Promising Hope (32 page)

“Dar, I—”

“You should be free by this point! Why did you come
back?”

“I came back because this needs to be taken care of,
Dar,” she said, her anger rising.

He shook his head and reached for her wrist.

“Don’t.” She pulled away. “Dar, I can do this—”

The door swung open, making both of them jump.
Gregorio stood in the doorway and smiled at both of them. The smile
didn’t fool her. The darkness around him was still strong. There
was a faint ringing in Grace’s ears, and she tried to calm herself.
Why did his presence have this kind of an effect on her?

“I thought I heard something out here—raised
heartbeats, arguing,” he said. His smile faded as he glanced around
the corridor. “Although I did smell a few unfamiliar shape
changers…”

Grace cleared her throat. “Sir, I wasn’t feeling well
and I wondered if—”

A heat on her wrist made her cry out. A flash of
orange shot across the space between them, leaping toward Gregorio.
He jumped back, but the flame caught on his frilly collar. He tore
about the room, smacking at the flames that fed on his silk shirt.
Both of her bracelets were gone.

Grace stepped through the doorway just as a man stood
from a chair in the corner of Gregorio’s sitting room. Kilar. He
grabbed a pitcher of wine and threw it at Gregorio.

The red liquid did nothing, though. Gregorio screamed
as the flames ate through his shirt, to his skin. A bitter scent of
bunting hair and skin made Grace choke.

“What on—” Kilar began.

Gregorio let out an enraged yell. “Stop!” His hands
lifted, his fingers spread.

Dar grabbed Grace’s arm and pulled her behind him.
She clutched to him, her heart pounding.

“It’s—Mahri?” Kilar said, watching in a daze as
Gregorio hit the ground.

Suddenly Dar let out an ear splitting scream and
crumpled. Grace yelled in alarm and dropped to her knees next to
him. He writhed on the ground as though he too were being burned.
His yells mixed with Gregorio’s as the Thieran shouted, “Stop or he
dies! I’ll kill him!”

The flames stopped in an instant, and both Gregorio
and Dar fell silent.

In the deadly silence, Grace glared at Gregorio,
blinking back angry tears. The Thieran had an angry burn on his
chin, the skin dark red with spots of blood dripping down his neck.
The burn on the side of his face wasn’t as bad, but part of his
hair was burned off.

He stood, and his striking eyes swept the doom
dangerously. Grace reached out and touched Dar, who let out a small
moan as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. If Gregorio
touched him again…

“You fools! To think you could just come in here and
attack me!” Gregorio roared, stalking around the room. “Show
yourselves!”

Grace’s grip tightened on Dar’s shoulders. She had no
idea where Evan or Adrian were now.

Gregorio turned on Grace and Dar. She shook her head
and held a hand up. “No, please, we didn’t know—” she pleaded.

Dar began screaming again. He thrashed against her,
and some primal instinct rose up in her. The tips of her fingers
tingled, and a shock of power ran from her heart down her arms. The
flow of energy shot out of her hands and towards Gregorio like a
powerful wind. The man flew back into one of the couches just as
Dar’s screams stopped.

Grace stared at Gregorio in awe then realized her
arms were extended in front of her with her palms facing him.
Panting, she licked her lips and looked down at her shaking hands.
Had
she
done that?

“What… how…” Kilar said, his voice shaking.

But before he could continue, someone materialized
above Gregorio. He was a blonde, short man; Grace wasn’t sure
whether it was Evan or Adrian. He plunged his sword into Gregorio’s
chest. Grace winced and grabbed Dar in front of her. He turned
towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

She watched as the blonde man took his sword out and
stabbed him again. Another man appeared, too, and his sword lunged
into his stomach. Her stomach turned, and she put a hand over her
mouth. Was she just going to sit here while Evan and Adrian killed
this man? She wasn’t sure what else she could do, horrified as she
was.

Gregorio let out a groan, his fingers pointing up as
his other hand clutched his bloody torso. Both Adrian and Evan let
out strangled yells and dropped their swords. The blonde man
grabbed his chest, his face slowly turning into Evan’s visage.
Veins popped out on his forehead, and the muscles in his neck
strained. The other man’s hands went to his throat, his mouth
opening and closing wordlessly as he changed back into Adrian. His
skin slowly turned purple as he struggled for breath.

Dar shouted something, his words unintelligible, and
he started to charge forward.

“Dar!” she yelled, reaching out for his tunic.

Before he could reach Gregorio, that strange force
went through her again. It hit Gregorio, and his bloody body flew
back until his head hit the wall with a sickening
crack
! The
darkness around him faded. The ringing in Grace’s ears stopped. The
breath left her body, and her heart pounded loudly in her head.

Evan stared at her as Adrian ran to Gregorio.

Adrian crouched next to him and felt his neck. He
looked at her, his eyes wide. In fear? Awe? “He’s dead.”

She swayed and had to put her hands down on the
ground to keep herself from falling over. The designs of the carpet
blurred before her eyes, and she took deep breaths that didn’t
quite seem to fill her lungs. Dar dropped to his knees next to her
and wrapped his arms around her. She was going to be sick.

She swallowed back bile and watched as Adrian stood
and turned on Kilar with his sword raised. It was covered in
Gregorio’s blood.

Kilar put his hands in front of him. His own sword
rested in his scabbard, untouched. He glanced at Gregorio’s still,
bloody body and glared at Adrian. “He was the most powerful Thieran
of our time.”

“He killed hundreds of people,” Adrian spat. “And
you—”

“I’m not your enemy.”

“Excuse me?” Adrian said, sneering.

“Tisha. He wants to banish magic and all who use it.”
Kilar looked at Gregorio again with a sad expression. “Tisha is too
narrow-minded to consider the possibilities.”

“And what are those?” Dar asked. He stood and pulled
Grace to her feet. She didn’t want to stand, but she leaned on him
for strength. “Using us, threatening us, bribing us so we’ll do
whatever you want? So you can gain political power?”

Kilar shook his head. “No. We can work together.”

“You’ve fought against the Avialies for years!” Evan
said.

“Perhaps, but things change. Right now, I want your
magic.”

They all gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”
Adrian asked.

“I’m tired of relying on you fickle people. I want to
use it for myself.”

“It’s not possible,” Dar said, his voice taking on an
edge. “It’s in the blood.”

Kilar motioned to Grace. “What about her? Gregorio
said breaking the curse was just the beginning, and look what she
did!” He pointed at Gregorio’s body. Grace couldn’t bring herself
to look in his direction. She wanted out of this room. Out of this
castle. Far, far away from William and what she’d just done.

Adrian was inching towards him, his sword out,
approaching Kilar’s neck.

Kilar stepped back, reaching for a bell by the door
that led to the bedroom. Grace had a similar one in her room that
called Marisa. “Ah, ah, ah,” Kilar said, pointing at Adrian.
“Don’t. I could have the whole castle here within minutes.”

“It summons a servant, not the whole castle,” Grace
said. Her voice sounded strange to her ears, strangled, like she
was underwater listening to others above the threshold.

“Do you think we’d leave Gregorio in here without
protection?” Kilar asked. He looked at Adrian, then Evan. “I’ll let
you go. But if Evan doesn’t return in two weeks with the ancient
texts, I’ll kill Dar.”

“What?” Grace asked, her grip tightening on Dar’s
arms.

“If I have to wait another week, I’ll kill Sashe.”
Kilar narrowed his eyes at Evan. “Then I’ll find your mother. Then
Dar’s parents. But I’ll save Sierra for last, so she knows you
could have saved them.”

Evan took a step closer, and Kilar grasped the rope
for the bell.

“Don’t test me,” Kilar said.

“What do you want with the ancient texts?” Grace
asked.

Kilar glared at her. “It doesn’t matter to you.” He
turned his gaze back to Evan. “Make copies of them for your family.
Bring the originals to me.” He motioned to Grace. “She will tell me
if they’re real or not.”

She didn’t say she wasn’t planning on staying
here.

Evan shook his head. “I won’t bring them to you.”

Kilar shrugged. “Then all those you love will
die.”

Adrian and Evan both started towards him. Kilar rang
the bell with a loud clang and drew his sword. He raised it just in
time to avoid getting stabbed by Adrian. He pulled something round
from his robes and threw it on the ground. It merely sat there for
a moment as Adrian and Kilar dueled. Just as Evan was about to join
the fray, smoke started to stream out of it.

“Two weeks, Evan,” Kilar said. “I suggest you run
before the guards arrive.”

Dar stepped away from Grace, charging towards them.
Her legs were weak without him, but she steadied herself.

The smoke filled the room, filled Grace’s lungs. She
coughed, struggling to breathe in fresh air. It was a milky color,
more like fog. It obscured her vision, and she couldn’t see
anything around her. She could hear clanging sounds and voices, but
they suddenly stopped.

“Where is he?” Evan yelled.

Her lungs were burning. She fled for the door and
broke out into the corridor. She gasped in fresh air. A few moments
later, Adrian, Evan and Dar stumbled out.

“He disappeared,” Evan said. “Damn Mahri magic!”

“Come on, we have to get out of here,” Dar said. He
had a shallow cut on his bicep. He took Grace’s hand and pulled her
down the corridor. Adrian and Evan ran after them, changing into
the men they’d been beforehand—vague, unfamiliar men.

When they reached the steps, Dar and Grace stopped
suddenly at the sight of the guards running towards the bottom of
the stairs from the first floor. Evan bumped into Grace, and she
stumbled towards the stairs. Dar grabbed her arm and pulled her in
a different way.

“Where are we going?” Evan asked Dar.

“Servant’s tunnels,” Dar said. He stopped at a statue
of King Thomas and slipped into the alcove behind it. He opened a
door that blended in with the wall and ushered the others through.
When he shut the door, they were plunged into darkness. “Follow
me.” He took Grace’s hand again, and she ran blindly in the dark
after him. Their footsteps pounded in the tunnel. Dar began
muttering under his breath. Grace asked what he was saying before
realizing he was speaking to Lin.

Dar suddenly turned, and Grace grabbed Evan’s shirt
to make sure he was following.

“Steps,” Dar said. “Be careful.”

Grace nearly rolled her ankle on the last one. At the
bottom of the staircase, Dar opened a door. Light shed on them, and
they stepped into a laundry room. Women washing laundry in the
humid room murmured in surprise.

“Sorry, ladies,” Dar said, rushing past them to
another door. They broke into the corridor. They were on the bottom
level now, where Vin and Dar had been tortured so long ago.

“Evan, Adrian, go ahead of us,” Dar said. “Lin and
the other men are waiting where you escaped last time.”

They ran past an open door. Someone called after Dar.
“Hey! What’s going on? Dar! Where are you going?”

“Just ignore him,” Dar said, picking up speed.
Grace’s throat was burning, and her legs were growing tired and her
mind was still reeling about what she’d done to Gregorio. But for
the chance at escape… to never have to see William again, to not
have to worry about pleasing him to keep Dar safe… just the thought
gave her another burst of energy.

Evan flung a door open, and they burst outside. After
a few feet of running, they entered the royal gardens. This was
where they had fought when they tried to rescue them last
time—where her father had dragged her back inside and Dar had
stayed with her.

Adrian and Evan charged forward towards the hedges
separating the royal castle from the gates of the castle. Suddenly,
guards burst out of the hedges and rose bushes, to surround them.
Evan and Adrian drew their swords, fighting them off, but Dar was
unarmed. Grace reached for a sheathed dagger she had on her leg.
Before she could reach it, though, someone grabbed Grace from
behind. She let out a shriek.

Dar spun around. “Don’t touch her!” he yelled. He
charged for the guard, but another came up behind Dar.

The guard drew his sword, baring his teeth.

“Dar, watch out!” she called.

Dar turned, but not in time to avoid the blow to the
back of the head with the hilt of the guard’s sword. Dar crumpled,
groaning as he held his head.

“Dar!” She fought the guard behind her furiously, but
he forced her onto her knees.

More yells erupted in the air as Adrian’s men rushed
in to help them. Their horses charged into the fray. One of them
trampled a guard. An Avialie man named Edrin swung his sword from
above, cutting down guards left and right.

The guard behind Grace began dragging her away.

“No!” she yelled, kicking against him.

He hoisted his arms under her armpits and dragged
her. She grabbed at his hair and yanked as hard as she could. He
let out a cry and hit her across the face. Her ears rang, and the
world tilted with the pain. It reminded her of last night when
William hit her, and then she wondered if Gregorio felt any pain
when he hit his head, and her stomach heaved.