Promising Hope (28 page)

It was also where Dar had stumbled upon Cobb and the
other Mahris panicking after William found out about the love
potion. He’d run up to Grace’s room, only to find Marisa locked out
and hear Grace yelling on the other side of the door.

They reached Kilar’s room, and Delilah tentatively
knocked. No one answered, so they waited in the corridor tensely.
The corridor was dark, and the air dank and musty. Dar could feel
magic folk nearby, probably past the door.

A few minutes passed before William and Kilar strode
into the corridor. William pointed at Dar without looking at him.
“You first.”

Kilar unlocked the door, and the three men went
inside. The chair with the manacles still sat up against the wall,
and Kilar steered him towards it. He held out a goblet of liquid
that smelled like truth potion. Dar had taken enough to know what
they smelled like; that was a bit pathetic.

“Do you want me to drink it?” Dar asked.

“Don’t get cheeky,” Kilar said, sneering.

Dar took the goblet and paused. They could ask him
anything, anything at all. But he didn’t know anything at this
point, nothing more than what they already knew. Maybe this time he
could remember what they’d asked. Even as the liquid slid down his
throat, he knew it would vanish from his memory as soon as the
potion wore off.

The potion took effect, relaxing him, calming him,
even in the presence of his enemies. He leaned back in the chair
and sighed.

“What’s your name?” Kilar asked.

“Dar Silva,” he answered. His tongue and lips felt
light, like they would begin moving without his accord.

“What were your duties today?”

Dar told them he started in the stables and was
pulled to the kitchens at dinner.

“Did you see Lady Grace today?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I saw her as she was leaving with Lady Sashe.” She’d
looked so beautiful. And her eyes were clear of that haze. She’d
looked at him—
really
looked at him—and he knew she was
back.

The questions went on and on: Cobb, Mahris, the
prepared food, Grace’s dish, the wine. He began to understand that
someone had put a Mahri potion in Grace’s dish. He tried to cling
to this knowledge, but as the potion lifted, it slipped away. He
held onto it. He knew what happened. He knew… it was right there,
so close… no, gone…

Dar let out a breath and looked at William and Kilar.
“Are you finished?”

“If not him, then who?” William said, knocking the
empty goblet off of the arm of Dar’s chair. He ran a hand through
his hair, then turned on Dar. “You know, Dar, only the three of us
were here for your interrogation. My father would trust what I
said… if I said you were guilty…” He shrugged. “Then you’re
guilty.”

Dar narrowed his eyes. “Really?” he said, letting the
sarcasm slip into his voice. “He’d trust you without a doubt, even
though you nearly killed me the other day?”

“The only reason he kept you alive is because that
whore sister of yours asked hi—”

“Don’t you dare call her that!” Dar yelled.

William’s eyes flashed dangerously, but before he
could respond, the door flung open. Tisha stood in the doorway, his
teeth bared.

Cobb stood next to him, a pot in his hand. “Kilar, I
tried—”

Tisha shoved Cobb into the room, strode inside, and
slammed the door behind him. “What the hell is going on here?”

“An interrogation,” Kilar replied shortly.

Tisha pointed at the door. “We agreed Cobb would stay
and work in emergencies, Kilar! Why is he bringing truth potions to
King Thomas’ servants?”

“There was a Mahri potion in Lady Grace’s dish,”
William said. Dar’s heart slammed against his chest. He’d guessed
that much right. He stayed perfectly still, hoping they wouldn’t
throw him out before revealing the rest.

Tisha’s jaw tightened. “Really. And the noble,
honorable prince who cares so much for her honor is going to search
out and punish the guilty?”

William exhaled audibly through his nostrils. It
reminded Dar of an angry horse. “Don’t mock me, Tisha.”

“What do you care that there was a potion in her
food?” Tisha asked sharply. “If it was a love potion, at least it
would shut her up—”

“It wasn’t a love potion,” William said. “It was a
sense—Cobb, explain it.”

“It was a potion that dulled her senses. It puts the
drinker in a state of stupor, a numbness takes over them. They’re
not fully aware of what’s happening and they don’t remember what
happened a few hours later.”

Dar’s brow furrowed. Why would someone give that to
Grace? And who? Who would even have access to her food? He tried to
think of all the servants who had come in and out of the kitchen
today.

“I hope she’s still like that,” Tisha said, crossing
her arms.

“She threw it up all over me,” William said,
examining his spotlessly clean shirt.

Dar bit back the question to ask if she was okay. If
he was silent enough, they would say so.

“She took a potion to guard herself from
mind-altering potions,” Cobb explained to Tisha. “It ejects things
from her system.”

Dar smiled to himself. Their trip into town must have
served more than the purpose of getting fresh air. His heart
pounded as he wondered what else they had done… contacted the other
Avialies, even?

“That is all very interesting,” Tisha said with a
huff, “but exposing magic to these servants! Just to figure out who
gave that stupid girl a sleep potion? It defeats the purpose of all
our work!”

Kilar rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

“We are supposed to be protecting those people from
them
.” Tisha pointed to Dar with one finger and Cobb with
the other. “Not encouraging this magic!”

Kilar shook his head. “You have a narrow mind,
Tisha.”

Tisha took a few threatening steps closer to Kilar.
Kilar only came up to his shoulders, but he didn’t back down. Their
eyes locked, neither stepping back.

“Your mind was just as
narrow
for the better
part of a decade, Kilar,” Tisha spat. “Since Niculai… you’re no
better than one of them.” His lip curled in disgust.

“If you’re so against magic, you would care more
about someone violating Lady Grace,” Kilar said. Dar thought
‘violating’ was an interesting word to use. When he thought of that
word, he thought of a man forcing a woman. He slowly looked at
William.

“I’m beyond caring about that girl,” Tisha spat. “She
is nothing more than a sore on my foot.”

“Be careful what you say, Tisha,” William said
softly.

Tisha scoffed, throwing up his hands. “You’re the one
who nearly killed her!”

“And yet I didn’t. And I would personally kill anyone
who hurt her.”

“You liar,” Dar said in a low voice. The pieces were
coming together, and he had to fight to keep himself in his chair.
Physical violence would get him nowhere good. He’d get another
beating, maybe even get Grace in trouble. “You’re going to regret
ever touching her.”

William smirked and walked up to Dar’s chair. He
tried to lean towards him, but Dar stood, refusing to be
intimidated. William had to back away from him, glaring at Dar.
“What are you going to do, you helpless inbred?”

“You’ll have no idea it’s coming,” Dar said quietly.
“One day, you’ll be content, you’ll fall asleep without your guard
up, and I’ll be there. And I will make you pay for every wrong
thing you’ve done to her, you sick scum.”

William’s nostrils flared. “You are the one who’s
going to pay for speaking to me that way.” He nodded to Cobb. “Go
get my father.”

“I hardly think your father is going to care—” Tisha
began.

William shoved Dar in the chest, pushing him down on
the chair. He latched the manacles around Dar’s wrist. Dar tried to
hit him with his other wrist, momentarily forgetting his decision
not to use violence, but Kilar grabbed his arm and manacled him
down.

“We just found our culprit,” William said.

Dar clenched his teeth, breathing hard.

“Who else besides our lovesick dog would want to
protect Lady Grace from the evil prince?” William asked, leaning
forward to meet Dar’s eyes. His breath was hot on his face, and it
smelled faintly of wine.

“Prince William—” Tisha began.

“What do you not understand about this situation,
Tisha?” William spun around. Cobb was gone now, leaving Dar with
the two Protectors and William. “We all want to get rid of him.
This is our chance. We pin the crime on him and we have one less
Avialie to worry about.”

“And what, you think your father is going to execute
him over a potion?” Tisha said, raising his voice. “Your father
couldn’t care less about this pathetic drama with Lady Grace, and I
can assure you he is not going to upset his mistress, who is
pregnant with his child, by killing Dar.”

“And you think he would rather upset me?” William
snapped.

“He believes you will get over it. He believes this
is just a stupid phase, as I do.” Tisha took a step closer to
William, dropping his voice. Dar could barely hear him. Kilar
stepped in front of Dar, who had to lean forward to hear their
conversation. “How do you plan on controlling Lady Grace if you
kill him?”

“I will do what I have to,” William said through
clenched teeth.

“No, if you kill him, she’s gone,” Tisha said. “I saw
how Gregorio’s presence disturbed her. Now that she’s not under the
influence of the love potion, she has claimed the position of
Protector of the Avialies. And you will not be able to keep her
here without him, no matter what you do. She will either escape or
die trying.”

Gregorio? Why does that name sound familiar?
Dar thought.

“You don’t understand the power I have over her.”
William’s voice sounded a bit less sure.

“And you underestimate her,” Tisha said. “If I am to
be completely honest, your Highness, I view her as a threat. But I
know you want her here, and I respect both you and General Daniel
enough not to harm her.”

“The general is the one who convinced me to let her
take the love potion in the first place,” Kilar added. “I would
have let her kill herself.”

“Why are you telling me that?” William said, rubbing
his forehead.

“Because you have to know how much of a threat she
is,” Tisha said. “You heard what Gregorio said about her still
having magic—”

“I know, Tisha.” William stepped back. “You think I
view her as an innocent girl. You think I’m clouded by infatuation,
but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I know what she’s
capable of. But you underestimate me, both of you. And dangerous as
she may be, I can control her. Neither of you will touch her. She’s
mine.”

Dar bristled at that, and William glanced over
Kilar’s shoulder to sneer at him. Kilar and Tisha exchanged looks,
but Dar couldn’t see their full faces to decipher their
expressions.

The door opened, and King Thomas walked in with Cobb
and one of his bodyguards. Dar saw a glimpse of the women in the
hallway, staring in with curiosity, before the door was shut
again.

The king took in the image of Dar in manacles.
“What’s going on, William?” His voice was weary.

William explained what had happened to Grace. Of
course, he left out the part where he was probably molesting or
raping her. A heat spread through Dar’s body, his hands clenching
into fists. He glared at the back of William’s head, planning his
demise. The prince would regret it, just as he promised. Although
he did need to get out of this room alive to put any of his plans
into action.

Finally, William asked, “I want to use Cobb’s truth
potion to interrogate the servants. I want to know who would go
behind my back, and why. They’re obviously a threat since they got
past us. They could have poisoned any one of us.”

But they hadn’t because poison was much harder to get
past the royal food tasters. Maybe someone was walking around in a
numb stupor as Grace would have been had she not thrown it up. Dar
glanced towards the ceiling, worrying about her, wishing he could
see her, hold her, speak with her.

King Thomas rubbed his forehead. “I think this can
wait until morning. No one was in danger.”

“Morning?” William asked. “But what if this happens
again at breakfast?”

“Tisha, please speak to the cooks personally about
this,” the king said. “We’ll have to up the security in the
kitchen, of course. Make sure Delilah takes care of that.”

Tisha nodded his head. “Of course, your
Highness.”

“Is that all right, William?” King Thomas asked.

“I’m worried for Grace’s safety,” William said. “For
all of our safety.”

“I understand that, William, and we’ll have a meeting
right after breakfast about it. Kilar, talk to Wendy to up her
security. Tell her what happened so she can watch for Mahri potions
being smuggled in.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Kilar said with a bow.

King Thomas put a hand on William’s shoulder. “You
should return to your chambers and enjoy the rest of the night with
Lady Grace. Maybe Delilah will even cook you another meal.”

William’s shoulders were tense. Dar couldn’t see his
face, his back to him, but he couldn’t imagine he was happy. “Yes,
Father. And tomorrow, we’ll talk about this.”

“Tomorrow,” King Thomas said, smiling tightly. He
glanced past William at Dar. “Let him out of those manacles,
please. It disturbs me.”

Kilar nodded and took the manacles off. Dar stared
down at the Mahri manacle still on his wrist. If only he could take
this one off, too, feel the strength flood back into his blood,
feel his bones shift as he changed into another form…

He stood and bowed to the king. The King repeated his
orders to Tisha and Kilar and left the room, his bodyguard behind
him. William cast a glare at the remaining inhabitants of the room
and left. Dar watched after him, his entire body tense. If he was
going back to his chambers to be with Grace… no, he wouldn’t let
that scum do anything to her.