Promising Hope (35 page)

“Those were mistakes,” he said quietly.

She fell silent, staring at him. She bit the inside
of her lip. Why was he apologizing? She couldn’t deal with his mood
changes.

He slowly looked up at her. “I was hurt and I acted
out.”

She made a face and stood up, throwing her napkin
down. How long had he practiced this speech in front of the mirror?
She picked up her glass and moved to the table that had wines and
other alcohols on it. She poured herself some wine, hoping that
there was another sense-dulling potion in it, that she could block
out his lies and whatever was going to follow afterwards.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me anytime soon.”

“Good. Because only a couple hours ago, you
threatened to kill my mother.”

“I never said that. I merely said she wasn’t very
valuable.”

She closed her eyes. He was always so careful with
his words, careful not to say anything too damning. Yet if she
left, what would happen to her mother, who was clueless about this
war, clueless about what kind of danger surrounded their family
now?

“She’s not like you or your father,” he said quietly.
“Everyone in this war wants you, Grace.”

She took a long drink, the warm liquid running down
her throat. She turned back to the table and sat down.

“I overreacted and I…” he trailed off. “I won’t hurt
you again.”

She didn’t believe that a bit, but she said nothing
in response. She tightened the grip on her fork and looked down at
her food.

They ate in silence for a while longer. Again,
William was the first one to speak. “I remember when you told me
you wanted to write a book.”

She nodded. “I did. I suppose I still do, but I
haven’t thought about it lately.”

“You should write a book about the curse, about the
Avialies, about all this,” William replied.

Grace chuckled. “It’s a good story.”

“Magic, war, violence, romance.” He put his napkin
down. “That reminds me of a book I wanted to lend you.” He stood up
and walked over to the bookcase by the piano. He pulled a small but
thick leather book out and brought it to Grace. He stood next to
her, bent down so their faces were close. “My mother used to read
it to me when I was a child. It’s about pirates who attack a
magical family without knowing it and bring a curse on themselves.
It’s very entertaining, and I think you’d like it.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking at the first few
pages.

He smiled and sat down again. She studied him. Either
there was something seriously mentally wrong with him or he was
acting nice to lull her into a false sense of security.

He talked to her about books, and she indulged him in
light conversation as they finished their meal. Afterwards, he
ordered dessert from the kitchens, and they ate berries and cream
as Grace tried to teach him how to play a complex song on the
piano. It seemed as though they were in Governor Peter’s house
again, before she was every kidnapped, before she knew about the
Avialies.

When the dessert was gone, William was playing the
song wonderfully. “This is because of you,” he said, smiling at
her.

She forced a smile back at him.

He finished the song on a melodious note and let out
a sigh. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Would he let her go
back to her room? She didn’t want to stay here anther minute.

William cleared his throat. “Today, when I thought I
was going to lose you… I realized how important you were to
me.”

She stared at him for a moment, then glanced away,
swallowing.

He touched her knee. “I don’t ever want to lose
you.”

She kept her gaze on his hand, on his clean
fingernails, on his royal ring. He didn’t want to lose her to
anyone else, no. She should say something in response. “William,
I…”

He raised his hand and stood up. “I had a wonderful
evening. Maybe we could walk around the gardens.”

“I’m rather tired from all the wonderful food,” Grace
said, making a show of patting her belly.

“Me, too. Maybe tomorrow evening, then.” He motioned
to the door. “I’ll walk you back to your room.”

She tried to keep the surprise and relief off of her
face as she stood and smoothed down her dress. She took his arm,
and he walked her through the corridors, commenting occasionally on
a tapestry or statue they passed. When they reached her room, he
cleared his throat. “Did you help with Gregorio’s death today?”

Her shoulders tensed. “I’m surprised we got through a
whole two hours without talking about it once.”

He stepped closer to her. “Did you help them?”

“I already told you no. I thought it was Sashe. We
were only separated for a little while in town…”

He studied her face. “I don’t believe you,” he said
finally. “You’re still with them, still helping them, still hoping
for a future with them.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is there anything I could do to
make you believe otherwise?”

“Marry me,” he said evenly.

Her mouth fell ajar, and she took a step back. “Are
you…”

“Oh, but you don’t actually want to convince me,” he
said, smirking. “You’re perfectly fine being their ‘Protector.’”
The word rolled of his tongue like a jeer. “No matter what my
father does, you won’t be able to protect them from certain things.
From certain people.” He touched the side of her face softly, his
finger brushing over the bruise from his hit last night. “I wish
you were smarter than to give your life to them.”

“Yes, I remember what you said last night, that you
want me to be a completely different person.”

He looked pained for a moment, frowning. “I didn’t
mean that.”

“You want me to be who I was before the Avialies.”
No, even that Grace may not have been good enough for him. “Who you
thought I was before the Avialies.”

“I want you to be safe.”

“And you think I’m safe here? With you?” She pointed
at her face, at the bruise he gave her. “And what about my family,
they’re not safe—”

“You’re all safer when you’re here and not out there
with Avialies.”

“Only because if I were with the Avialies, I would be
fighting against you and your father’s advisors.” She shook her
head. “You really can’t see how pointless this is.”

“And you really can’t see how dangerous they are.
It’s more than just physical, Grace, they get in your head. They
already have. The magical folk, their ways of life… it’s
poisonous.”

She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. “I’m
tired and I’d like to go to sleep.”

He took a step closer, and she forced herself not to
step back like earlier. She met his eyes. He touched her chin and
tilted her head back. “Well, I’d like to spend the night with you,
but of course we can’t all have what we want, can we?”

Shivers ran down Grace’s spine. She tried to laugh.
“Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you’d been all
night.”

“I’m still struggling with my feelings for you,” he
said, a finger running along the line of her jaw. He dropped his
hand to his side. “I try to have a civil night, but you keep
testing me and… I have so much affection for you, but so much…”

“Disgust? That’s what you said earlier.”

He sighed. “I just want us to move past our
difference of opinions about the Avialies.”

We can’t
, she wanted to say.
We can’t and
we never will
. “It’s more than a difference of opinions,” she
said. “It’s a difference of action, too. You support killing them
and taking their rights away… I can’t move past that. Not to
mention how you want to kill my mother.”

“I never said that,” William said, his voice
hardening. They stood there in silence for a moment, staring at
each other. “I have to change your mind. I have to give you a
reason to stay.” He leaned forward. She forced herself to remain
still as he kissed her softly on the lips. “I promise you I’ll find
one.”

She had nothing to say in response that wouldn’t
anger him. As she went into her room and closed and locked the
door, she fantasized about saying, “By the time you think of
something, I will be far from this palace” or, “You’ll have better
luck finding an Avialie who can talk to cats.”

Or, “I will never stay here willingly, you arrogant
prick, because I belong with the man who helped kill the man who
would have wiped out all the Avialies. That’s the kind of man I
belong with, not a moody, possessive, spoiled prince who has temper
tantrums that nearly kill me!” She particularly loved the
expression William’s face got in her mind.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

Evan didn’t see her at first. He was bent down by his
horse, examining his hooves. Sierra smiled at the sight of him as
she pulled her horse to a stop. Adrian stood from his spot by the
fire of their camp and called a greeting to Jeshro.

Evan looked up then and his gaze fell on Sierra. He
grinned at her, standing up. She dismounted, and he reached her
before she hardly had time to step towards him. He grabbed her in
his arms, picked her up, and spun her around.

She laughed as he set her down and she hugged him
normally. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“Of course I am.” He pulled away and touched her
face. “Wow, it’s good to see you.”

Jeshro and Adrian were speaking a few feet away as
Matilda and Angela fed the horses. Sierra was so glad when Adrian
contacted them last night to tell them the attack on Gregorio was
successful and they needed to meet and talk. Sierra studied Evan’s
face, gripping his arms. “Are you all right? Was there any trouble
last night? What about Grace and Dar? Did you see Sashe? Is she
okay?”

Evan chuckled. “She’s good. She’s has a little
bump.”

Sierra would love to see her. She remembered when the
two of them had bumps together, before the miscarriages. “And
everything else?”

“Dar’s here,” Evan said.

Her eyes widened. “He is? What about Grace?”

He let out a small exhale of breath. “We tried, but
we were losing and she was too close to the castle doors. We had to
go.”

She frowned, thinking of Grace back in the castle
with no one but Sashe. Dar came out of a nearby tent and went
straight to the fire pit with a stormy look on his face. He ignored
everyone else as he plopped down on the log. She stepped away from
Evan and went to Dar.

He looked up when she got close and his face
brightened. He stood to hug her, and he squeezed her tightly before
stepping back. “It’s good to see you,” he said, his smile already
faded.

Sierra smiled. He looked a bit thinner, and dark
circles rested under his eyes. He had cuts on his wrist. “What
happened there?” she asked.

“We had to get that Mahri manacle off,” Evan said,
joining them.

Dar shot a scowl at him and sat down again.

Sierra looked at Evan with a questioning look, but
Evan brushed it off. “Later,” he said shortly.

Sierra took in the campsite. Tents were scattered
about the clearing around the campfire. There were about five men
watching Jeshro and Adrian speak. Adrian said they’d lost four men
at the battle when escaping the castle. As she took Evan’s hand,
she wondered what he and Adrian wanted to do next. Pursue Tisha and
Kilar? Help them find more allies?

Jeshro paused in his conversation with Adrian, his
face going blank. After a few moments, he looked around at them
with wide eyes and an expression of awe. “That was Lisbeth. There
was a royal edict that went out this morning that said the Avialies
could return to all the states in Haltar with the exception of
Wharfedale. It said that anyone who committed a crime against us on
the basis of our magic would be tried and convicted as any other
criminal.”

“What?” Sierra breathed. She squeezed Evan’s hand.
“What did you guys do?”

“We killed Gregorio, that’s it,” Evan said, his brow
furrowed.

Jeshro raised his hands, silencing the muttering of
the men and Matilda and Angela. “There’s more. Dar was sentenced to
six months of imprisonment for helping in Gregorio’s murder and
for—”

“They’re calling it murder?” Adrian said, his voice
raised.

Jeshro nodded, licking his lips. “Yes, and anyone who
can be identified will also face charges of assisting. They did
identify Evan and Adrian… you’re both wanted for the murder of
Gregorio, and Evan, you’re charged with killing three guards and
Jared Cosa.”

“
What
?” Sierra repeated. “But… they arrested
us unjustly in Rahuda!”

“Sierra, you’re also wanted for assisting in the
murder of the guards.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. Evan let go of her hand
and stepped forward. “No. There is no way they are convicting her
for the guards. They had no right to arrest us in Rahuda—”

“I know, Evan,” Jared said, raising his hands.

“And Gregorio!” Evan scoffed.

“That wasn’t murder, it was justice,” Adrian
said.

“Before we decide on how to proceed in response to
the edicts, I’d like to hear about yesterday,” Jared said. “I want
to know why Grace isn’t with you.”

Adrian and Evan glanced at each other, Evan
nodding.

“Yes, well, before that…” Adrian trailed off,
glancing over his shoulder and motioning to one of the men. Sierra
was fairly sure his name was Galvin. He turned back to one of the
tents and dragged out a middle-aged woman. The woman had her hands
tied behind her back, and a cloth tied over her mouth. Her light
red hair was messy, her face slightly dirty. Her bright blue eyes
swept over them and she muttered something through her cloth,
struggling against Galvin.

“Who is this?” Sierra asked.

“This is Wendy, the Cosa who took Jared’s place at
the palace,” Adrian said.

The woman paused when she saw Angela, and her nose
wrinkled in disgust.