Free Promising Hope by Emily Ann Ward Page A

to her,
pursing his lips.
    She stood up, taking her cup of wine. “Well, thank
you. I’m…” She searched for a word. “Overjoyed the curse is broken.
The Avialies have an unsure future, but I know we’ll fight and do
as much as we can in the face of our adversaries.” She paused,
swallowing. “To be honest, I think most of the appreciation should
go to Grace. She and Evan were the ones that talked me into
helping. She’s with the prince right now, and we don’t even know
what her fate is. She sacrificed a lot for this family.”
    Jeshro grunted from the other side of Evan. Sierra
ignored him as murmurs ran through the crowd. She raised her wine.
“To Grace. For her courage… and her love.”
    “To Grace,” the others said.
    Sierra took a long drink, the rich wine warming her
throat. She sat down, avoiding Jeshro’s gaze. Matilda gave her an
approving smile.
    The next two hours went by in a blur: more toasts,
speeches, declarations of revenge. There was even a proposal. Jade
read from the scroll Sierra and Grace found about the marked ones
to protect the Avialies. She made Sierra read the words, and
Sierra’s voice became the only sound in the big dining hall.
    They served the food after the scroll reading:
Jolenian delicacies such as seared tuna with lemon, apricot soup,
and iced cream. Sierra ate a good amount, but her stomach had
shrunk in her corset, and she was full halfway through. The
performances started when she’d had her last bite: singers,
dancers, fire throwers, jugglers.
    Afterwards, the group went into the ballroom for
dancing and socializing. The windows were open, the salty breeze
blowing through as the band struck up lively tunes. The first stars
were shining in the twilit sky.
    Sierra and Evan danced alone first, and halfway
through the song, the elders joined them, and soon the entire room
was full of motion and laughter. Sierra got caught up in it
herself, dancing with Evan like he was never leaving her, laughing
with Jade as they spun around. She ignored the fawning looks,
tolerated the women who grabbed her sobbing, and drank lots of
wine.
    When she finally decided to approach Jeshro about
Grace and Dar, her cheeks were warm and the room spun just the
slightest as she walked over to him. He stood with Lisbeth, and
Sierra didn’t wait for a lull in conversation. “Jeshro, I need to
speak to you.”
    He raised his eyebrows at her. “Yes, Sierra?”
    “We need to get Grace and Dar from the castle,” she
said, and she felt like she was speaking loudly, but she wasn’t
sure.
    “Of course. I agree.”
    She peered at him. She’d been sure he’d put up more
of a fight than that. “I propose we have a meeting with the
Protectors. We need to re-reass… rethink our relations with
them.”
    “Can’t this wait until the morning?” Jeshro asked
lightly. “Enjoy yourself.”
    “No, no, I need to speak with you about it tonight.”
She raised her goblet to take a sip of her wine only to realize she
was out. She’d just had a full goblet. She shook her head and
looked up at Jeshro. “We don’t know what their plans are. We can
arrange a treaty or something. Or trade something for Grace and
Dar.”
    “Sierra, no one wants to cooperate with them,” Jeshro
said, lowering his voice.
    “Yes, I know, but they’re still more powerful than
you,” Sierra said. “Than us. They have arrest warrants out for Evan
and I. They have some of most powerful of the magical families. We
need to think about what’s going to help us in the long run.”
    Jeshro rubbed a hand over his face. “This isn’t the
time nor the place, Sierra.”
    “Yes, it is!” Sierra raised her voice. “I planned
this out. I had everything lined out.”
    “Keep your voice down,” Lisbeth hissed.
    “Listen, we have to have the meeting before you send
the men away,” Sierra said. “They can break out Grace and Dar while
we’re having the meeting.”
    Jeshro’s mouth fell open, then his look of shock
turned into