Promising Hope (51 page)

Suddenly, his weight was lifted, and hands grappled
around her manacles. With a click, they fell off, and she leapt to
her feet to find Dar behind her. “Get out of here!” he said before
joining the fray with Evan again.

Two more guards left. Grace took the sword from the
guard who had the keys and held it clumsily in front of her. She
needed a dagger, but he didn’t have one. She was about to join the
fight and do what she could when Evan and Dar knocked them into her
cell and slammed the door shut.

“Come on!” Evan yelled. He dashed over unconscious
and groaning bodies, and Dar grabbed Grace’s hand. They sprinted
down the corridors, Dar leading the way. Like when they fled after
Gregorio’s death. Only this time they had to escape or she’d sit in
prison for the rest of her life.

“I hope you have a grand escape plan,” Grace said
breathlessly as they bounded up the stairs.

“On the contrary!” Evan said.

“In here!” Dar yelled, yanking Grace into a door that
looked like the rest of the wall.

Grace groaned. “Great, more tunnels.”

“Where do these lead?” Evan asked.

“I’d rather not say,” Dar said, “considering who’s
probably listening.”

“Wait, we have to get Sashe!” Grace stopped
running.

Evan ran into her, nearly knocking her off her feet.
“Ack! I’m choking on your hair!” He coughed and pushed her in the
shoulder.

“She’s fine,” Dar said, tugging at her arm.

She started jogging again. “What?”

“We saw her, and she’s fine. She’s with Adrian and
Galvin.”

“Her bodyguard is with her,” Evan told Grace.

“But how—Kilar stabbed her!”

“Yeah, but her bodyguard has some Thieran blood,” Dar
said.

“He what?”

“He must have healed her,” Evan said.

“Almost there,” Dar called back to them.

A few minutes later, Dar opened a door. Cool night
air blasted at them as they ran outside into a light forest. They
dashed through the trees. Branches snapped at Grace’s face, and she
tripped over roots. She held onto Dar’s hand and the sword as
though they could save her.

They broke into a clearing, and Dar stopped. Grace
ran into him, and Evan only nearly avoided running into her again.
“What the…” he broke off and swore, then drew his sword.

At least a dozen of guards surrounded them in a
half-circle, keeping them from the woods. Grace had no idea where
exactly they were in relation to the castle, but she knew Dar had
been hoping for freedom just past these trees. Guards stood in
front of them and when Grace looked over her shoulder, more were
closing in behind them, blocking their retreat back to the
castle.

In the middle of the half-circle stood Tisha, his
hands behind his back.

“What are you doing out of prison?” Grace asked.

Tisha smiled. “William found the true assassin. A
jealous bodyguard by the name of Ronu. A Thieran who could have
saved the king but chose not to. He set a horrific disease on King
Thomas, one that killed him mercilessly, all so Ronu could have
Lady Sashe.”

“You liar!” Grace said.

Tisha motioned to the guards around him. “Arrest
them. Kill the men if you have to. Keep the girl alive.”

They moved in, and Dar pushed Grace behind him. “Go
back into the castle,” he said, “Just get far away from here.”

She held her sword up. It was too heavy, and it made
her arms ache, and she had no idea to wield it. “I’m not going
anywhere without you, Dar.”

“Just leave!” Dar yelled as the guards drew
closer.

“Such martyrs,” Evan grumbled. He charged before the
first guard reached him, his sword slicing through the man’s arm. A
hand fell to the ground, and Grace gasped. She backed up as Dar and
Evan engaged in battle.

Dar started to change—hair sprouted all over his
body, his face grew larger—and for a moment, Grace thought she’d
see him as a lion again, with blood all over his mouth, but
suddenly, he was forced back into his own body. He stumbled and let
out a frustrated yell. He charged the guards, and their swords
clashed in the air. He may have one against one guard, but another
attacked him from the side and pinned him down.

“No!” Grace yelled. She flung her sword down as that
power built in her body and shoved out of her arms. The guard who
had Dar flew through the air, hitting a tree with a sickening
crack
. The other replaced him quickly, coming down on Dar.
On her other side, Evan was up against two guards.

If only she could control this power. She could feel
it inside of her, building as she thought of all the horrible
things the shape changers had gone through, all the fighting they
had to do just to be safe, all that the royals had denied them, all
of the war still in the future. Evan and Sierra had lost a child,
and tonight Sashe had nearly lost her second one, and what for? The
ancient texts? Some misplaced belief that they would be safer
without shape changers?

Her fingers and her feet tingled. She felt like she
was drawing in a deep, deep breath before plunging under the water.
The battle noises around her faded into blurs, and she could see
the enemies of the Avialies. Tisha and his ten guards in the
clearing. They had to be taken out.

The pent-up power released from her hands, flowing
from her palms in an invisible wave of energy. The bodies around
her didn’t fly through the air this time; they simply dropped where
they stood, their weapons falling, their flesh sinking in, their
bones dissolving into nothing.

Grace collapsed to her knees, drawing in shuddering
breaths. Her ears were ringing, and blackness clouded in at the
edge of her vision. She saw clothes lying on the ground next to
her—a royal guard’s outfit, a sword, shoes. Other than that,
nothing but dust.

The darkness closed in on her and she fell into it,
welcoming the nothingness.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lights, colors, sensations tickled at the edge of her
consciousness. Thoughts and emotions that didn’t seem her own crept
into her mind, calling her back.

Voices called to her from some other world. One voice
in particular rose above the rest. Deep and true, one that filled
her mind with the fragrance of grapes and aphrodisiacs and memories
of stargazing and reading novels. This was the one that brought her
back to the world, the one that convinced her to finally open her
eyes and rejoin the life she’d left behind.

* * *

Grace squinted against the bright light coming from
the window to her right. She lifted her hand, which felt like dead
weight, and covered her eyes. Her eyelids wanted to slip shut
again, but she could smell fresh bread, and her stomach
grumbled.

She moaned, trying to say Dar’s name. There was a
shuffle of blankets and a flurry of motion to her left, then Dar’s
face floated above hers.

“Grace,” he whispered.

She smiled. “Dar.”

His weight pressed into the bed next to her, and he
took her hand. “Oh, Grace, I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“How… long…” She swallowed, trying to wet down her
dry throat.

“It’s okay, I’ll get you something to drink,” Dar
said, touching her forehead. “It’s been three days, and… you were
hardly breathing.”

“I…” She trailed off as she remembered the men in the
clearing. She’d let that power loose on them… she’d killed them
all. Their bodies had turned to dust.

Her stomach twisted, and she closed her eyes again.
“How…”

“Shhhh, it’s okay,” Dar whispered. “I’ll get you some
water.”

He left and a moment later returned with a glass. He
propped her up and helped her drink. She almost choked on it, but
then she guzzled it all down.

“Slow down,” he said. “You don’t want to get yourself
sick.” He took the goblet from her and set it aside.

“Where are we?” she asked breathlessly. She felt as
though she’d been running.

“We’re in Rahuda, at my father’s manor,” Dar
said.

“Is it safe here?” She thought of William’s threat to
revoke the royal edict.

Dar nodded. “For now. Don’t worry, you’ll learn about
what’s happening. You just need to rest.”

“But… Sashe’s okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine. Her baby’s healthy.”

“What about Kaiden and Marisa? Are they still at the
castle?”

“I don’t know about Marisa, but yes, Kaiden is. She’s
spying for us.”

Grace’s head lulled to the side. “I’m tired.”

“I know.” Dar leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“I’m just glad you’re okay, Grace.”

She found his hand and folded her fingers through
his. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“I’m staying right here.”

She fell asleep again with that assurance.

* * *

It’d been years since Sierra had been at Alastor’s
manor. It startled her how much remained the same: the art, the
tapestries, the furniture. Grace was in one of the guest bedrooms
on the second floor. Just down the hallway from where Sierra’s
bedroom had once been. It was too strange. She’d gone into her old
room and seen her old bed, her blankets, the toys she had as a
child.

She knocked lightly on the door, and Dar’s voice
called for her to come in.

Inside the room, which was richly furnished with ivy
green furniture and tapestries of landscapes, Grace sat up in bed,
and Dar was at her side, his hand in hers.

A huge smile broke out onto Sierra’s face.
“Grace!”

Grace’s face was a bit pale, her lips nearly blending
in with the rest of her skin, but she smiled back at Sierra.

“Oh, my goodness, when did you wake up?” Sierra
asked, rushing to the side of the bed.

“A couple hours ago, but I slept again for a little
while.”

Sierra pushed Dar’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“I thought she deserved some rest before everyone
started flooding in,” he replied.

Sierra nodded. Nearly a dozen people wanted to talk
to Grace—her family, the elders, Sashe. She pulled a chair over and
sat down next to Dar. It was selfish of her, but she was glad Grace
had taken some of the attention off of her. Everyone was talking
about the guards Grace had taken out. She was a hero.

“So, tell me everything,” Grace said. “What’s
happened in the last couple days?”

Sierra and Dar glanced at each other. She motioned to
him. “You’re the one who’s good with words.”

Dar exhaled. “Well, after you took out the guards and
Tisha—” Grace shuddered. “—We ran. We met Adrian and Sashe and the
others in town. They’d tried contacting Matilda and Angela, but
everyone was still back in Belisha. Our group came to Renaul to see
what Kilar was up to, but Jeshro didn’t want to jeopardize what we
had with the king by killing him. We thought Belisha was too far,
so we fled here, and Lin told Jeshro and the others at Belisha
where we were going. Jeshro and Sierra met us here.” He paused,
taking a breath. His fingers stroked her hand and his eyes locked
with hers.

Sierra felt like she was watching some intimate
moment between the two. She cleared her throat. “We got here as
fast as we could.”

“Is everyone here?” Grace asked.

“Everyone who was at Belisha, yes,” Sierra said.
“There are still a lot of Avialies in Jolen, though. Vin and Amina
are there.”

“And the prince? How has he responded?” Grace
fidgeted with her dress.

Sierra glanced at Dar, but he was staring at the
blanket now, his face drawn. “He revoked the edict and issued a
warrant for your arrest,” she said.

Grace’s shoulders sagged, and she leaned back.
“Wonderful.”

“Your father has tried to get him to drop it, but he
won’t. But he’s here now, your father. Your whole family is.”

Her face brightened. “They are?”

Sierra nodded. “Your father thought you and your
mother would be safer here with us. He’s not to the point of
fighting for the Avialies or anything, but he won’t give the prince
his support while he’s trying to arrest you. He said you tried to
work with him, but he didn’t give you a chance.”

“No, he didn’t. I even offered to be a liaison
between the Protectors and the Avialies. I thought we’d be able to
find some kind of compromise, but he wouldn’t even consider
it.”

“Really?” Sierra bit her lip. Hadn’t Sashe mentioned
that? So much had happened the last few days, Sierra was losing
track of everything. “We need to tell others about that. At this
point, it almost looks like you just attacked him for no reason,
but we’ve been telling people he was holding you against your will.
If we spread the word that you wanted to be a liaison or find a
compromise, it would help the cause.”

“The cause?”

“There’s a war coming,” Dar said quietly. “We have
the Cosas, the Borens, and large groups of Thierans, Mahris, and
Zinnas.”

Alastor’s land was starting to look like a camp for
an army. Tents were spread over the grass and men and women came to
and from the river for fresh water and bathing. It was mostly Cosas
and Avialies, but small groups of the other magical families were
there, mostly leaders who were waiting for direction.

“If people knew we tried… they have to know that the
Protectors weren’t willing to work with us,” Sierra said. “They
have to realize what we’re fighting.”

“Of course,” Grace replied. “Tell them I was willing
to marry him and be queen as well as the liaison between the
Protectors and the Avialies. I would have worked in the interests
of both sides, protecting the Avialies’ rights and the people of
Haltar. But he refused. He said he was going to revoke the edict
long before I attacked him.”

“You should tell them.”

Grace glanced away. “I’m so tired, though.”

“I know. I’ll tell Jeshro and the other leaders, but
you need to make some kind of speech, Grace.”