Promising Hope (45 page)

Tears stung her eyes at this offer, and they poured
down her cheeks. Thomas was really, truly gone, as was her security
with him. “Thank you,” she choked out. “And I’m so sorry for your
loss.”

“I’m sorry for yours,” Kate whispered, a few tears
trickling down her regal face.

Sashe let out a sob and covered her mouth,
embarrassed. “Excuse me, Your Majesty.” She rushed to her room,
Ronu trailing behind her, as always. Usually two other men watched
her at night. Why not tonight? If they had switched patrol, would
they have protected her against William’s anger?

Once Ronu closed the door, she broke down into sobs.
She hadn’t cried since he was first assigned to her a week ago,
when Gregorio’s death and the reality of her pregnancy had weighed
down on her until it broke her. But he must think of her as weak
and vulnerable and a crying mess. Her sobs racked her body, and
thoughts of what he thought fled. She would let herself cry for now
because when the morning came, she would have to be strong. When
the morning came, there would be no time, no chance for
weakness.

* * *

The creak of a door played into Grace’s dreams,
becoming part of her and Dar’s reunion. But once it clicked shut,
Grace awoke, and she realized someone was in her room. Hadn’t
Marisa locked it when she left?

Grace sat up, pulling the blankets up to cover her
chest. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me.” William’s voice was gravely and quiet in
the darkness. Her curtains were drawn and not a lantern was on.

Grace tightened her grip on the blankets. What was he
doing here? It felt like the middle of the night. Was he finally
going to get what he wanted from her?

His footsteps brought him closer to the bed. Her eyes
didn’t adjust to the suffocating blanket of darkness.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, forcing her
voice to be strong.

“My father…” William’s weight pressed down on the
mattress. “He’s dead.”

She gasped. “No.”

“Yes. He’s gone. He died in his sleep.”

She put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, goodness.”
This was horrible. The Avialies’ one ally in the castle—gone. Now
what? Now Kilar would continue his quest for the ancient texts and
Tisha… Tisha had to be executed for this crime.

“I was so close.” William’s voice broke. “I should
have sent the Zinna message out sooner. If I’d done it yesterday
instead of today, a Thieran could have healed him. He could still
be alive.” He choked back a sob.

Grace bit her lip. Was he crying? She reached out in
the dark tentatively and touched the side of his head. He jumped,
startled, and she whispered an apology.

She touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry, William. This
all happened so fast. We couldn’t have known it was anything other
than a regular illness.”

“You and Sashe knew,” he said, his voice thick. “I
should have just thrown Tisha in prison, damn the consequences.” He
took her hand from his shoulder and kissed it. His lips were
damp—from tears? “I should have listened to you.”

She swallowed and licked her lips, but her mouth felt
dry no matter what she did. “William,” she said softly, “it’s okay.
You can still execute him. There has to be evidence against him.
Who else would do this?”

He kept his lips on her knuckles, and he started
rocking back and forth. “You don’t know how powerful he is.”

“You’re the prince. You’ll be king.”

“I don’t want to be king.” His voice broke again, and
tears hit her knuckles again.

She touched his back with her other hand. “William,”
she whispered.

He suddenly wrapped his arms around her torso and
pulled her close. His mouth collided with hers, salty and searching
for her lips, her tongue. She let him kiss her, let his strong arms
envelope her, let his hands rest on her sides. She even kissed him
back, even as she thought of the letter on the desk that Dar had
smuggled into the castle somehow, a letter promising that he,
Sierra, and Evan were safe, that he would have come back for her
had it been safe, that he would soon.

William pulled away after a moment, breathless. She
fought back her own tears as they sat in silence, his breath hot on
her forehead. He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then led his
mouth to her ear. A shiver went through her, and she wasn’t sure
whether it was from fear or pleasure. No, she couldn’t be enjoying
this. This was William, and she was in love with Dar.

He bit down on the sensitive cartilage of her ear,
and she gasped a little bit.

His mouth found hers again, and his hands began
traveling, up her sides, to her shoulders, into her hair. She
kissed him back half-heartedly, but he didn’t seem to notice. His
hands roamed again, on her shoulders, down her chest.

She broke away. “Wait.”

His hands stilled just above her breasts. “What?” His
voice was gruff.

She was afraid to ask him to stop simply because she
knew he may not stop, no matter what she said. What would be worse,
yelling at him to stop as he took her or just letting him do it
quietly? Tears filled her eyes again, and a few fell down her
cheeks. At least he couldn’t see them.

“Your heart is pounding,” he said, his left hand
moving just the slightest. “Are you scared?”

Oh, goodness, no, she couldn’t just sit here while he
did
anything
to her. “I can’t do this.”

He said nothing. Now she wished there was light so
she could see his expression, try to decipher it. She wiped her
face. “I still don’t trust you, William.”

“I don’t trust you, either.” He drew his hands away,
and she swore she could breathe easier. “But that’s not what sex is
about, is it?”

She cringed and moved away from him. “What is it
about, then?”

“Pleasure. Escape.”

“Not control? Or power?” She fumbled for her lantern
on her nightstand. Once she lit it, light flooded into the room.
She took a breath before glancing over her shoulder at William. He
sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes red-rimmed, his lips moist and
pink.

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Why would you say
that?”

She stood up. Her legs felt weak, but as she put more
distance between them walking to the bathroom, the stronger she
felt. “It’s part of human’s brutal nature, isn’t it? Using sex as a
weapon.”

He followed her. Her heartbeat picked up, and she
started surveying the room for her own weapons. He stopped in the
doorway, though, and watched her as she smoothed her hair down.

“I’d like to pay my respects to your father,” she
said.

“You can do it in the morning.”

“I’d also like to visit Sashe. Does she know?”

“Yes. She knew before I did. She was there all
night.”

Grace shuddered. “Was she there when he died?”

“Robert said she was in the sitting room because he
wouldn’t let her in.” William shrugged again. “I don’t know if I
believe him.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why wouldn’t you?”

William let out a sigh. “I don’t know. Come on.”

He led the way to the door. She grabbed her robe and
pulled it around her. She noticed William was wearing nightclothes,
as well: thin pants and a white shirt without adornment.

“I need to fetch some guards first,” William told
Grace outside of her door. “Meet me at my father’s chambers, wait
in the corridor.”

She nodded. A few minutes later, William met her at
the door of the king’s chambers with three guards behind him. He
didn’t knock. He paraded in, the guards trailing behind him. Grace
followed.

William walked with purpose through the various rooms
of the chambers. They were empty, and they would soon be William’s
chambers. He would be king soon. Would he ask her to be queen? How
would she turn him down?

He led them straight to a closed door. An argument
raged on the other side of the door. He took a deep breath and
walked into the room. The voices immediately fell silent.

William squared his shoulders and walked into the
room completely, allowing time for the guards and Grace to come in
as well.

“Your Highness,” Kilar said, bowing. The others
echoed him. Tisha, the king’s scribe, Queen Kate, and Emile the
Cosa, the one who had concealed Grace and Sashe’s conversation,
completed the group. She avoided his eyes even as he felt his gaze
on her.

“Tisha,” William said, “you’re under arrest for the
assassination of King Thomas.”

Tisha’s mouth fell open in outrage. “What? You have
no right—”

“As the prince and the future king of Haltar, I am
using the rights of the tenth royal edict of year 1239 which states
I can arrest the man who I suspect assassinated the former
king.”

Tisha’s chair scraped across the ground as he stood.
“Your Highness, you can’t possibly think I would do this!”

William turned to the guards. “Arrest him. Put him in
the dungeons under Jon’s supervision.”

Tisha didn’t fight as the guards took his arms and
put manacles on his wrists. He glared at William. “You’re making a
mistake.”

“I’ll speak with Emile about what happened in my
father’s room last night, and when the Thierans show up tomorrow,
they’ll be able to tell me how he died. We’ll see if I’m wrong
then.”

Tisha puffed his chest out. “I have nothing to hide,
William. But you know you can’t trust them, neither Thierans nor
Cosas.” The guards began to drag him out of the room. “Your
Highness! Think about what you’re doing!” His voice faded as they
took him away.

William met Grace’s eyes. She touched his arm
lightly. “Thank you.”

“You should go visit with Lady Sashe,” he said. “I
have things to tend to.”

“Of course.” She bowed to the queen, who sent her an
icy look, and glanced at Kilar. He inclined his head towards her, a
familiar smirk on his face. Emile was studying her as though trying
to figure something out. She left the chambers and felt like they
were all still watching her, even as she walked to Sashe’s
chambers.

Her light knock was answered in a few moments by
Latika, Sashe’s maidservant. Her face was somber. “Lady Grace,
please come in.”

Grace walked in, and Latika closed the door behind
her. She motioned to Sashe’s bedroom. “Lady Sashe didn’t want to
see anyone but you. She’s in her room.”

“Is she sleeping?”

Latika shook her head.

“Thank you.”

Grace went to the bedroom and knocked again before
Sashe’s voice told her to come in. Sashe sat in her window seat,
Ronu at her vanity, his arms crossed as he nodded to Grace. Sashe
didn’t look away from the window as Grace walked in. The stars were
brilliant tonight, the moon a glowing, slim crescent in the midst
of them. Together they lit up the trees below, the forest she,
Sierra, and Sashe had escaped into to talk about ancient texts and
the Avialies. So long ago now.

“It’s a beautiful view,” Grace said softly.

Sashe turned her back on it and unfolded her legs to
set her feet on the ground. “Yes, and I’m probably enjoying it for
one of the last times.”

Grace raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Without the king’s certain protection, it doesn’t
make sense for me to stay here for long.”

“Oh, Sashe,” Grace said quietly. She wasn’t sure what
to say. She wished a good, happy life for Sashe, but could she find
that here at the castle anymore? Or was this best, her leaving?

“I hope you’ll come with me,” Sashe said.

Grace thought of Emile, wondered what he was
listening to, revealing for William and Kilar. “I hope I can, too.”
She sat down next to Sashe. “William arrested Tisha.”

“He did?”

She nodded, allowing a small smile on her face. “He
said Emile would reveal what happened in his father’s room last
night, and the Thierans would see what happened to his body.”

“Oh, good,” Sashe said, leaning her back against the
window. “He tried to accuse me.”

She told her of William’s outburst and motioned to
Ronu when she said he kept him from hitting her. Grace regarded him
in a new light. So, he would protect Sashe for some time, until
William revoked the command to be her bodyguard.

“He was upset,” she said. “He may not threaten you
again.”

“If it gives him control over you, he might.” Sashe
stood and smoothed down her robe. “Another reason for me to
leave.”

“Where will you go?”

She touched her swollen belly and looked down at it,
a smile on her face. “Wherever Sierra and Evan are.”

* * *

Sashe and Grace didn’t get any more sleep that night.
Sashe told Grace of the king’s kindness towards her and cried a bit
more. Grace could tell she was embarrassed, but she didn’t think
she should be. She stroked down her hair and hugged her
tightly.

Grace wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened
between her and William, so she said nothing of it. Perhaps part of
her was upset that she’d kissed William and let him kiss her so
passionately.

In the morning, the announcement went out that the
king was dead. The castle took on a bleak tone, the servants
whispering and crying. There were no meals in the larger dining
room. After breakfast, Grace stopped by the royal chambers to see
if she could help with anything, but William politely dismissed
her.

As she left the chambers, she ran into Robert and a
gray-haired woman. She gasped. “Kaiden?” What was she doing here?
Kaiden had given her and Dar refuge when they were running from the
prince and the Protectors.

Kaiden smiled and bowed her head. “Lady Grace.”

“What brings you here to the castle?” Grace
asked.

“I come on behalf of Jeshro,” Kaiden said. “He
thought I would be able to heal the king, but I was grieved to hear
I’m too late.”

Grace frowned. “Yes, he passed last night.”

Kaiden heaved a sigh, her shoulders sagging. “Yes,
but I was hoping to speak with the prince, anyway.”