Promising Hope (31 page)

“No costumes today?” Grace asked, raising her
eyebrows.

Sashe tied her horse to a spare stall. Horses jostled
against each other and made annoyed sounds. Grace’s horse barely
fit.

“Why are there so many horses here?” Grace asked as
she looked over their saddles. Some of them were weighed down by
blankets and packs.

“Evan, Adrian, and a bunch of other Avialies are
here,” Sashe said.

Grace turned to her with wide eyes. “What? How did
they get past the Protectors?”

“Magic,” Sashe said with a smirk. “They have Wendy,
the castle’s Cosa.”

“Oh, my goodness, Tisha wasn’t lying.”

“He told you?”

“No, he told my father and asked for help to find
her.” Grace rubbed her forehead. “But I thought it might have been
a trick to get us to talk openly.”

“No, she’s in there.” Sashe motioned to the house.
“Evan contacted me last night with a Zinna while you were with the
prince. I snooped around a little bit and found out she was going
to leave at midnight and I let him know.”

“Oh, my goodness,” Grace repeated. “What are they
here for?”

“To kill Gregorio,” Sashe said.

Grace put a hand over her mouth. “What’s the
plan?”

“They’re going in as us.”

“What?” Grace looked at the small house. “They can’t
do that. They’ll put Dar in danger, my family—”

“They’re not going to expose us,” Sashe said
quickly.

A look of hope came onto Grace’s face, and she even
smiled. “They’re going to help us escape?”

“I don’t know. Come on, let’s go inside, and we can
talk about it all.” She took a deep breath before tugging on
Grace’s arm and pulling her towards the house.

Sashe knocked a certain rhythm the Zinna had taught
her last night. She held back a yawn as she waited for someone to
come to the door. She’d been up late communicating with them,
working out details of the plan.

The door opened, and the Zinna who helped her speak
with Sierra and contacted her last night stood across the
threshold. He was a short, stout man with thick black hair, slanted
eyes, and a squashed nose. He went by Lin, but Sashe wasn’t sure if
it was his real name.

“Come in,” he said.

She and Grace walked in. The cottage was small, and
the front room was crowded with eight men, two of whom were Evan
and Adrian. They all stood when the women entered. Most of them
stared at Grace, their lips parted in awe.

Evan put his hands on his hips, smiling at Grace and
Sashe. “Everyone, this is Lady Sashe,” Evan said. He looked so
different from when Sashe had last seen him when he and Sierra left
the castle. He stood tall, his frame lean yet muscular, his face
full of color. “And this is Lady Grace. She broke the curse with
Sierra.”

One of the men put his hand on his heart; another
bowed his head; another bowed completely. Grace’s cheeks turned
pink. “It’s good to see you, Evan,” she said.

“It really is,” Sashe said, smiling. “I didn’t have
the chance to explain everything to Grace.”

“I’m worried about Dar,” Grace said. “They could kill
him if they find out I’m helping. Can you get him out of the
castle?”

Adrian and Evan exchanged glances. Adrian’s lips were
pursed, and he gave Evan a shake of his head. Evan’s jaw tightened,
and he glared at Adrian.

Adrian sighed and looked at the women. “Grace, our
first priority is to kill Gregorio.”

She crossed her arms. “And how do you plan to do
that?”

“We’re going to go in as you two. Whoever goes in as
Sashe will act like she has some stomach pains, and we’ll find
Gregorio. We’ll get him alone, kill him, and escape out the back
while the others smuggle you two back in.”

“You’re just going to leave us there?”

A few of the men started talking at once: Evan and
three others.

Adrian held his hands up to silence them. “Our
mission is to kill Gregorio.”

“And after you do, you should help us escape!” Grace
said.

“She’s right, Adrian,” Evan said. A few other spoke
their agreement.

“Who’s in charge here?” Adrian yelled. The others
fell silent, and he looked at Grace. “If you and Dar escape, how is
Sashe supposed to look innocent?”

Grace looked at Sashe.

Sashe folded her hands in front of her tightly, and
she forced herself to keep eye contact with Grace. “I want to stay
at the castle.”

Grace’s gaze flickered down to her stomach. “Just
because we escape isn’t going to make you guilty.”

“I know.” Sashe turned to Adrian. “I can convince
them you killed him in front of me.”

“They’re not going to believe you,” Adrian said.

“I haven’t caused any trouble for them. King Thomas
trusts me and he’ll protect me from Tisha and Kilar.” Sashe
motioned to Grace. “You should help them escape.”

“The last rescue attempt killed one of my closest
friends,” Adrian said. “If you stayed in the castle, you and Dar
could help us bring down the Protectors from the inside. Dar and
Sashe both helped us last night, and they’re both invaluable. If
you could tell us the prince’s plans—”

Grace shook her head. “You have no idea what you’re
asking.”

“What, that you sit tight with the prince for a
little while and work behind his back?” Adrian scoffed. “You’ll be
fine.”

Grace gaped at him incredulously. “You know
nothing.”

Adrian bristled, uncrossing his arms. “How dare
you—”

“Adrian,” Sashe said, “it’s her choice.” She knew
what Grace might face if she was in the castle any longer.

Adrian groaned. “Will you at least agree to letting
us impersonate you? We can study your actions and make a decision
about the rescue before we leave.”

“I want an answer now,” Grace replied.

He shook his head. “You would actually let Gregorio
live so that you two could escape?”

“I don’t think your plan will work. First of all,
he’ll know you’re not me. Gregorio felt something in my presence.
He said…” She cringed. “That I smelled like rotten Avialies. He’s
evil, and I want you to kill him, but I don’t know if you can
convince him you’re me.”

Adrian’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I could feel him, and he must have sensed
my presence as well.” Her hands fidgeted at her sides as the men
stared at her. “Plus, can’t he inflict pain with a snap of his
finger? You won’t be able to get close enough to hurt him.”

“Once we have him alone, we’ll change into nonhuman
form,” Adrian said. “It will be harder for him to stop us if we
aren’t… alive.”

Sashe glanced at Adrian and Evan; they had some of
the purest blood in the room, and she knew they could change into
things such as fire, smoke, even air. They were certainly the two
men who could do it.

“Dar’s going to help us find him,” Evan added.

Grace frowned and shook her head. “Do you really
think he’ll let you get him alone? If he knows you’re not me and
Sashe, he could kill you instantly. One of us should go with you,
then he’ll be more willing to talk to us.”

“I won’t do it,” Sashe said, shaking her head. “I’m
not getting anywhere near him.”

Grace touched her arm softly. “I’ll go.”

Adrian let out an aggravated noise. “Listen, Lady
Grace, you broke the curse and we’re all grateful. You don’t have
anything else to prove.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything,” Grace snapped.
“If you think Gregorio will let two shape changers get him alone so
they can, I don’t know, change into lions or something—”

“No, we’ll need to be something completely
different,” Evan said, his eyes bright. Sashe recognized the
passionate look. “Like fire.”

“Well, if he’s not alone, you can’t kill anyone else
in the castle—”

“Why not?” Adrian asked.

“You said the priority was killing
Gregorio
.”
Grace’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “If you kill the
prince or Tisha and Kilar, you will have even more problems on your
hands, and we’re trying to get the king to let the Avialies come
back home.”

“He will probably forgive Gregorio’s death, but not
one of his advisors,” Sashe said.

“So, you think if you were with us, it would be
easier to get him alone?” Evan asked.

Grace nodded. “I know it. He’s…” She shuddered. “He
finds me intriguing.”

Evan and Adrian shared looks again, communicating
silently. Although Evan was younger by at least ten years, Sashe
could see he held nearly as much power as Adrian did.

“Fine,” Adrian said. “Lady Grace will come with us to
attack Gregorio.”

“And will you help us escape?” Grace’s gaze was
steady on his face.

He studied her. “As I said, my first priority is to
kill Gregorio… are you sure you won’t stay in the castle and act as
a spy?”

She paused for a moment, glancing at Sashe, then
jutted her chin out. “I’m sure.”

“Then if we kill Gregorio, we’ll do our best to get
you and Dar out of the castle,” Adrian said.

“Thank you,” Grace said quietly.

Sashe fiddled with her hair as she sat down. They
were going to kill someone. She was going to be instrumental in
taking someone’s life. Part of her wanted it, especially for
someone like Gregorio, but part of her also resisted it.

Adrian inclined his head, then looked at the others.
“Let’s decide on the details.”

* * *

It was early afternoon when they returned to the
castle. Grace’s horse walked in stride with Adrian, who was in the
form of Sashe’s horse. In the saddle, Evan was very convincing as
Sashe. He had spent nearly an hour back at the Zinna’s house
imitating her. His back was straight and his eyes swept over the
courtyard as Adrian and Grace’s horse brought them closer to the
stables.

She held her breath as they grew closer. It would be
horrible if they suddenly changed into his natural form, if Wendy
had lied. Nothing happened, though, as they dismounted and walked
to the front doors.

They idled there for a few minutes until a gray
squirrel rushed towards them from the stables. Adrian. They heard a
cry of surprise from the stable boy, but they were already walking
into the castle, the squirrel trailing behind them. Grace suggested
he changed into a bracelet or something, but apparently shifting
into an inanimate object would take much of his energy and he
wanted to conserve it for the attack on Gregorio.

Evan took in the expansive entrance hall, his
eyebrows rising. He seemed to catch himself and looked at Grace.
“I’m not feeling very well.”

Grace touched his arm. “What’s wrong?”

He brought a hand to his slightly swollen abdomen.
His face grimaced in pain. “I’m not sure… I keep getting these
random pains.”

“Do you want to go visit Gregorio?”

He hesitated. He really was convincing. Wendy had
been the only Cosa in the castle, so no one was here to see them.
Yet they didn’t want to take any precautions, just in case Kilar
had already replaced Wendy. Against Tisha’s wishes. When they
questioned Wendy, she said Tisha was trying to completely purge the
castle of magical folk, even those that were keeping them safe.
Adrian didn’t like her rhetoric, how she seemed to think the shape
changers were dangerous. Grace didn’t agree with her, of course,
but she hoped Adrian didn’t hurt her when this was finished. But if
he didn’t, what would become of her? What would they do with
her?

“Sure,” Evan finally said with a nod. He looped his
arm around hers and motioned towards the east wing. Gregorio was
staying with the royals. Had Sashe seen him often?

As they came towards the stairs, a voice quietly
called to them from the corridor. Grace looked over her shoulder to
see Dar jogging towards them. He nodded at both of them, then
nearly stumbled when he saw the squirrel at their feet. “What—” he
cut himself off, looking at Evan and Grace. He shook his head, then
jerked his hand up the steps. Evan nodded back, and they silently
went up the steps.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Grace asked Dar with a
soft smile.

“Jon gave me a break,” Dar said, glancing at her. Did
he know it was her? Or did he think another shape changer had
joined Adrian and Evan?

“A break?” she repeated. “You get on everyone’s good
side, don’t you?”

Evan smirked. “Not everyone’s.”

They reached the top of the steps and walked down the
corridor. Grace’s spine tingled as she remembered dashing through
these halls last night, back to the safety of her own room. What if
William found her right now, walking with Dar?

Dar fiddled with the iron manacle on his wrist. “I
wish I could… you know.” He motioned to the two of them.

“I know,” Grace said. “Maybe if we’re lucky, Adrian
and his men will come rescue us.”

Dar scoffed. “They’re probably a bit preoccupied with
other things.”

“Oh? Like what?” Evan asked. “Hunting down
Thierans?”

Grace pinched his arm, shooting him a look. He
grinned, and the maliciousness didn’t suit Sashe’s face.

Dar led them down a right turn, then to the second
door on the right. “I’m pretty sure he’s in here,” he said quietly.
“I think he’s alone, but if not, you’ll take care of anyone else,
right?”

Grace bit the inside of her lip. They couldn’t take
any other lives, not when the Avialies’ fate was so precarious. She
narrowed her eyes at Evan, who just waved a hand at her like he was
shooing away a fly.

The squirrel at their feet changed into a bracelet.
Evan changed, as well. Grace crouched down to pick them both up and
slid them onto her wrist. She straightened to Dar’s gaze on her.
His brow furrowed… in confusion?

He took a step closer. “Are you…”

“It’s me,” she whispered.

His eyes widened. “What?” He looked at the door, at
her wrist, then frantically shook his head. “No, you can’t go in
there by yourself.”