Promising Hope (19 page)

“What’s so confusing about it?” she snapped. “I love
you. I left behind the Avialies for you.”

“Did you ask me to save Dar’s life because you loved
me?” he asked.

She winced and rubbed her forehead. Her headaches
were coming back. Hadn’t Matilda had something that was going to
help? “That was—I told you I didn’t want to be responsible—”

“You wouldn’t have been. That would have been on his
head.”

“You’re the one who didn’t want to talk about him!
Why are you bringing him up?”

William didn’t say anything for a moment, staring at
the wall behind Grace. “Because he’s always what’s been in the way
for us.”

“He’s not anymore,” she said, trying to keep the
whine out of her voice.

He finally looked at her. “You say that now. We’ll
see where you are in a week.”

Her mouth fell open as he turned and stalked off. She
nearly went after him again, but her eyes filled with tears again,
and she didn’t want to embarrass him, like he said. She spun around
and rushed outside. She held back sobs as she walked through the
gardens and collapsed on a bench. Covering her mouth barely hid her
sobs, and she would hate for someone to catch her like this,
blubbering in the dark by herself. Tonight had been going so
smoothly. She never should have said she loved him. Yet she longed
for him to know.

Footsteps cut off her sobs, and she forced her
breathing steady. She glanced around, squinting to see in the
dark.

“Lady Grace?”

Her throat tightened up at the sound of Dar’s
voice.

“Are you all right?” He stepped forward from the
trail that went around the castle.

She crossed her arms and turned her back to him. “I’m
fine. You’re the last person I want to talk to.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and his dark
figure shifted uneasily. “I’m sorry. I just… I thought I heard you
crying.”

“What are you doing out here, anyway?” she snapped.
“Aren’t you a prisoner?”

“I was tending to the noble’s horses,” Dar said. His
voice sounded tired. “I decided to take a walk.”

For a moment, she wondered if he saw her and William
kissing. At first, the idea horrified her, then she wanted him to
see them. She stood up and walked over to him, clenching her fists.
“I’m with William now.”

“I know,” Dar said softly.

“You should have just left me behind! You should have
gone with Vin and Amina and the others.” She said it, but the words
didn’t reach her heart. Thinking of him leaving her behind made her
tears reappear. She angrily wiped them away. “William doesn’t trust
me because of what you and I had. I had to save your life a couple
days ago, and he thinks I’m still in love with you! Just because I
don’t want you killed!” She sobbed and covered her mouth in
embarrassment. She was a mess.

He touched her shoulder. She froze, holding her
breath. His hand was warm, and she wanted him to touch her face and
wipe away her tears and stroke her hair…

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “You’re here because of
me.”

“No.” She jerked away from him. “I’m here because I
want to be here. I’m here because of William. Because I love
him.”

He didn’t say anything in response, and it was
infuriating.

“Just leave me alone! I love him.” She turned away
from him, even though she wanted to stay. She kept doing things she
didn’t want to do, and not doing things she longed to do. What was
wrong with her? She shook her head and held her head high as she
walked back inside. She loved William. There was nothing wrong with
her.

* * *

Dar gritted his teeth as Grace strode away. He waited
a few minutes, then followed her back into the castle. By the time
he was inside, she was gone. He had strict orders not to come into
the castle during the party, but he had to speak to Tisha. This was
getting ridiculous.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump. Kilar pushed
him against the wall. The short man reeked of alcohol. “What are
you doing in here?” he snarled.

Dar pushed Kilar’s hand off of him. He glanced around
quickly. Two ladies were giggling hysterically across the corridor;
the rest of it was empty. “What have you given Grace? She’s going
crazy!”

“We had to keep her under control,” Kilar said as his
words slurred.

“She had a mild love potion before, and she was
already falling all over him. If you gave her something stronger,
you’re only going to arose the prince’s suspicion.”

“Get outside!” Kilar yelled. “I knew I shouldn’t have
trusted Jon to control you.”

“Kilar, are you listening to me?” Dar grabbed the
man’s shoulder, and the man shoved him away, yelling something. The
two ladies glanced over. Their eyes widened as they recognized Dar.
One of them, Lady Hailey, took a step towards them, but the other
grabbed her arm, whispering something. After a moment, they rushed
away. Kilar didn’t notice; he was yelling for Jon.

Dar began to back away, fearing he’d do more harm
than good. Just as he was about to go back to the gardens, General
Daniel stepped out of the nearest door. Music and laughing from the
ballroom flooded out into the corridor before he closed it the door
behind him.

“Kilar, what are you—” he cut off when he saw Dar.
His eyes narrowed, and he stalked towards Dar.

“General,” Dar said, holding his ground, “I’m sorry.
I know I wasn’t supposed to come inside, but I needed to speak to
Tisha and Kilar about Grace.”

The general stopped inches from Dar. The man was
intimidating. Dar felt like he was nine years old again, getting
yelled at by his father. Then again, it was quite a different kind
of intimidation since his father never would have tried to kill
him.

“What about her?”

“I think they’ve given her another love potion, one
that’s too strong,” he said quietly.

“Jon!” Kilar shouted.

Daniel grabbed him by the back of the neck. “Kilar,”
he said in a low voice. “Go back to the party. I’ll take care of
Dar.”

Kilar paused, glaring at the general’s meaty arm,
then at Dar. “Fine.” He jerked away, stumbled, then righted himself
and walked down the corridor.

The general turned to Dar. “What makes you think it’s
too strong? Aren’t you a little biased?”

He couldn’t tell the general he’d found the two of
them kissing in the gardens. Just saying it would make it too real.
“I found her crying out in the gardens, and she told me he got
angry after she said she loved him.” Those words echoed in his
mind: I love you, William. He shook his head quickly and continued,
“He’s going to pass her off as erratic and unstable. It’s not like
Grace. Just a couple weeks ago, she was vying for my release in
Aron, and he’s going to get suspicious now that she’s throwing
herself all over him.”

“I told her not to tell him that,” Daniel
muttered.

“She’s under a love potion; she’s not going to listen
to you.” Dar paused. “She’s not safe here, General.”

“Don’t you dare,” Daniel growled. “Go back to your
work. I’ll talk to Tisha and Kilar.”

“But General—”

“You’re lucky to be alive, boy,” Daniel said, taking
a step closer to Dar. He could feel the man’s breath on his
forehead. “Get outside. I don’t want to see you again tonight.”

Dar huffed and left. As he walked back to the
stables, he hoped Tisha and Kilar would listen to the General.
Maybe they wanted the prince to turn against Grace. She’d been
nothing but a hassle to them. But the General was important, and
he’d fight for his daughter. He had to.

He returned to the stables and watched over the
horses. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d seen and heard
between William and Grace. Kissing as though nothing else existed…
and Grace’s confession of love. He squeezed his eyes shut. If only
Matilda had left the antidote with him. He could get it to her. He
could have saved her. He still would.

The next day, Jon lectured him about leaving the
stables and going into the castle. Dar feared another beating, but
Jon wasn’t a violent man. He just wanted his prisoners and servants
to do their job and stay out of the way.

Dar was working on the broken carriage with Mex
mid-day when he saw Tisha walking to the stables. Dar glanced at
Mex and stood. “Sir Tisha!” he called.

Tisha looked over at Dar and slowly stopped walking.
“Yes?”

“May I have a word with you?” Dar asked.

Mex stared at him, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Dar rubbed sweaty palms on his pants as he jogged
over to Tisha. “I’m sorry for coming into the castle last night,”
he said, “but I needed to speak with you about Grace.”

“General Daniel told me you thought the love potion
was too strong,” Tisha said.

Dar nodded.

“I don’t think it could be strong enough.” Tisha
smirked. “The more in love with William she is, the farther from
the Avialies she is. The less in love with William she is, the more
of a problem she is. If she’s a problem, I’ll have to remove her.
If I have to remove her, I’ll make some enemies. Do you
understand?”

Dar clenched his hands into fists. “There are side
effects—”

“You don’t understand.” Tisha put his hand on Dar’s
shoulder, squeezed it painfully. “That love potion is going to keep
her out of the way, and it’s going to keep her father happy. I
don’t care if it’s
convincing
or if she appears
unstable
.”

“But the prince is only going to get suspicious—”

“You really think he’s going to suspect a love
potion? Of all things?” Tisha laughed, dropping his laugh. “Get
back to work. And don’t talk to me again.” He turned away.

Mex called Dar back to the carriage, and Dar joined
him again, gritting his teeth. William would suspect a love potion
if Dar told him about it. But if he did, would the prince turn on
Grace? Could Dar and her father keep her safe from the Protectors
then?

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Seth and his family were buried with a small group of
other Avialies on the castle grounds. Sierra had visited the grave
with Evan the first day they were here, but she was alone this
time. The tombstones were laid out in a neat grid, and Sierra sat
near Seth’s, which was unadorned like the others. Only his name was
carved in the rock: Seth Avialie.

She ran a hand over the grass. His body was somewhere
under this dirt. A shudder went through her at the morbid
thought.

The waves crashed in the background. The breeze
stirred her hair. The tension in her muscles melted away. Every
moment she could have alone she cherished. Seeing Lina, Natalia,
and Alastor again, being surrounded by the Avialies, carrying on
conversations, helping Jeshro… it was all exhausting.

“Hey, Seth,” she said quietly. “I wish you were
here.”

If Seth were here, he’d be on her side to get Grace
and Dar. He’d counteract Evan’s vehemence for revenge. Sashe would
be here, and Sierra wouldn’t feel so tense around the people she
used to consider her parents, the ones who had talked her into
believing Lisbeth’s prophecy despite the risks. Maybe he’d know
just what she should say to Evan to convince him to stay.

“I think you would have liked Grace,” she said. “She
doesn’t give up. And she’s good for Dar.”

The sound of footsteps from the side of the hill made
her look to the side. Evan was walking towards her. He gave her a
small smile and sat down next to her. He was leaving tomorrow with
Adrian and his men. He looked at Seth’s gravestone. “I miss
him.”

Sierra nodded. “Me, too.”

“Sashe should be having his child.”

Sierra nodded again. Seth and Sashe would have been
wonderful parents, not to mention their children would have been
beautiful. Sashe had spent years wanting to be a mother, and she
was finally getting her chance.

“She should be here with us,” Evan said.

“I know.”

They sat in silence, and Evan reached for Sierra’s
hand. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Do you promise you’ll
contact me whenever you can?”

“Of course,” Evan whispered.

“Do you promise you’ll be safe?”

“Of course,” he said, his voice tightening.

She sat up and looked at him. “Do you promise you
won’t do anything reckless?”

His jaw twitched. “Sierra—”

“I won’t ask you to stay again, I won’t argue with
you about this, but please just promise me that if you meet him and
if you have the chance to kill him, you’ll… you’ll remember that
I’m waiting for you to come back to me. And I can’t lose you again,
Evan. If I do…”

His face softened, and he kissed her softly. “I
promise I’ll come back to you.”

She huffed as tears suddenly filled her eyes. “Don’t
make promises you can’t keep.”

He took her face in his hands, and his eyes searched
hers. “Sierra, I promise I’ll come back to you.”

She kissed him, and as her eyes closed, tears
trickled down her cheeks. His hands wove deep into her hair. The
salt from her tears mingled with their kiss, which deepened as she
held onto his tunic, her fingers painful from her grip. She slipped
her hands up under it so her fingertips skirted across his
skin.

He pulled away, breathless. “I don’t know what Seth
would think about us kissing on his grave.”

She smiled. “I think he’d prefer it to arguing about
tomorrow.”

“True.” He stood up and held out a hand. “But we need
to say a proper goodbye, and I can assure he wouldn’t appreciate us
doing it here.”

She laughed as she took his hand and stood. She
looked at Seth’s gravestone. “He was a good friend.”

Evan wrapped an arm around her waist. “The best
kind.” He kissed her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine. “And
you and I, we’re going to prevent mindless deaths like his.”

She nodded. That’s why she was helping Jeshro. That’s
why she wanted to get Grace and Dar. They’d lived through enough
pain and heartache, and she had to do all she could to stop
more.