Promising Hope (7 page)

Afterwards, they filed back to the sitting room.
Kyler caught Grace’s elbow. He bent close to her, his light brown
hair falling in front of his eyes. “May I have a word with my
favorite sister?” he asked, dropping his voice.

“Surely,” Grace said with a smile. They slowed their
pace as the others went ahead, and Kyler paused until they were
well ahead. William glanced over his shoulder at them. Grace waved
him on, her smile widening as she saw he cared about where she
was.

“Grace,” Kyler said quietly.

“Yes, Kyler?” She looked at him.

His expression had sobered. “What’s gotten into you?”
he asked, narrowing his eyes. “When I saw you in Aron little more
than a week ago, you were begging me to release you so you could
help the Avialies.”

She shrugged, as though she could brush off his
questions. Kyler had never been one to take things as they were. It
was a personality trait she’d picked up from him—obviously one that
had gotten her into more trouble than good. “Well, I helped them,
didn’t I? I broke the curse and now I’m finished with them.”

“You what?” Kyler caught her elbow again, and they
stopped walking. “How?”

Grace let out an exasperated noise and shook her
head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over, Kyler. I wanted to come home…”
She glanced down the hall where William was walking into the
sitting room behind his mother. “I belong here.”

Kyler stared at her as though he’d never seen her
before. “You were afraid they were going to kill you.”

She huffed, her face growing warm. “William will
protect me.”

“What—are you two courting again?”

She smiled and looked down at her feet. “We haven’t
officially discussed it, but I wouldn’t object to it.”

“But you said you’d only be involved with William if
he didn’t support the Protectors—”

Her smile faded. “What exactly are you asking me,
Kyler?” she snapped.

“I just don’t understand how you could be here doting
on the prince and living with the Protectors when you were so
adamantly against them in Aron,” he said. “You fought against us in
Nyad. I stopped Father from killing Dar because I knew you’d be
upset, but now…”

Upset? She’d be much more than upset, she’d… what
would she do? Back in Nyad, she’d been desperate to save his life.
What would she do to save his life if they were in the same
situation now? Would she feel the same way, or would her affection
for William color her devotion for Dar?

Her head throbbed, and she rubbed her forehead.
“Things have changed,” she told Kyler. “It’s simple. I belong here.
I helped the Avialies, and I’m finished with them now.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” He slowly shook his head,
his lips pursed into a line.

“Well, there’s nothing more to say.” She swept down
the hall, and after a moment, his footsteps indicated he was
following her. A week ago, she was set on helping the Avialies, but
her job was finished. Now, she chose William.

* * *

Chapter Five

Sierra looked over the dresses, her hands on her
hips. She didn’t want to parade around downstairs and receive gifts
and hugs and gratitude she hardly deserved. Yes, she was happy the
curse was gone, but she wasn’t ready to be the Avialies’ recognized
savior.

“I think the red one would look lovely,” Myra said,
rubbing her chin.

Sierra ran her fingers over the crimson fabric. It
reminded her of Sashe. A pang of sadness shot through her. She
missed her sister. Hopefully she’d look after Grace before Sierra
reached her. She considered for a moment telling Myra of Sashe’s
pregnancy, but Sierra wasn’t sure how it would be perceived by the
Avialies since the king was such a strong supporter of the
Protectors.

“It seems too dramatic,” Sierra mused. She already
stood out as it was. “I think I’ll go with the green one.”

“Good choice,” Jade said from where she stood in
front of the mirror. She was a younger Avialie from Jolen; she’d
arrived from the northern part of the country with scores of other
Avialies. “That color of green will look great on you.”

Sierra sat down at the desk chair. “And what are you
wearing, Jade?” she asked, smiling.

Jade grinned, spinning around so her black hair flew
in the air. “I’m wearing a dress designed by Lady Heather!”

“Lady Heather?” Sierra repeated.

“She’s one of the most famous seamstresses in Jolen!”
Jade exclaimed, looking scandalized.

“I’m from Haltar.”

Jade waved her hand. “Even woman in Haltar order her
dresses. Even the queen! It’s a gorgeous rose pink with pearls
decorating the silver trim.” She huffed. “I ordered it for my
wedding, and then my fiance ran off with some Mahri from Kleisade!
I still think she seduced him with a love potion.” She tossed a
lock of black hair over her shoulder. “Oh, well, this is the next
best event for it.”

“Lady Sierra, I need to wash your hair,” Myra called
from the washroom.

“I’m not a lady, you know,” Sierra called back.

Myra poked her head out. “Where’s your husband? He
shouldn’t see you until the banquet.”

Sierra frowned; she hadn’t seen Evan since storming
out of the meeting. “Why not?”

“Because you’re the guest of honor,” Jade said. “Go
on, or your hair won’t be dry in time!”

“Evan, Matilda, and Lee did just as much.” Sierra
looked down at her sandy toes.

“What about Lady Grace?” Jade asked keenly, walking
over to the desk. “I’ve heard so much about her, and I want to meet
her.”

“We’re working on that.” Sierra bit her lip and
thought about the idea she’d propose to Jeshro that night.

“But where is she? I heard that she was at the
castle,” Jade said.

“Yes, she is. She made a deal with the prince to save
Dar.”

Jade put a hand over her chest and beamed. “Are they
really in love?”

“Come on, Sierra!” Myra said, waving her hand for
Sierra to join her. “The water’s going to get cold.”

With a sigh, Sierra got to her feet. “All right,
don’t worry.”

“I still find it odd you wear pants,” Jade said,
following Sierra into the washroom.

“Try working in the circus for two years,” Sierra
told her. She looked at all three women gathered: Myra, Jade, and
another Avialie woman named Oma. “What, I can’t wash my hair
myself?”

“If you use the soaps on your hands, the dye won’t
set,” Myra said. “You’ve already got sand all over your feet, we
need to save the dye on your hands. By tomorrow morning, it’ll be
very dark and rich.”

Sierra looked down at her hands, at the designs that
had fascinated her all day. “Okay, fine.”

“Sit here and lean back,” Myra said, motioning to a
chair.

“I want to hear more about your adventures!” Jade
called from the bedroom.

As Sierra sat down, she heard the dragging of a chair
from the bedroom into the washroom. Myra began running cups of warm
water over Sierra’s hair, dampening her thick locks with water.

“Tell me about Grace and Dar,” Jade said.

“What do you want to know?” Sierra asked.

“I don’t know, anything! You have no idea how boring
Northern Jolen can be for a teenage girl.”

“Maybe I should rinse your feet,” Oma suggested.

“I can do that myself,” Sierra objected.

“No, I’ll do it while Myra cleans your hair,” Oma
said. She lifted Sierra’s feet into a bucket of lukewarm water.
“Just enough to get the sand off, not enough to inhibit the
dye.”

It was an odd feeling to have women working at her
head and feet. Sierra hadn’t had a maidservant since she moved out
of Dar’s house nearly five years ago.

“Wait, no, I want to know about the circus,” Jade
said. “Why were you in the circus? What did you do?”

“I played a girl raised by tigers,” Sierra said as
Myra began to massage her scalp. Sierra closed her eyes, her
shoulders relaxing.

Jade gasped. “From Childress’ Traveling Circus?”

“Yes. Did you ever see it?”

“I did! I can’t believe it! You were the wild
child?”

Sierra chuckled. “Yes, I was. For a year. I just
helped around the circus for, I don’t know, four months or so
before than.”

“You were there a year and a half? But why?”

“I was running from the Protectors. They’d killed my
brother-in-law, and I thought they killed Evan.”

“Oh, my goodness, yes. I knew that had happened to
you, but I didn’t know you were with the circus for so long!”

“I used Cosa magic. The chaos of the circus was a
good place to blend in.” A good place to forget the past. She
thought of Matt and their fleeting relationship and almost missed
him for a moment.

“And that whole time you thought your husband was
dead…” Jade said. “That must have been hard.”

“Yes, it was.” Sierra felt a rush of gladness that he
was alive, quickly followed by a wave of anger at his desire to
leave.

Jade asked more questions about Sierra’s
‘adventures’, as she called them. Sierra was careful about what to
say. She didn’t doubt Jade would tell everyone about her personal
conversation with the Avialies’ savior, Lady Sierra, recounting
every detail to greedy ears. Maybe Sierra was too cynical.

Oma rinsed sand off of Sierra’s leg and feet, then
lotioned them. Myra washed and conditioned her hair, then dried it
with towels slowly and deliberately. She brushed through it, nearly
putting Sierra to sleep. When Sierra finally stood up to change,
her hair was merely damp. Sierra wished she could dress herself,
but the corset wouldn’t allow it.

Jade kept telling Myra to pull it tighter to
accentuate Sierra’s curves. “Maybe you should wear the red one,”
Jade said. “It would look amazing on you.”

“I’m fine with the green one,” Sierra said with short
breaths. “Please, Myra, don’t go any tighter. I haven’t worn a
corset in years. Do you want me to faint tonight?”

“Don’t be a baby,” Jade said with a roll of her eyes.
“I’ve been wearing corsets since I was twelve.”

“That’s horrible.” Sierra grunted as Myra finished
tying off the corset. “Did you even know what breasts were when you
were twelve?”

Myra and Oma giggled while Jade glared at Sierra.
“You’re so funny,” Jade said flatly.

Oma gasped, making Sierra spin around in alarm.

“What?” Sierra said.

Evan stood in the doorway, about to walk in. Sierra
put her hand on her chest; she was so jumpy after the last few
weeks.

“Get out!” Oma snapped. She walked toward Evan. “You
shouldn’t be here!”

“I need to get dressed for the banquet,” Evan
said.

With a huff, Oma crossed her arms over her ample
chest. “You’re not supposed to see her!”

Evan hesitated, looking at Sierra. She glanced over
her shoulder at Oma. “Oma, he needs to change.”

Myra scowled. “All right, come in.” She motioned with
her hand for him to step inside.

Oma grumbled something under her breath as Evan shut
the door behind him.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Oma,” Jade said. “Evan, we
brought matching tunics so you can match Sierra!”

“Which are you wearing?” Evan asked Sierra.

“The green,” Sierra said as Myra began to brush her
hair again.

“I told her she should wear the red,” Jade said,
throwing her arms up.

“Red is Sashe’s color,” Evan said quietly.

In the reflection of the mirror, Sierra could see
Jade take the matching tunic out of the trunk near the bed and hold
it out for Evan. Then Jade said, “Sashe’s your sister, isn’t
she?”

“You’re very up-to-date on my life,” Sierra said,
smiling at Jade’s reflection in amusement.

Jade rolled her eyes. “I’m going to know about the
Haltarian king’s mistress who grew up with Avialies.” She grabbed a
chair and set it next to Sierra, angled so she could also look at
herself in the mirror.

“Jade, are you going to do anything useful?” Myra
asked.

“What am I supposed to do?” Jade asked. “You two are
doing her hair and make-up. I’ll help once it’s time for the
dress.”

Evan went into the washroom with his tunic.

“Do you need some clean water?” Oma called after
him.

“There’s a bucket in here I’ll use,” Evan said before
shutting the door.

A few minutes later, Oma brought out the make-up. She
painted Sierra’s face, emphasizing her heavy-lidded eyes and full
lips. Myra worked Sierra’s hair into a fancy style with braids and
jewels. When Sierra stepped into her dress, Jade gasped, putting
her hands over her mouth. “You look beautiful!” she squealed.

As the women were tying up the back, Evan stepped out
of the washroom. His dark, damp hair was combed back, and he wore
the matching tunic, the green with the silver designs. His gaze
fell on her, and they stared at each other for a moment.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you. You look quite handsome, too.”

“I have to go get ready!” Jade said. She kissed
Sierra on the cheek, surprising her, and she dashed out of the
room.

Myra shook her head. “The only thing she helped with
was my headache.”

Oma and Sierra laughed. The women finished Sierra’s
dress and bid farewell to get ready. Sierra let out a breath of
relief as they left. She examined herself in the mirror, and it
almost seemed like Sashe was gazing back at her. She caught Evan’s
reflection as he sat on the edge of the bed, and she sat down next
to him.

“Where did you go during the meeting?” Evan
asked.

“Matilda showed me a cave underneath the hill,”
Sierra responded, watching him lace up his boots.

Evan looked at her in surprise. “She did?”

“I needed some fresh air.” Sierra paused. “Do you
have to go, Evan?”

He didn’t respond for a moment. “I want to help kill
him. For all he did to us.”

“You shouldn’t have said I was making it about me.”
Sierra played with the folds of her skirt.