Promising Light (26 page)

Grace didn’t respond. Lesado
thanked Father, then went into the castle.

“Lady Grace,” William said. She
looked at him, pursing her lips. “I’m sorry we didn’t see each
other under better circumstances.”

“So am I,” Grace said. “Can I give
you something to pass along to Lady Sashe? It’s a thank you note
for lunch the other day.” She went through her bag and pulled out
the letter she’d prepared before she left. On her way, she hadn’t
been sure if she’d send it, but she knew now.

* * *

Grace told her parents she’d take
her horse to the castle. Although Mother objected at first, saying
it made her look like a poor person, Father told her to go. “She’s
a grown woman,” he said, glaring at Grace.

“Thank you, Father,” Grace said
and left the room. He was still angry about last night. He said
she’d embarrassed him in front of the other men. In not so many
words, he asked why she wasn’t quiet and subservient like her
mother.

She got together a small bag, not
sure when she’d return. She had traveling clothes, even pants. Her
book on magic legends, a small dagger, a skin of water, and a
bundle of food from the kitchen. She hid her sword underneath the
riding blanket on her horse and set off for the castle.

The lunch was in honor of the
Privell family, who were visiting from the Southern country of
Kleisade. William introduced her to the dark-skinned king and queen
and their daughter Mary. Their accents were thick so Grace almost
couldn’t understand them.

The prince soon steered her away,
and they spoke to Grace’s friends Danielle and Sarah. Since Grace
had returned, she’d had little time to spend with her friends.
She’d seen Jocelyn more than the others and yearned to tell her
about the shape changers and the Protectors. It seemed like
Danielle and Sarah weren’t sure how to react, whether to ask about
the kidnapping or not. Grace wished she didn’t have to sit through
mindless conversation. She wanted the lunch to be over, even though
she had no idea what lay ahead of her.

It passed slowly. She tried to keep
up with the conversation, but her mind kept wandering.

“Lady Grace?”

Grace looked up; the prince was
looking at her expectantly. They sat at the dining table, the meal
finished.

“Did you hear me?” he
asked.

Grace blushed and said, “I’m sorry,
your Highness. What did you say?”

William let out an exasperated
noise and repeated his question about Lady Rebekah, wondering if
Grace had seen her since she’d fallen ill. Grace carried on the
conversation, but William now seemed annoyed with her.

About a half hour passed, and Grace
finally got up the courage to ask herself to be excused. “I’m
meeting with some friends in a little while,” she told the prince
as she got to her feet.

“Oh, I thought you’d be staying
for the games this afternoon,” William said, standing.

“I wish I could.” Truth be told,
she’d forgotten all about the games. A tournament between a few
different knights for the chance at courtship with Lady Nicole.
Grace wasn’t sure whether to view it as completely outdated or
slightly romantic.

“I’ll escort you to the gates,”
William said.

She waited while he said goodbye to
a few others, then walked with Grace to the corridor. “Who are you
going to meet?” he asked.

“Lady Jocelyn,” was the first
thing that came out of Grace’s mouth.

“Isn’t she out of
country?”

Grace shrugged. “She sent me a
letter this morning.”

“Funny, I bid her family farewell
this morning.” William stopped in his tracks and looked at Grace
with a serious look. “Where are you going?”

“With all due respect, your
Highness, I’d rather not say.” Grace smiled, trying to make it seem
natural. “It’s nothing serious, though.”

William narrowed his eyes. “Ladies
Danielle and Sarah are here, Rebekah’s ill, Jocelyn’s out of town.
Do you have any other friends?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. Lady
Phoresa, Lady Nicole—”

“Both are going to be at the
games.”

“I wasn’t saying I was going to
meet with them, just that they were also my friends,” Grace said.
She started walking again, and William trailed behind
her.

“Why can’t you tell me where
you’re going?” he asked.

Grace let out a laugh. “Why is it
so important to you?”

“As my lady in courtship, I’m
concerned,” William said. “You are, in a way, representing
me.”

Grace raised her eyebrows and
looked at him coolly. “Don’t you trust me?”

He didn’t respond at first. “Do I
have a reason to?” he asked as they approached the front
doors.

She stopped in front of the doors
and turned to William. “Do you have a reason not to?”

“Last night, maybe?”

“Last night wasn’t
right—”

He took a step closer. “You should
be careful, Grace. You’re going to start looking like an Avialie
sympathizer.”

“Is that against the law?” Grace
asked quietly.

“Of course not,” William said, his
voice softening. “But if we’re going to be together, then it’s not
a good idea for you to act like that. I don’t want you associating
with them.”

Grace said nothing for a moment,
forcing her anger down. She was tired of everyone telling her what
to do while completely disregarding her own wishes. She could break
it off with him just as easily as she started it. They’d been
courting for little more than a week, and half of those days she
was with shape changing gypsies. She finally said, “Thank you for
your advice. May I go now?”

William stepped forward again until
she could feel his breath on her forehead. He touched her jaw
lightly, and the soft gesture surprised her. “I’m worried about
you, that’s all.”

“There’s no need to
be.”

He took her hand and walked her to
the stables. She went to her horse, feeling along the blanket to
make sure her sword was still there. William motioned to the stable
boy. “Please escort Lady Grace to her appointment.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Grace
said, turning toward the prince quickly.

“I insist,” he said.

Grace looked at the stable boy,
who’d surely report back to William about Sierra and Evan’s
presence at the festival grounds and her departure with them.
“Please, your Highness,” she said.

“Evan and Sierra Avialie left
twenty minutes ago,” William said, lowering his voice. “I don’t
trust them. The stable boy will be sure you get to your destination
safely.”

Grace hesitated. Did he mention
Evan and Sierra because he knew about their agreement to meet? She
met his eyes, trying to discern if this was genuine concern or
manipulative control. She decided it was the latter. I’ll be fine
by myself.”

“He’ll escort you,” William said
firmly. “Unless, perhaps, you’d like to stay for the
games?”

Grace gritted her teeth, seeing she
had no choice. She didn’t respond at first, but had to say, “Of
course. I’d love to go to the games.”

* * *

Chapter
Fifteen

William led Grace back inside, but
instead of going back upstairs, he took her to a staircase that
went down to the lower level.

“Where are we going?” she asked,
hesitating at the top of the steps.

“I need to check something,” he
said, motioning for her to follow him.

She glanced over her
shoulder.

“Grace, come on.”

She swallowed before trailing
behind him. They descended into darkness and at the bottom of the
staircase, she stopped again. They were in the corridor from last
night, and that suffocating feeling was back. The air smelled
rotten, like old meat. “William?”

He turned toward her. “Lesado knew
you’d try to meet with them.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “I told him
you wouldn’t, but he knew…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about.” Grace started to back away, but William grabbed her
arm.

“Then why did you lie?”

“Why did you have to know where I
was going?” Grace tried to pull her arm from his grasp. He grabbed
her other arm, and she glared at him, clenching her teeth
together.

“I told them you wouldn’t side
with the Avialies.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “I told them
you were smarter than that, but you’re still defending them. You’re
still pining after Dar—”

“I am not! I couldn’t care less
about him—”

“And yet you look so stupid every
time you see him,” he said evenly. He pulled her to a door on the
left. “Perhaps you’d like to see him right now.”

Grace’s eyes widened as he pushed
her inside of the room. Lesado and another man stood in the
circular room. Next to a wooden chair, Dar stood talking with the
Protectors, and he looked at them in surprise. Grace shivered at
the cold air, despite the fire in the hearth. A table stood on one
side that looked like it might be used for surgery, a stand with
strange instruments next to it.

“You were right,” William said
after he closed the door behind him. “She was going to see Sierra
and Evan.”

“I didn’t tell you where I was
going or who I was seeing,” Grace said.

“Then why didn’t you want my man
to escort you?”

Grace glanced at the Protectors.
“What’s going on?”

“After the visit to your manor
last night and your little episode, we brought Dar here to confirm
his position on the prophecy,” Lesado said. “We don’t want him to
cause any trouble as you did last night.”

She wanted to scream in
frustration. He left after the man in the tavern warned her; he
rescued her from the Avialies; he made that deal to get Sierra and
Evan. He didn’t want anything to do with her.

“Hasn’t he made it abundantly
clear? Why do you still have doubts?” she asked. “He doesn’t
believe the prophecy.”

“What about you?” William
asked.

She looked at him steadily. “I
don’t, either.”

“I can’t tell if you’re lying or
telling the truth or something in between.” He shook his head, his
upper lip curling in disgust. “I can never tell with
you.”

Grace could hardly tell, either,
with the prince or herself. Right now, she did know one thing: she
wanted to get out of there and meet Sierra and Evan because she
wanted to help the Avialies. She didn’t know how, or if, the
prophecy factored into it. “Why did you bring me down
here?”

“I want you to tell me the truth,”
William said.

“I’m not even going anymore; what
does it matter?” Grace felt Dar’s gaze on her, but she refused to
look at him.

“Lesado, do we have any truth
potion?”

Her eyes widened.

Lesado glanced at the other man,
then at Dar, then back at William. “Wouldn’t you rather she tell
you of her own will?” he asked.

William gave her a sideways glance.
“Of course, but she’s stubborn.”

“Gareth.” Lesado nodded to the
other man. The two of them suddenly grabbed Dar by the arms and
forced him into the chair. It happened so quickly he hardly had
time to react; they soon locked his wrists and ankles down with
manacles.

“Have you gone mad?” Dar
yelled.

Lesado punched Dar across the face,
the back of his head hitting the chair. Grace gasped. “What are you
doing?” she asked, her voice rising.

Lesado hit Dar in the stomach, and
he bent over, out of breath.

“Stop it!” she yelled.

“Tell us where you were going,”
Lesado said, kicking Dar in the kneecap. Dar hissed in pain as he
recoiled away from the Protector.

Grace turned to William and grabbed
his arm. “Stop him, please!”

William looked conflicted for a
moment, staring as Lesado kicked Dar in the other kneecap and Dar
yelled at him to stop. The prince turned to Grace. “If you tell me
where you were going.”

When she turned back, Dar’s nose
was bleeding, his eyes glaring at Lesado.

“Stop it!” Grace yelled. She
stepped forward, ready to run between them, but William grabbed her
arm. She tried to push him off of her, but his grip wouldn’t
loosen. She looked at Lesado. She should have put her dagger on
herself, not in her bag. “Leave him alone!”

Lesado took out a dagger of his own
and brought it to Dar’s ear.

“Lesado,” Dar said, his eyes
widening.

“Don’t,” Grace pleaded.

He brought the dagger down onto the
cartilage, and fresh blood streamed out of the cut. Dar closed his
eyes and let out a strangled yell. His voice made Grace burst out,
“Fine! I was going to meet Sierra and Evan!”

Lesado smiled and stopped his
dagger. “Where?”

“Lesado, stop this,” Dar said, his
teeth bared. He thrashed against the manacles that held him in the
chair.