Free Promising Light by Emily Ann Ward

smile faded. “Vin, why is she
bleeding?”
    The horse-man—Vin—cleared his
throat. “She probably bit her lip when she fell down.”
    “She looks terrified,” Adrian
said.
    “I want to go back to the prince,”
Grace said. Her voice came out smaller than she’d intended, and she
gritted her teeth.
    Adrian gave her a small, pitying
smile. A woman came out of the tent, pushing past Adrian to look at
Grace. She had hair that reached her waist and a mole above her
lip. “Is this her?” she asked, her voice quiet.
    “This is Lady Grace,” Adrian said.
“Lady Grace, this is Myra.”
    Grace stared at him. They’d just
forcefully kidnapped her, and now he acted as though she was an
honored guest. She still had rope around her wrists, and Caleb held
her shoulder in a tight grip.
    “Myra, can you look after her?”
Adrian asked. He dropped his voice. “I must send a messenger to
Lisbeth.”
    The rider stepped forward. “I’ll
go, Adrian.”
    “I want to go back to the prince,”
Grace repeated. “Let me go.”
    “Lady, we do not want to hurt
you,” Adrian said.
    “I don’t care what you want. I
demand you release me!” Grace said, raising her voice.
    Adrian glared at Caleb and Vin. “I
told you to be gentle with her.”
    “We tried. She fought,” Vin said
shortly.
    “You would, too, if someone
kidnapped you!” Grace yelled. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears,
and she swallowed hard. Goodness, how she hated crying in front of
others. “Please let me go.”
    “Myra, take her into your tent,”
Adrian said. “Give her a new dress, tend to her wounds.”
    “She’s fine aside from her
tongue,” Caleb grumbled.
    “Take off her ropes,” Myra
said.
    Caleb untied the ropes, and Grace
touched the skin on her wrists gently.
    “Don’t try to run,” Adrian said,
his eyes steady on her. “We can help each other.”
    Myra took her arm and led her to
the tent. Grace looked around the clearing, the questioning eyes on
her, and she wondered how far she could get before Caleb or the
horse-man caught up with her. She couldn’t outrun a
horse.
    She followed Myra into her tent. A
small cot lay in one corner and a trunk in another with a basin of
water on top of it. Myra dampened a small piece of fabric and
handed it to Grace. “For your mouth,” she said.
    Grace gingerly touched her tongue
to the fabric. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but she had the metallic
taste in her mouth. She wiped the blood off her lips and chin. She
was taking deep breaths, but her lungs still didn’t feel full. Did
Dar know this would happen? Is this why he left?
    “What do you want with me?” Grace
asked.
    Myra looked up from her trunk.
“Lisbeth and Adrian will tell you as soon as she gets
here.”
    Grace gazed at the fabric in her
hand, stained with her blood. “I want to know now. They just
kidnapped me. I was only… I didn’t ask for this…”
    “I’m sorry,” Myra said, frowning.
She stood up, a dress in her hand. “We didn’t know how else to
communicate with you. When you go home, you’ll be watched by your
father.”
    “But what do you want?” Grace
asked. “Isn’t it money?”
    Myra shook her head and held out
the dress. “Change into this.”
    Grace stared at her, her mouth
hanging open. “What?”
    “Please,” Myra said. “You’ll
understand soon.”
    The heat of the day combined with
the stress of the last hour had her sweating. She stripped off her
dress and chemise, then pulled on Myra’s simple one. The brown
material was breathable; it had elbow-length sleeves and stopped
mid-calf. It didn’t fit quite right since Myra had wider hips, but
Grace already felt cooler.
    Myra gave her some water to drink,
and Grace’s hands stopped shaking. She sat on the cot, Myra across
from her. Flaps on opposite sides of the tent were open, letting a
breeze through. The horse-man stood on one side of the tent, Caleb
on the other. Occasionally, people would walk by and peer into the
tent until Myra shooed them