Promising Light (20 page)

“We don’t know who’s up there,”
Evan said, collapsing on one of the steps. He probably hadn’t had
this much activity in months.

Sierra took the bloody dagger from
his hands. “I’ll go first.”

“No,” Evan said, taking her
wrist.

“Evan, you’re not strong
enough.”

“I fought off Han.” Evan’s face
looked pale.

Sierra worried about who they’d
find up there. “Maybe we should wait until dark.”

“How will we be able to
tell?”

She knew at the top of the
staircase was the stall with horse hay. “I’ll go up and see if
there’s a window.”

“Please be careful,” he said,
letting go of her wrist.

She crept upstairs, knowing someone
could be in the stall. She held the dagger out, but the stall had
only horse hay and a few saddles. She went to the window; it was
probably late afternoon. The problem with waiting until it was dark
would be Niculai and Han’s disappearance. Someone might come
looking for them. But at the same time, if they walked out in broad
daylight… she searched the stall for some kind of weapon, but she
found nothing. Swearing, she went back to the stairs, where Evan
was half-lying down.

“Just a couple hours until dark,”
she said. “But we should hide among the hay in case people come
looking for Niculai and Han. If they do, we can slip out while
they’re searching downstairs.”

Evan nodded, and the two of them
found a spot between the wall of the stall and some bales of hay.
She lay with her back to his front. He wrapped his arms around her,
burying his face in her hair. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I hoped
they wouldn’t find you.”

“I’m glad they did. Or I never
would have known you were alive.”

She wasn’t sure how much time
passed, maybe an hour, when the door opened. Evan squeezed her as
the early evening light came into the stall. A shuffling gait, the
door closed, and then Sierra recognized the feet of the woman who’d
given them food. Evan got to his feet. She reached for his tunic,
but he was already going to the woman.

“Kayla,” he whispered.

She started and dropped the tray.
Her hands went over her heart, and she started praying in Goslian.
Sierra got up, whispering, “Evan, what are you doing?”

“Kayla, you have to help me,” Evan
said. “Please, I know you’re a Zinna. I need you to contact my
cousin Dar for help. We have to escape or they’re going to kill us.
Dar, he’s an Avialie from Shyra, do you understand?”

Kayla stared at him with wide eyes,
glancing from the steps to Evan to Sierra and back.

“Evan, we have to get out of
here,” Sierra said as she pulled at his tunic.

“Please,” Evan said, grabbing
Kayla’s hand. “We may not get far. Please contact him.”

He turned, and they ran out of the
stall. They only made it to the gate before the Protectors caught
up with them.

* * *

“Dar, did you hear me?”

Dar looked up from his dinner. His
mother’s eyes were on him. “Did you hear me?” she asked
again.

Dar shook his head, letting out a
sigh. He was still getting used to life back at home in Shyra,
including his mother’s persistent conversation.

“When’s the next time you’re going
to visit Lady Grace?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I’ll have to send her
a letter and see when is the best time for her. Probably not for a
couple weeks, though, since the Protectors will be watching
her.”

Mother nodded. She looked to Dar’s
father, who was doing his work at the table. “Have you spoken
with—”

A floating spirit appeared midair
above the table. A transparent plump woman gazed at Dar
imploringly. “Your cousin Evan and his wife are in danger,” she
said, the words nearly unintelligible with her thick accent.
“They’re at the manor of Protector Tisha Slonan. Evan has been
alive for two years, and now they’re both being tortured for the
location of the ancient texts.” She looked over her shoulder to
something unseen. “Come quickly!”

The spirit evaporated, and Dar
leapt to his feet. “Dar, what are you doing?” Mother
asked.

“I just got a message from a
Zinna,” Dar explained since Zinna messages were only conveyed to
the receiver. “They said Evan was alive, and Sierra was with him,
and they were both being tortured for information.”

He left the dining room. It took
his parents a moment to catch up with him. “What are you talking
about?” Father demanded.

“They said he was alive and at the
Tisha Slonan’s manor,” Dar said.

“Dar, it’s probably a
trap.”

“The prince probably turned her
in,” Dar said, half to himself, half to his parents.

“Dar, Evan’s dead,” Mom said,
catching his arm as they went up the steps.

Dar pulled away and continued
jogging to his room. “Then why didn’t we find his body?” he asked.
His heart was pounding. No matter what they said, he was going to
that manor and finding out who sent the message and why.

“There were many people who saw
him die,” Father said. “He either died in the fire or the
Protectors or the Thierans stole his body and used it for their
evils.”

Dar put together a quick bag with a
change of clothes and a bag of gold. He armed himself with various
weapons and walked to the steps as his parents tried to talk him
out of going. If it were a trap, then he’d be ready. But if it
weren’t…

Once they reached the staircase,
Father grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “You’re not going,
Dar.” A step above him, he towered over Dar. Even if they were on
even ground, he was taller and broader and had always been an
intimidating man.

Dar tried to free his arm, but his
father’s grip turned painful. “What about Sierra? We owe it to
her.”

Father let go of Dar, pushing him
slightly, and Dar nearly stumbled down a step. “Don’t you
dare—”

“What? Act like we should have
done more? Act like we made a mistake? God forbid.”

He spun around and walked to the
stables. His mother followed quickly, his father slower. He reached
the stables and began readying his long distance horse. A stableboy
rushed forward to help.

“Dar, please, this has to be a
trap,” Mother said.

Father stood in the doorway, his
arms crossed. “If he wants to risk his life, we should let him.
It’s his choice.”

Mother glared at him.
“Alastor!”

“Just like it was Sierra and
Sashe’s choice to get pregnant. We didn’t force them to do
anything,” Father said, his voice rising.

Dar spun on his father. “Lisbeth
lied to them!”

“You act like we lied with her!”
Father yelled.

Dar huffed. “Send a message to
Sashe about this.” He turned and went to his horse. Once mounted,
he left his parents behind and rode hard.

He stopped only once to get a small
bite to eat and relieve himself. He rode all night and half of the
next day before he made it to the Protector Tisha Slonan’s manor
near Renaul. When he approached the gate, it took them nearly half
an hour to open it and let him in. He tried to encourage himself,
saying if it were a trap, they wouldn’t have waited so long. They
hadn’t expected him.

A servant took his horse, and Dar
went to the front doors of the manor. A servant let him into the
sitting room and told him to wait. Dar paced around, his hand on
his sword hilt. Could Evan really be alive? They’d all assumed he’d
died in the fire. A perfect cover-up.

The door opened, and two Protectors
walked in. Dar knew both of them, Tisha Slonan and Kilar Abbes.
They were the men who controlled the rest of them. Dar’s family
used to refer to the pair of them and Niculai Harst as the
Protector Triad.

“Dar,” Tisha said, motioning to
the couch. His black hair was combed back, and he wore clothes fit
for a prince. “Have a seat.”

“No, thank you,” Dar
said.

“Well, how about a drink?” Tisha
picked up the wine bottle by the fireplace and poured it out into
three wine flutes.

“No, thank you.” Dar knew of the
Mahris they paid off to work for them and their work with
alchemy.

Kilar was short for a man of such
power. “The Zinna woman contacted you, didn’t she?” He let out a
sigh. “Should have guessed when she disappeared last
night.”

“Another reason we shouldn’t trust
them even as lowly workers,” Tisha said. Kilar pursed his lips and
glared at him.

“Where are Evan and Sierra?” Dar
asked, raising his voice.

Kilar and Tisha glanced at each
other. Tisha sat down in one of the armchairs and crossed his legs.
“What do you know about tigers, Dar?”

“Tigers?” Dar repeated, glancing
from one to the other. “Nothing. Where are Evan and
Sierra?”

“Jeshro told them the tigers knew
where the ancient texts were,” Tisha said.

Dar gritted his teeth. “Did you
find that out by torturing them?”

“If your family is going to insist
on following this silly prophecy, then we have to find the ancient
texts and destroy them once and for all.”

“Or use them to our advantage,”
Kilar said, crossing his arms.

Tisha looked like he was about to
respond, but Dar cut in. “The prophecy is nothing,” he said
sharply. “If they talked another girl into it, all they’d be doing
is ensuring more pain and suffering for them.”

Tisha chuckled. “You’re wiser than
most of your relatives.” He sipped his wine. “You’re not going to
be pursuing Lady Grace, are you?”

“Of course not,” Dar said. “The
prince is courting her. Even if she weren’t, she has no place with
me.”

“It didn’t stop you last
time.”

Dar narrowed his eyes, wondering
just how many people knew about their relationship. He hoped it
never reached her father, for Grace’s sake as well as his own. “The
past is the past. Can we talk about the present? Like where Evan
and Sierra are? My parents know they’re here, and if you decide to
keep them, there’s going to be trouble.”

Kilar bristled at the threat, but
Tisha merely looked amused.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Tisha
said, a sarcastic lilt to his voice. “Honestly, you act as though
we’re heartless for the sake of being heartless. Evan and Sierra
killed one of our men.”

Dar stared at him. “What?
Who?”

“Niculai,” Tisha said.

Dar tried to hide his shock. He
swallowed. This might be harder than he thought.

“They killed Han, too,” Kilar
added, uncrossing his arms and walking closer to Dar.

Tisha waved his hand. “They’ve been
punished. We’re willing to give them to you,” He got to his feet.
“Under one condition.”

Dar raised his eyebrows.
“Yes?”

Tisha met his eyes. “You never see
Lady Grace again.”

Dar set his jaw, trying to imagine
a world where he never saw Grace. He’d resolved to move to Shyra
and break off communication, but he thought of royal affairs,
travels to Renaul. He’d actually held onto these hopes, these
chance encounters where he might see her across from the room. He
cleared his throat. “Does this include every party and event she
might be at?”

Tisha and Kilar exchanged glances
again. “We understand you may see her occasionally,” Kilar said.
“If you’re to become Governor, and she’s to become queen.” He must
have seen Dar’s surprise and he chuckled. “There’s nothing official
yet, but the prince is quite fond of her. I can’t imagine
why.”

“The deal is you do not seek her
out,” Tisha said. “You don’t contact her, you don’t willingly see
her. If you think you may see her at an event, you must contact us
first.”

Dar shifted his weight from one
foot to the other, looking over both of the Protectors. “You speak
as if you think she may be the one Lisbeth prophesied
about.”

Tisha glared at him. “We are
speaking for Lady Grace’s behalf. For her protection and for her
father’s and the prince’s wishes. And you should warn your family
that if they try to touch her again, we will kill whoever we need
to.”

Dar made a small nod. “I will agree
to this once I see that Evan and Sierra are alive, and if I can
take both of them out of your manor.”

“Yes, of course you may. Follow
us.”

The Slonan manor had tapestries of
various Slonans through the centuries hung along the walls of the
corridors. Tisha led him down to the basement, Kilar behind Dar.
Dar kept his hand on his sword hilt, ready for a fight.

The basement had none of the
tapestries or candles along the walls, just cold stone and blank
wooden doors. As they walked down the corridor, Dar felt the
presence of another Avialie. Tisha opened a door on the right and
walked in, motioning for Dar to follow him.

Two figures were tied to the chairs
in the middle of the room. Sierra’s eyes widened when she saw him.
One side of her face was bruised. Evan didn’t see him right away,
his head slumped toward the chest. Dar held his breath as he walked
toward Evan, swallowing. “Evan?” he said softly.