Promising Hope (13 page)

“Is there not a way you could allow them home with
regulations?” Mort asked.

“We’ve tried that,” Kilar said shortly.

Sierra looked at Grace again. “Grace.”

Grace met her eyes, her brow furrowed.

“Please come with us.”

Grace bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m sorry,
Sierra. You’ll be fine without me.”

“We’re marked to protect them, Grace. You can’t leave
them behind.”

“Why not?” she snapped. “You would have, had it not
been for Evan.”

That was true, but was it anymore? “There’s going to
be a war, and you’re going to be on the wrong side,” Sierra said.
“What about Dar? Are you going to let them kill him?”

Grace’s eyes widened. “They’re not going to kill him
just for assisting you and Evan,” she said quietly.

“No, they’re going to kill him because he’s an
Avialie.” She wanted to add, ‘And because it could break you.’ But
she knew Grace was supposed to be in love with William. If William
was her only protection against Tisha and Kilar, then Sierra wasn’t
going to turn him against her. Sierra glanced at General Daniel,
wondering how far he’d go to keep her safe. That’s what fathers
were supposed to do for their children, right?

“That’s an extreme claim,” Kilar said.

“Personally, I like the idea of an Avialie working as
a slave in the palace until he dies,” Tisha added.

“I’d hoped this meeting would have ended
differently,” Nilee said quietly. “But I knew it wouldn’t.”

Sierra’s heart skipped a beat. That was what they’d
arranged for her to say if Angela contacted her and said it was
time to leave because something had gone wrong. They’d kept Nilee
out of the meeting as much as they could, hoping the Protectors
wouldn’t notice if her face went blank when she was contacted by
the Zinna.

“I think it’s time to leave,” Jeshro said. As he
stood, his chair scraped along the stone ground. The other elders
followed suit, and Sierra last. Jeshro folded his hands in front of
him and turned to the king and queen. “Your Majesties.”

Sierra bowed with the others, first to the king and
queen, then to the prince. She kept glancing at Nilee, and she
wondered if the others noticed.

Jeshro didn’t wait to be excused; Nilee would only
say that if she felt like they couldn’t stay there any longer. Just
as Jeshro reached for the door, someone on the opposite side flung
it open. “Your Majesty!” the man yelled, storming past Jeshro.
“Avialies have surrounded the palace, and their prisoners are
trying to escape!”

* * *

Chapter Nine

Tisha jumped to his feet, baring his teeth at Jeshro.
“I should have known!”

Grace’s eyes widened as everyone in the room snapped
to attention. The queen and the men on her side of the table stood,
and Grace got to her feet, as well, thinking of Dar. Was he trying
to escape? Would he leave her behind?

“Don’t let them leave!” William called to the man by
the door.

Jeshro and Lisbeth were already in the corridor, and
Nilee and Mort were rushing after them. Sierra drew her sword just
as the man at the door tried to stop her. Their swords met mid-air.
Tisha and Kilar moved forward to join.

“Sierra, go!” Grace yelled.

Sierra turned as they ran towards her. Mort came back
to help her, engaging in battle with Tisha and Kilar.

“William, please, you don’t know if she was
involved!” Grace said, grabbing his arm.

“Grace, don’t be daft,” he said. “Go to your
room.”

She stared at him as he pushed past her. He avoided
the fight and went into the corridor. She hesitated, watching the
fight between Sierra, Mort, and the other men. She couldn’t
help—she was unarmed and hadn’t fought since Mumbar Jungle.

The queen took her arm. “What is going on?”

“I don’t know!”

“Are you with them or aren’t you?” Her fingernails
dug into Grace’s elbow.

Grace opened her mouth, then closed it, at a loss for
what the true answer was. She wrenched her arm from the queen and
pushed past Sierra and the others to follow William.

“Lady Grace!” Queen Kate shouted. “How dare you walk
away from me!”

Grace caught up with William in the corridor. He
called back to her to go to her room, but she ignored him. She
rushed down the steps, and as they grew closer to the doors that
led to the gardens in the back, yells and sounds of battle reached
her ears.

William turned back before he ran outside and grabbed
Grace’s arm. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

At first, she felt touched he cared about her. The
feeling fled, though, and she wanted to help the others escape.
Maybe she’d even go with them. A sharp pain shot through her head,
and she gasped as she touched her forehead. “No,” she said, though
she wasn’t sure to what.

“Go back, Grace,” he said urgently.

The door flung open and hit William in the back. He
spun around, drawing his sword, and faced one of the palace
guards.

“Your Highness, they’re getting away!”

William took one glance at Grace, then fled
outside.

The palace guard grabbed Grace’s shoulder. “Where’s
Sierra?”

Grace stared at him. “What?”

His face changed to show Evan, and Grace gasped.
“She’s upstairs with Mort.”

Evan took off down the corridor.

“Turn right when you reach the top of the steps!”
Grace called after him. He waved back at her, and she went outside.
She had to dodge out of the way of William fighting with Caleb. Her
eyes quickly took in the scene: palace guards fighting with
Avialies all around the gardens. The Avialies went in and out of
different forms. She sought out Dar and saw him on the other side
of the garden, helping Amina onto a horse behind Vin. The two of
them took off, and Grace ran to Dar.

She grabbed his arm, and he spun towards her,
startled, his sword raised. He froze when he saw her. Blood covered
his face from a broken nose, and her heart ached. What had gotten
into her these last two weeks? She hadn’t even asked about him. She
wanted to ask if he was going to leave her, but it seemed so
ridiculous when she’d essentially left him.

“What are you doing here?” Dar asked, his eyes
wide.

“I…” she trailed off. “I came to see you before you
left.” It was such a stupid thing to say while the others fought
furiously around them, and her face flushed.

“Who told you I was leaving?” he asked
breathlessly.

“I thought you were trying to escape with Vin and
Amina.”

“I’m not leaving unless you come with me.”

Her mouth fell open, and she took a step closer to
him. She wanted to grab his hand and pull him away. She wanted to
run away with him, help the Avialies, forget all about the
Protectors, all about the prince.
William
. Her head suddenly
felt dizzy, and she swayed. Dar caught her arm, keeping her steady,
and she closed her eyes, trying to will the pain in her head to
leave.

“Don’t touch her!” William’s voice pierced her
ears.

Grace’s eyes flashed open. William stood next to
them, his sword pointed at Dar’s neck. She felt a rush of pleasure
that he was defending her, but then she realized with horror that
he could kill Dar in an instant. She pushed his sword away and
stood between the two of them. “Stop it!” she said.

“Grace, move aside,” William said, staring at
Dar.

“No! Just stop it. Dar’s leaving.”

“I’m not leaving,” Dar said through clenched
teeth.

“You have to!” she yelled, looking over her shoulder.
She tried to plead with him silently.

He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you here with
Tisha and Kilar.”

William moved closer, his sword going to Dar’s neck
again, even with Grace standing there. Her heart skipped a beat,
and her head pounded in pain.

“You’re the one who ruined her life!” the prince
spat.

“William, please,” Grace gasped. “Just leave him
alone.”

He glared at her. “I should have known you would
never be able to leave him behind.”

“That’s not it.” She shook her head. “Please, just
stop it. He didn’t do anything—”

“You mean besides help royal prisoners escape?
Besides killing one of your father’s soldiers?”

Grace saw Sierra, Mort, and Evan, disguised as the
palace guard, run out into the garden. Mort’s tunic was covered in
blood, and he leaned on Sierra for support. Evan raised his sword
and ran towards William.

“William, watch out!” Grace yelled.

He spun around, his sword raised, and narrowly
avoided Evan’s blow. She stepped forward, but Dar took hold of her
arm. Evan could have killed him! She turned back to Dar, her eyes
wide. “Dar, Evan’s going to kill him—” she began.

“No, he won’t,” Dar said.

Seeing him, feeling his hand on her, sent a torrent
of emotions through her. She swallowed, studying his face. She
glanced back at William, and she was torn again. She wanted to
stay, but she wanted to go. She loved William, but she loved
Dar.

Someone suddenly touched her shoulder, and she
jumped. Matilda shoved a flask into her hand. She was pale, and
sweat shone on her forehead. “Drink this.”

Grace looked at the flask in her hand, full of dark
blue liquid. “What is it?”

“It’ll help with your headaches,” Matilda said.

Grace’s brow furrowed. “How did you know—”

“No!”

It was her father’s voice, and he barreled towards
them. Matilda grabbed the flask and disappeared into thin air.
Father looked around for her, swinging his sword into the air.

“Father!” Grace yelled. “You could kill her!”

Father grabbed her arm. “Get inside, Grace.” He
started to pull her to the castle.

“Father!” Grace tried to pry her arm away from him,
but he held on with a painful grip.

“I’ll take her,” Dar said.

Father let out a bark of laugh. “We’re supposed to
trust you now?”

“I just want to…” Grace trailed off. Why had she come
out here at all? To see Dar? He said he wouldn’t leave without her,
but she couldn’t leave now that her father was here. She looked
back at Dar. She felt so helpless, and she didn’t understand how
she’d gotten here. She’d left home to help the Avialies. She’d
risked everything to break the curse, even left Dar behind when he
was bleeding to death. Why was she back in the palace? How could
she love William?

Father sheathed his sword and picked her up around
the waist.

“Let me down!” she screamed, pounding at his arm.

“Grace, it’s okay,” Dar said, following them to the
castle. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

She fought back tears and kicked at her father. He
was a pillar of stone, unmoving, unaffected. He carried her inside,
and Dar followed them.

“Leave us alone!” Father shouted at Dar as they
walked through the corridor.

“Don’t leave me,” Grace said, and a sob escaped her
lips.

Dar shook his head, his eyes locked with hers.
“Please put her down,” he said to Father. “She can walk on her
own.” He looked back at Grace. “You’ll do what he says, right?
You’ll listen to him?”

She bit the inside of her lip, and he nodded his
head, urging her to agree. She finally said, “Fine, I’ll
listen.”

Father hesitated, then gently put her down and took
hold of her shoulders. “I’m doing this to keep you safe,
Grace.”

She stared at the ground, blinking back tears. She
was helpless. Useless.

“Come on, we’re going to your room,” Father said,
taking her elbow and leading her to the stairs. They walked in
silence, Dar’s footsteps behind them. She glanced over her shoulder
occasionally at him. He could have ran with Vin and Amina. After
how she’d deserted him, he could have deserted her, too. But he’d
stayed. He’d stayed for her.

They reached Grace’s room, and Father walked her
inside, then shut the door and locked her in. “Hey!” she yelled.
She pounded on the door and jiggled the doorknob to no use. They
could kill Dar, for all she knew. “Dar! Dar! Father! Let me out,
please!”

She finally broke down into sobs, crying as she’d
wanted to ever since her father picked her up like she was a child.
Maybe she was just a stupid, foolish child.

* * *

Sierra struggled with Mort, but she finally got him
to a horse and helped him up. Crouching in his saddle, he rode
through the battle towards safety.

She wiped his blood off of her hands onto her dress
and picked up her sword. She saw General Daniel carrying Grace away
and started to follow, but Dar stopped her. “I’ll watch after her,”
he said. “Get out of here.”

“Dar—”

“Go, Sierra, we’ll be fine,” Dar said before turning
away. Grace kicked frantically against her father, pounding on his
arms like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Sierra licked her lips, hesitating, then she listened
to him. Matilda was somewhere, fighting the Cosa enchantments for
them, but Sierra had the feeling that if they didn’t get out now,
they would be taken hostage. Tortured. Killed. Made an example
of.

“Evan, we need to go!” Sierra yelled. He was fighting
William, and the two were relentless. “Evan!” He could not kill the
prince. They had enough problems already. She clenched her teeth,
glancing around the flurry of battle. Her eye caught Evan’s horse,
and she ran to him. She mounted him and kicked him towards Evan and
William.

The two of them sprang apart to avoid getting
trampled.

Sierra held her hand out. “Evan, let’s go!”

William moved to go around her, and she took out her
sword, pointing the tip at his neck.

“Evan, get on the horse!” Sierra yelled.

He glared at her.

“We have more important things to do!”

He grabbed her outstretched hand and mounted behind
her. She sheathed her sword and nudged her horse forward. William
moved to strike at the horse, but Evan kicked him in the face.
Sierra fought back the urge to yell at him. He didn’t kill him, and
he did save their horse a fatal injury. The horse picked up pace,
and she urged him towards the spot Evan and the others had snuck in
through. They sped through the hole in the gate, the other Avialies
behind them, and they galloped towards freedom.