Thieran.

He stopped lying after three of
those tortures, hoping and praying that Sierra and the others knew
that they would be exposed by Grace and Dar.

Dar had little idea what had
happened to the others, and every moment that passed without new
information was agonizing. The Protectors were careful not to
discuss anything in front of him. All that he knew was they hadn’t
found Sierra or the ancient texts yet. Dar guessed that the elders
from Jolen had come to the aid of the Haltar Avialies and taken
them in.

If only Dar and Grace had escaped
with them. If only Dar hadn’t been stabbed, or Grace had let him
go.

Dar had been chained for days, and
his arms were sore from little use. The Mahri manacle on him was
sucking his energy, but he knew he should get used to it. He
thought of his cousin Evan. How had he survived two whole years of
captivity with the Protectors?

When they reached the palace gates,
the party went to the stables. Tisha pulled Dar off his horse. Dar
stumbled, and Tisha motioned to Kris. The massive man approached,
and Dar’s muscles tensed as he remembered the pain from the
interrogation. The Thieran hadn’t touched him the whole journey, so
Dar forced himself to relax as Kris came to stand next to him. He
crossed large, hairy arms over his broad chest, his gaze fixed on
Dar.

The prince and Grace stepped out of
their carriage. Grace’s gaze found Dar, and for a moment, it seemed
like there was no love potion. Her mouth fell open a bit, and she
took half a step towards him, her brow knitting in worry. Then she
stopped and looked over her shoulder at the prince, and Dar lost
her again.

Grace turned away and touched
William’s arm softly, a look of longing on her face. Dar bit down
on his tongue. It was a like a fresh wound every time she looked at
him like that. At first, William rebuffed everything she did, but
Dar could see the prince was growing used to Grace’s new behavior.
Now, he held his arm out for Grace and escorted her to the front
doors.

Tisha and Kilar spoke for a moment,
and Tisha followed the prince and the General. Kilar motioned for
Kris and Dar to follow him. Dar’s legs were stiff at first, then he
came to appreciate the exercise after a long day of riding. The
granite palace stretched over their heads, casting them in shadow
as they walked around the building. They passed through a
moss-covered gate and Kilar led them to a set of doors in the back
of the palace.

The doors opened to a staircase
leading down. As they descended, the warmth left the air, and they
entered a low, long corridor that felt more like a tunnel. Kilar
knocked on the third door on the left and opened it without waiting
for a response.

Inside, three men played cards at a
table. They looked up at the open door. Two seemed uninterested,
returning to their game.

The third sighed and stood up. Dar
saw the sword in his belt and noted his gnarled nose and muscular
shoulders. “Yes, Kilar?” the man asked.

“I’ve got a
worker for you,” Kilar said. He turned to Dar and pulled a key from
his pocket. For a moment Dar thought Kilar might actually take off
the manacles, but he only unhooked the chain. Dar stretched his
shoulders, wincing at the pain. “These manacles stay on, same as
Vin.”

Dar’s heart leapt.
Vin?

“Yes, sir,” the
man with the gnarled nose said.

“He’s very violent and he’s not to
ever be alone with himself, Vin, or Vin’s wife,” Kilar said.
“They’ve been convicted of the same crimes, and I don’t want them
conspiring.”

“Yes,
sir.”

“I want him far
from court and the nobles.” Kilar turned to Dar and lowered his
voice. “One wrong thing, and I’ll throw you in a cell where you
belong. And I don’t care what Lady Grace has taken or whose
daughter she is; I’ll kill her if I have to.”

Dar’s teeth clenched at the threat.
If anyone in the castle touched Grace, they wouldn’t last long. Dar
gave Kilar a curt nod, rubbing his upper arms.

Kilar flicked his head at Kris, and
he and the Thieran left. Dar and the man with the gnarled nose both
breathed with relief.

“What’s your
name?” the guard asked.

“Dar.”

“I’m Jon. This is
Bailey and Mex.” The two card players grunted. “You may think
you’re lucky you’re not in the dungeons, but we’re short on men,
and you’ll do any work we need you to. Don’t cause any trouble. If
you do, you’ll end up back with Kilar.”

“Is Vin working
in the castle?” Dar asked.

“Yeah, but you
won’t be seeing him much. You heard Kilar!” Jon said. He looked at
the other men, obviously the one in charge. “I’ll be back. I’m
going to get him some decent clothes.”

Dar glanced down at his bloody,
dirty clothes. He probably smelled like a pigsty. Jon and the
others were in plain brown slacks and white tunics with the royal
emblem.

Jon motioned for Dar to follow him
down the corridor. “These are the servants’ quarters for males.
Since you’re a prisoner, you’ll be staying in here.” He walked
through the last door on the right. It was a smelly room with a
collection of cots and rucksacks. “There’s a guard by the door all
night, so don’t try anything funny. You can have this cot.” Jon
pointed at a cot in the corner. “It was Khan’s, but he died last
week. I’ll get you a uniform, too. You look like hell.” He
hesitated. “It’s pretty late, too. You should probably just clean
up and wait for dinner. We can start you tomorrow.”

The male servants’ bathing room was
nothing but a small closet with a drain, a tiny window at
eye-level, and just enough room for Dar and a bucket or two of
water. He examined his stomach; whatever Kris had done had only
left a small scar.

The washing was refreshing—nothing
like a bath back at home, but better than anything he’d had since
Di’s house in Aron. He had blood all over him—his own, Leck’s,
Arlan’s—as well as dirt, dead bugs from the jungle, and a thin
layer of sweat. He scrubbed the grime off with the first bucket of
water Jon had given him and rinsed it all away with the second. He
felt like the washing helped clear his mind, too. The others would
come for Grace soon. If they didn’t, he’d have to find a way to get
her out. To get both of them out.

Dar pulled on the brown slacks and
white shirt. Jon was still waiting in the corridor when Dar got
out.

“Long washing,”
Jon said, “but you were pretty filthy.”

Dar shrugged. “I haven’t had the
best week.”

“What were you
convicted for?” Jon asked, leading Dar back to the room where the
other men were.

“Oh, this and
that.” The official charges were helping Sierra and Evan escape
from Rahuda and possibly assisting in the murders of the guards.
Addled as Grace was, she still stood by the fact that nobody
kidnapped her and she left of her own accord.

Jon laughed. “I’ll bet.”

Back in the card playing room, Dar
noticed there were a few other small tables. Jon returned to his
game, and Dar sat at one of the tables, trying to think of a way to
convince the prince and the Protectors to let Grace go. He’d run
out of clever ideas long ago, though. At this point, he may just
have to wait to see what happened. But if he waited, who knew what
could happen to Grace?

The door opened, and a few men in
the servants’ uniform trailed in. Dar jumped to his feet when he
saw a familiar face with a scar running down its features.
“Vin!”

Vin glanced up, his eyes wide, and
a grin broke out on his face. They closed the distance between them
and hugged. Vin’s shoulders were bony, the excess muscle he usually
had nearly gone. “Oh, it’s good to see you!” Vin clapped his
back.

“All right, break
it up,” Jon called.

Dar pulled away, blinking away
tears. “You’re all right. Where’s Amina?”

Vin’s smile faded a bit. “With the
female servants. She does laundry and seamstress
duties.”

“Is she all
right?”

Dar noted the bags under Vin’s
eyes, the way his skin sagged. “I think so,” Vin replied. “I don’t
see her much, but from what I hear, she’s fine.”

Dar winced, running a hand through
his hair. Vin and Amina were here as prisoners because of him and
Grace—they’d sought refuge at their house when running from the
Protectors. When they inevitably showed up and Grace, Dar, and
Sierra escaped, they arrested Vin and Amina and pinned them with
the crime of kidnapping a noble. “Oh, Vin, I’m sorry about what
happened.”

Vin shrugged and motioned for Dar
to sit down. “I guess we should have thought it through a little
more. What the hell’s been happening?”

They sat down at the table. Dar
could feel the gazes of the men around them as they watched and
listened to their reunion. He dropped his voice, trying to sound
casual at the same time. “Well, a lot’s been happening…” He trailed
off. “We’ve been traveling all over the damn country, plus
Kleisade… Grace and Sierra… they think they did it.”