Promising Hope (33 page)

“Lady Grace!” someone yelled.

The guard dropped her. She looked up, dazed. Edrin
was fighting the guard. He’d been on her side earlier today, had
told Adrian they should rescue her and Dar. “Go!” Edrin yelled at
her. “Get out of here!”

She got to her feet, stumbling. Guards and Avialies
fought, blood staining the grass, swords clanging in the air. Where
was Dar? She saw him wrestling with a guard on the grass. The guard
pinned him down, raising a dagger. He brought his arm up and swung
it down.

“No!” she screamed, putting her hand out. Time slowed
as she watched the dagger fall through the air towards Dar’s
throat, as she saw Dar’s face grimace in preparation for the
blow.

Again, that force flowed through her body as she knew
she had to protect Dar. The guard was flung back and he flew
through the air into one of the rose bushes. Dar jumped to his
feet, staring at the guard in shock. He looked at Grace in
amazement and took a step towards her.

Someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her
back. He shoved her to the ground, and she fell down next to Edrin,
who was holding a bloody wound in his chest. “Oh, no, Edrin,” she
breathed, reaching out for him.

The guard grabbed her again and began dragging her.
Another guard helped him, picking up her feet. She kicked at him
frantically. No, no, she was so close. So close to freedom. She had
to get out of here.

Through her struggles, she saw Evan and Dar fighting
more guards, saw Adrian clutching his arm. One of her legs finally
broke free and she kicked the guard in between the legs. He yelled
out, dropping her legs, and the guard behind her nearly dropped her
arms. She freed one of her arms as her hip hit the ground hard. Her
struggles were pathetic as they grabbed her again. Where was that
surge of powerful wind when she needed it, not Dar or Evan or
Adrian?

They were only feet from the doors now, and she
started yelling. “No! Put me down! Dar!”

She saw Evan hoisting a still Dar onto a horse. Evan
spun around and met Grace’s eyes. The breath left her body. Was Dar
unconscious or dead? She should have protected him again, shouldn’t
have been so concerned about herself—oh, goodness, he couldn’t be
dead, he
couldn’t
be.

Evan’s mouth moved, and his hands moved frantically
between himself and Dar as he shook his head. Grace couldn’t hear
him through the sounds of battle, but somehow she knew he was
trying to tell her Dar was alive.

Dar could escape. He could be free.

Evan stepped forward, but she shook her head at him.
“Go!” she yelled.

He ignored her. He fought with a guard, back and
forth. The guard’s sword got his arm, and Evan bared his teeth as
blood stained his shirt.

Grace lost sight of them as the guards dragged her to
the doors. Closer, closer, closer to captivity. More guards flooded
from the gates. More Avialies fell, joining Edrin on the ground.
She tried to recall that power she had before, but the chaos, the
struggle—she couldn’t summon it, even as another Avialie was
stabbed in the stomach over and over again.

They were inches from the door now. Grace met Evan’s
eyes across the battle. “Go!” she yelled again.

“Kill Kilar!” he shouted to her. He mounted his
horse, holding onto Dar’s back. “Men, retreat! Retreat!”

Sashe emerged from the battle, her hair disheveled,
dirt on her face. She ran to Grace, yelling her name. Once she
reached her, Sashe threw her arms around her. The guards pulled
Grace into castle. The doors slammed, locking her in once
again.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

Sounds and scents slowly came back to him. The back
of his head pounded, but something else was pounding, too. A horse.
He was on a horse. Draped over on his stomach like a sack of
potatoes.

Dar groaned as he tried to touch his head without
falling.

“Dar?”

Evan’s voice. His hand on his back.

The horse stopped, and Dar had to hold on so as not
to fall off. He slid off the horse once the creature had stopped
completely. His legs were wobbly. He glanced around. They were on a
road in the middle of wide fields, the blue sky stretching above
them. Men ahead of them rode on as Evan handed Dar the reins to
another horse, one without a rider.

“Where’s Grace?” Dar asked.

“She’s up ahead,” Evan said as he mounted his horse
again. “Come on, castle guards may not be far behind.”

Dar mounted and set off after Evan. The horse was a
little nervous, but he slowly got used to Dar and galloped next to
Evan. The wind whistled through Dar’s ears, rushing through his
hair. Someone had knocked him out from behind during the
battle.

But before that… before that, they’d killed Gregorio.
Grace had… she’d stopped Gregorio when he was torturing Dar. And
again, when Gregorio had been trying to kill Evan and Adrian, she’d
stopped him. The guard who’d tried to kill Dar, he’d flown into the
bushes. Grace had kept him away from Dar.

But how? How could she have done all of that? He
thought of what Kilar said, how Gregorio thought she had more
magic. She must have more protective magic to help them.

They were free. They were finally free.

But as they got closer to the other men, Dar didn’t
see her. He saw no long blonde hair. He saw no women at all. He
realized if she had been there, she would have been right next to
Evan’s horse, making sure he was all right.

He stopped his horse abruptly. “Evan!” he
shouted.

Evan looked over his shoulder. He stilled his horse
and spun him around to face Dar. “Dar, I had to—you can’t go back
there!”

“She’s still at the castle?” His voice hitched in
panic.

“I tried to save her,” Evan said. “But we were losing
men and she was too close to the castle doors and—”

“You bastard.” He clutched his reins, his fingernails
digging into his palms.

“She told me to leave her!”

Dar turned his horse around. Evan urged his forward,
blocking his way. Dar’s horse tittered, nervously backing up.

“Don’t do this,” Evan said. “If you go back, she’s
just going to be under their control again.”

“She still is! He could threaten to kill her parents,
kill Sashe—”

“Dar, we have to regroup. We can meet up with Jeshro
and Sierra and plan, but Adrian and Hendrick are wounded—”

“I don’t care about them!” Dar tried to work his
horse past Evan, but Evan knew his horse better. He responded
quicker than Dar’s, who was still confused about its new rider.

“Just stay with us.” Evan’s eyes pleaded with him.
“Grace is strong and she’s smart and Sashe will look after her.
She’s safer if you’re not there.”

Dar clenched his teeth, gazing past Evan. He had no
idea how far they were from the castle. They seemed to be south of
it judging by the mountains. He knew Evan was right, knew she was
safer if William couldn’t hold Dar over her. But the thought of
William alone with her made him sick. What if he tried to rape her
again? What if she didn’t have protection like she had last night?
And how would they respond to Gregorio’s death?

“I can’t leave her,” Dar said, his voice weak.

“We’ll go back for her,” Evan replied. “I
promise.”

Dar looked past Evan at the horizon. He clutched his
reins and closed his eyes. He’d hardly helped over the last few
days; what was he planning on doing if he did go back? After taking
a deep breath, he nodded and turned his horse around. “Fine.” He
set off without another word.

* * *

Gregorio was dead. Dar had escaped. Grace’s heart was
still racing as she and Sashe went to the meeting room where they’d
been summoned right after Adrian and Evan’s men had retreated.
Tisha and Kilar sat at one end of the table, muttering quietly to
one another. They stopped when the two women walked in. Kilar’s
gaze found her, and she knew he could ruin her within moments, with
just a few words to the king about what she’d done. Tisha looked at
them with disdain before continuing his conversation with
Kilar.

Grace had to sit down. Her legs felt like they were
going to collapse underneath her. She sat, Sashe next to her.

The door flung open, and William strode in. “What
happened?” he asked, his voice raised, his eyes on Tisha and
Kilar.

“We’re still trying to work that out,” Tisha
replied.

“How did they get in here?” William yelled. “How did
they kill the most powerful Thieran in the country?”

“He didn’t put up much of a fight,” Kilar said.

Grace stared at him.

“What?” William snapped.

“He could have snapped his fingers—” Kilar did so.
“—And Evan and Adrian would have been dead in seconds, but he
dueled him like he was a common man.”

“We don’t know it was Evan and Adrian,” Grace said
quietly. Why was he saying these things? He could expose her. He
could tell them exactly what she’d done, how she’d stopped
Gregorio, how his head had cracked against the wall because of the
power that had left her own fingertips. She clutched her hands in
her lap.

William glared at her. “You were there. You helped
them.”

“I didn’t know it was—I thought it was Sashe, then I
thought she was giving me a bracelet, I had no idea it was Adrian—”
The argument sounded so weak. Of course they wouldn’t believe
her.

“Rubbish,” Tisha muttered.

William put his hands on the table, leaning towards
her. “And you had no idea that Dar would escape.”

She held eye contact with him. “No, I didn’t.”

Before he could respond, King Thomas swept into the
room. A small man came behind him, his arms overflowing with
parchment.

“More violence!” the king yelled. His voice boomed,
and Tisha and Kilar fell silent. William straightened and turned to
his father, crossing his arms. “More of my men killed! And my
Sashe, used as a pawn!”

“A pawn?” Tisha scoffed. “She helped them!”

“And why shouldn’t she, Tisha?” The king turned on
him. “You have provoked their anger again and again. They’re merely
defending themselves!”

Tisha’s jaw tightened, and he stood. “Your Majesty,
I’ve told you how dangerous they are—”

“Yes, that’s all you seem to talk about, and yet
we’ve only seen a few crimes. Hardly enough to persecute all
Avialies.”

“But your Majesty—” Tisha began, panic entering his
voice.

“This is over. I’m going to tell them they can come
home. I won’t allow them into Renaul or Wharfedale yet since it
will only cause more violence, but Belisha, Shyra… let them come
home.”

Grace’s lips parted in shock. He… he was fighting for
them? Tears stung her eyes, and she looked down at her lap. This
was exactly what the Avialies needed.

Sashe put her hand over her mouth, staring at King
Thomas in awe. Grace reached over and squeezed her free hand.

“Father, that isn’t a good idea,” William said.

“I am king!” King Thomas yelled. “When you take the
throne, you may make these decisions.”

William fell silent, his jaw twitching as he glared
at his father.

King Thomas looked at Tisha and Kilar. “And if my
advisors will have a problem with this, I can let them go.”

Kilar shook his head. “I think it’s a wise
decision.”

Tisha rolled his eyes. “Of course you would.” He
spread his hands. “Your Majesty, I beseech you. These men and women
are volatile—”

“I’ve made my decision.” He sat down at the table.
The man had been arranging the scrolls. The king cleared his
throat, crossing his hands on the table. “The punishments for the
crimes are as follows. Adrian Avialie is wanted for the murder of
Gregorio Thieran. Evan Avialie is wanted for murder of Gregorio
Thieran, Jared Cosa, and the four guards of Rahuda. Sierra Avialie
is wanted for assisting in the murders of the guards. They are to
be arrested and tried as any other Haltarian citizen.”

“What about Niculai?” Tisha asked.

“You held Evan Avialie in custody for two years
without a royal edict,” King Thomas coldly. “Would you like me to
charge you with kidnapping?”

Tisha’s jaw tightened. “No, your Majesty.”

“Any other men who can be identified from the attack
today are also wanted for assisting in Gregorio’s murder,” the king
continued as though nothing had happened. “For Dar Silva, twenty
lashes and six more months of imprisonment for assisting in the
murder.” He paused. “And for helping royal prisoners escape, twenty
more lashes.”

Grace’s mouth went dry. Forty lashes and six months
for helping his family? Even if he could return to Shyra, he would
have to answer to his supposed crimes. But they had taken
Gregorio’s life.
She
had taken it. Was it murder, though?
Her mind wasn’t sure how to reconcile justice and laws during this
war.

William uncrossed his arms. “Father, Dar kidnapped
Lady Grace—”

“No, he didn’t. But Adrian and Lisbeth did. They will
be arrested and tried for kidnapping a lady of the court. Adrian’s
men will also be arrested and tried for kidnapping a lady of the
court, Lady Sashe.”

“There is reason to believe Evan and Dar killed Arlan
and the soldier Leck,” William said.

“I am absolving all crimes that happened during the
battles in Nyad and Mumbar Jungle,” the king said.

William and Tisha began speaking at once, both of
them indignant.

“What of Chad the Boren? Or the old man they called
George? Shall I charge you both for their murders? Senseless
violence to chase after a storybook.” The king shook his head and
rubbed his forehead. “I let this go on for too long. I stood by it
in the beginning, but ever since Lady Grace’s kidnapping… it is too
much.”

“So, you are picking and choosing which crimes to
punish,” Tisha said. “I will remind you, your Majesty, that we had
royal permission to do anything to stop the Avialies from finding
the ancient texts. The Avialies had no such lenience, and they
killed dozens of our people and broke hundreds of laws.”