Free Promising Light by Emily Ann Ward Page B

through his hair. He forced himself to calm down. She’d be
fine. They’d keep her safe. They may even contact him before he
found them. “Lady Grace and I had a short relationship.”
    Father crossed his arms.
“When?”
    “When I was courting Lady
Rebekah.”
    “Why?”
    Dar shook his head. The answer to
that question was much too complex; he wasn’t sure even he knew the
answer. “It lasted about six months, but the Protectors found
out.”
    “You didn’t sleep with her, did
you?” Father asked, his voice rough.
    “No, of course not.” Dar frowned.
“But the prince had his eye on her. He sent a man to her and warned
her about me.”
    “How much did he tell
her?”
    “He didn’t say anything about the
shape changing or the curse. He just said I was dangerous for her.”
Dar paced around the sitting room. “I left the next day. That’s why
I came home.”
    “Do you know where she is?” Father
asked, his tone bordering on accusatory.
    “I can guess,” Dar said, meeting
his father’s eyes.
    Father shifted weight from one foot
to the other. “You mean… did you tell anyone about the two of
you?”
    “No.”
    “Did she?” he pressed.
    “No. I don’t think so. But someone
had to have found out… the Protector who spoke to Grace knew about
certain times when we were together, when I could have sworn no one
else was around…”
    Father raised his eyebrows. “You
think one of us was there? Or perhaps a Cosa?”
    “How else could they have found
out?” Dar asked. He’d asked this question dozens of times before.
How did they know about the greenhouse, the masquerade ball? An
Avialie or a Cosa had to have been there. Someone had masked his
aura. Someone had betrayed them to the Protectors.
    “There are other ways they could
have found out… perhaps you weren’t careful enough.”
    “Not even Lady Rebekah found out,
and she knows everything.” Dar shook his head with a sigh. “The
point is… they must think she’ll break the curse.”
    Father nodded, silent. His eyes
lingered on the fireplace, though Dar tried to make eye contact.
“Do you think she will?”
    Dar gritted his teeth. “No. Nothing
is going to break the curse, Father.”
    “But if—”
    “No,” Dar said, raising his voice.
He couldn’t listen to buts and ifs. The last time they’d played
this game, nine people had died. He wasn’t going to make the same
mistakes as before. “I’m going to help the prince and bring her
home. You should send a letter to Mother asking her if she knows
anything.”
    “Maybe I should contact Lisbeth,”
Father said, his gaze still looking anywhere but at Dar.
    “If she doesn’t know about Grace,
I don’t want her to find out,” Dar said. He approached his father,
standing directly in front of him, demanding his attention.
“Father, please. I don’t want anything to happen to Lady Grace and
I don’t want anyone else to die.”
    Father met his eyes for a moment.
“I don’t, either.” His voice sounded tired. Dar briefly wondered
whether he should have told him about Sierra after all.
    “I’ll bring a small bag with me,”
Dar said, moving to the door. “Will you stay in Nyad?”
    “If the governor allows it,”
Father said. “I’ll send you a message.”
    Dar opened the door and paused.
“I’m going to bring her home. I won’t let it happen again.” He left
his father, hoping he’d heed his advice. If not… Dar shook his
head. He’d do anything to prevent more death, especially
Grace’s.
     
    * * *
     
    Dar made it to the prince’s camp in
an hour, the servant close behind him. The carriages had pulled
over on the side of the road, and servants and soldiers were spread
out in the forest, calling for Lady Grace.
    Dar’s feet were unsteady from the
hard ride, so he took a moment to regain his balance before he
approached the prince and said, “Your Highness.”
    The prince met him with a glare,
his face drawn. “Sir Dar, my servant has told you of Lady