Promising Light (7 page)

William turned to the face the
carriages. “‘Childress’ Traveling Circus,’” he read the paint on
one of them. He glanced at Grace. “Would you like to meet the
ringmaster?”

Grace gasped. “Could
we?”

“Come, let’s meet him.” William
waved to his guards. “I’ve seen his circus a few times, but I’ve
yet to meet Childress.”

He approached two men who were
hooking horses up to one of the carriages. “I’m looking for
Childress,” he announced.

One of the men eyed the prince’s
guards and nodded to his friend. “Go get him.”

The other man, who was shorter than
Grace, sighed and jogged off.

The main tent was down already, and
the carriages were lining up next to the second, smaller tent.
People were loading the carriages with trunks, bags, and more.
Grace saw the performing dogs following their trainer out in a
single-file line. They were bringing dozens of horses out of the
stables as well as wheeled cages of other animals.

Just before someone dropped a large
blanket over their cage, Grace saw the tigers that had been with
the wild child. The ‘wild child’ was nowhere to be seen, of
course.

The short horseman returned a few
minutes later, leading a large man with dark red hair and ruddy
cheeks. Childress, the man who’d announced most of the acts, the
namesake of the circus. “Your Highness.” He bowed and smoothed down
his shirt. “What a surprise!”

“I had to tell you how much we
enjoyed ourselves,” the prince said, motioning to Grace and his
guards.

“Oh, wonderful!” Childress said,
clapping. “I’d invite you into my tent for a drink, but they’ve
just taken it down.”

“You’re leaving so
soon?”

“Yes, we have to get to Marin
tonight. We’ll rest there, sleep in, and start it all over again
tomorrow.”

“You’re a hardworking man,”
William said with a smile.

Childress grinned. “Not as hard as
yourself, I’m sure.” He paused. “Perhaps I can give you a short
tour, introduce you to some of the performers. Everyone’s busy
packing up, but I’m sure they wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity
to meet the prince.” He looked at Grace. “And his lovely
escort.”

“Lady Grace,” Grace said,
curtsying.

“And you enjoyed
yourself?”

“Oh, yes, it was
wonderful!”

“Well, follow me. I’m sure we can
find some of those performers around here.” Childress led them into
the activity of the crew and took them first to the snake charmer.
He did a trick for them with his boa constrictor, and Grace
positioned herself behind William warily.

Childress found the acrobats
lounging and smoking by the stables. They seemed impossibly thin
and graceful even with the pipes and smell of tobacco lingering in
the air.

He showed them the performing
horses, their sleek black bodies strong and regal. He called around
for Vivi, who he said was their tamer. None of the crew was able to
find her. Childress was ready to give up and bring them to the lion
when a brunette girl in a tattered dress jogged over to
them.

“Vivi just sprained her ankle,”
she said, pushing her ratty hair out of her face. She had dirt on
her hands and feet, but her face looked clean. It looked as though
she’d tried to wash it, and the makeup from her fake cuts now
looked faded.

Grace looked at the prince, raising
her eyebrows. “I think I was right.”

“Wait,” the prince said,
interrupting Childress and the brunette speaking about Vivi. “Are
you—is she the wild child?”

Childress’ face colored, and the
woman gave them a weak smile.

“Yes, she is,” Childress said, a
grin coming onto his face. He put an arm around the woman’s
shoulders. “Sierra’s quite convincing, isn’t she?”

William stared at her for a moment.
“I can’t believe it.” He glanced at Grace. “You were
right.”

“Sierra,” William said, “you look
like your sister.”

Grace looked at William in surprise
and back at Sierra, whose eyes had widened. She did look like Lady
Sashe. The high brow, the tan skin, their dark eyes. Maybe that’s
why she’d looked so familiar earlier.

“Wait… you know each other?”
Childress asked.

“If she’s Sierra from Shyra and
grew up with Governor Alastor,” William said.

Grace gasped involuntarily, and
Sierra glanced at her. She was Sierra—Dar’s Sierra? Was she the
sister he mentioned in the vineyard, the one he wanted to apologize
to?

“Yes, I did,” Sierra said. “And
you must know my sister from the castle.”

William nodded. “Governor Alastor
is in Nyad.”

“I know,” Sierra said tensely. She
looked at Grace, her eyes searching her face.

“Well, Sierra hasn’t told us
anything about her past,” Childress said, his arm dropping from her
shoulders. “A sister at the castle, a governor for a
father!”

“He wasn’t my father.” Sierra’s
gaze turned to the prince. “I’ve left them behind. That’s what you
want, isn’t it?”

Grace looked at William, but his
face was expressionless.

Sierra turned to Childress. “I’ll
go tend to Vivi now.” She left without being excused, glancing at
Grace one last time.

On the carriage ride back to
Governor Peter’s manor, Grace asked William, “What did she mean?
When she said that’s what you wanted?”

He met her eyes for a moment before
shifting his gaze outside. “Dar’s family is dangerous. There are
people looking out for everyone else. Protecting them.”

Grace narrowed her eyes.
“Protecting them from what?”

“Some things are better left
unknown,” he said quietly.

She gritted her teeth. Who was that
better for? She wanted the truth. “If they’re so dangerous, then
why are Dar and his father allowed at political
meetings?”

William shot her an impatient look.
“Some of their family cooperate with us. Others are not so
reasonable.”

“Have you met Sierra
before?”

“No, but some of the Protectors
work as advisors to me and my father, so Sierra thinks we’re all
the same.” His jaw was tight as he looked at her with a serious
expression.

“The Protectors, that’s what
they’re called?” she asked.

William glared at her. “Grace,
please, I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t think your father
would appreciate you knowing this sort of information.”

Grace pursed her lips. She thought
of the man who met her at the tavern and his warning. He thought he
was protecting her from something. Had the prince sent him? Did
William know about her relationship with Dar? If he did, it hadn’t
stopped him from asking her on this trip. It hadn’t stopped him
from flirting with her or asking her to call him by his first
name.

She thought of asking Dar about
Sierra, but he’d made it clear he was finished with her. She’d held
onto some small piece of hope, and maybe she shouldn’t have. Hardly
a word had passed between them since he found her in the
garden.

“We leave tomorrow?” Grace
asked.

William nodded. “Soon after
breakfast.”

“I’m glad you asked me on this
trip. I’ve enjoyed myself.” Although she was bored much of the time
over the last few days when he was in meetings, she liked it when
everyone would gather in the sitting room after dinner. Two nights
ago, Grace had even smoked a pipe for the first time.

Last night, Governor Peter started
to tell his daughters stories about Mumbar Jungle, the vast
uninhabited jungle only miles from them. Everyone else has joined
in with their farfetched stories from childhood: stories about
poisonous snakes, rabid monkeys, hidden treasure, cannibals,
quicksand.

“So have I,” William said with a
smile. He leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “Perhaps
we could meet again when we return to Renaul. Perhaps we could…
begin a courtship.”

Her face heated up, and she held
back a surprised smile. “Oh my, are you… I, your Highness—” Her
face turned even redder as she stumbled over her words. She hated
when she did that.

“William,” he corrected
her.

“William, I’d think that…” She
thought of Dar and their time together, cut off by that man at the
tavern. She thought of the mystery of his family, everyone
determined to keep her away from their secrets. Would William give
her answers? Even if he didn’t, courtship with the prince was not
to be refused. “I think that sounds wonderful.”

* * *

Chapter Five

Grace sat up, rubbing her eyes. She
didn’t know what time it was, but she’d been trying to sleep for
hours now. She couldn’t get comfortable on the unfamiliar bed, and
her mind wouldn’t surrender. Thoughts of Sierra and how familiar
she looked, William and his request for a courtship, and the
mysterious Protectors fled through her mind

She pulled on a robe and lit a
lantern by the door. Maybe a walk to the library would rest her
mind.

The hallways were dark, so she
carefully navigated through the manor, keeping her fingers on the
wall. After two mistaken doors, she found the library. She was
about to choose a book when she heard a breeze rustle the leaves
outside. She stepped onto the balcony, taking in a breath of the
fresh air. She blew out her lantern and left it by the door, then
sat down on one of the benches. Nyad was nice. If she and the
prince were going to court, she wondered if she’d come back here
soon.

She didn’t want to think of the
prince, though; she’d come here to clear her mind. Grace stood up
and walked to the nearest bush. The moonlight lit it up enough to
show her the white flowers. She pulled one off and brushed her
fingertips over the softness of the petals.

She heard the library door creak
open. She looked up, tensing. How odd she’d feel if someone found
her wandering the governor’s manor in the middle of the
night.

A moment later, the door closed
again. “Did I wake you up?” It was the prince’s voice.

“Anything for you, your Highness.”
The second voice belonged to Dar.

Grace tensed, stepping closer to
the balcony as quietly as she could.

“I saw Sierra at the circus
yesterday,” William said.

A pause, and then Dar replied, “So
did I, your Highness.”

“You haven’t seen her since the
slaughter two years ago?”

Dar said nothing, perhaps shaking
his head.

“I know about you and Lady Grace.
I was the one who sent the man to the tavern.”

She put a hand
over her mouth. She’d been right. It
was
the prince.

“I thought as much.” Dar’s voice
carried a hint of roughness.

“Grace will be safer with me,” the
prince said.

She bit the inside of her lip and
sat down on the bench, her back to the manor. If she lifted her arm
and held it out to the side, they’d be able to see her hand. She
was almost afraid to breathe in case they found her.

“After what happened with Sierra
and Sashe…” The prince scoffed. “At least you were smart enough to
keep it from your family.”

Grace closed her eyes as the night
breeze whispered past her hair. She gripped the flower in her hand,
imagining their faces as they spoke. Their guarded expressions,
Dar’s dark hair, and Will’s fair features.

When Dar said nothing, the prince
continued, “I’ve asked her for courtship, and she seemed
eager.”

“I hope she’ll be happy with
you.”

“You’re not going to be any
trouble?”

“No, your Highness, that’s why I
left. I know my family is still searching for something to break
the curse, but I’ve come to realize the only ways to do so will
bring more death.”

“Does she know about your
powers?”

Grace’s breath hitched in her
throat. The shape changing? Was it true?

“Of course not. She only knows
what your man told her and a story from a woman on Victory
Day.”

“She told you about her?” William
asked sharply.

Dar let out a small sigh. “When
Governor Peter sent me to bring her to lunch on the first day, she
asked me about it.”

“What did you say?”

“I denied it, of course,” Dar
said, raising his voice. “I left her two weeks ago and I haven’t
talked to her since then. What more do you want?”

William said nothing at first, and
Grace held her breath again. “Were you intimate with her?” he
asked.

“No,” Dar said, his voice quiet
again.

“You didn’t touch her at
all?”

“No.”

Grace remembered their kisses in
the greenhouse, the masquerade ball, the vineyard, her stables, how
they set her skin on fire, how they both wanted more, but they
struggled not to go there. She had never felt like that before, and
after a few months, she’d wake up and realize she’d been dreaming
about him, about that line they never crossed.