Page 25 of Prince of Shadow and Ash

“Lady Belanger wants to dance with the Captain,” Perceval said with a chuckle.

Regulus’ face heated. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t show up uninvited.”And she’ll realize what a poor choice I am when she knows I wasn’t invited.

“Can’t you though?” Perceval grinned, a manic light behind his eyes. “It’s so fun to rile the nobles. You should have seen the look on my father’s face when I showed up to a supper party drunk.”

“And to think you didn’t do well at university,” Jerrick said with mock amazement.

“No,” Dresden said, turning the throwing knife over in his hand thoughtfully. “But, when the Carricks host a party, the other nobles feel they have to reciprocate. You should get invited to at least a couple of those parties. This is excellent. Oh, you’ll get another chance to woo the lovely Adelaide.”

“I’m not going to woo her, Drez.”

“Then by Hallilek,” Jerrick invoked the Bhitran deity with a perplexed expression, “why are we having this conversation?”

Dresden leaned his hip against the fence. “And why not?”

“You know why not.”Because I’m a monster.

Jerrick and Perceval shifted and glanced at each other.

“We talked about this, Reg,” Drez said quietly. “Perce, Jerrick, back me up. He can’t hide here forever.”

Perceval grunted. “You need a wife.”

“Might give you something to look forward to,” Jerrick said. “Make life more bearable.”

“Or someone else to hurt.” Regulus shook his head. “I shouldn’t have written that letter.”

“Then why’d you do it?” Dresden snapped.

Regulus poked his finger in a knot in the fence and avoided Dresden’s intense regard.Because I like her; because I wanted to. Because she said she didn’t care about my bastardy. Because, for a moment, I pretended I was normal, and it felt good.“Moment of weakness.”

“Doing something because it brings you joy isn’t weakness.” Drez sighed and scratched his beard. “It was one time. The sorcerer controlled you once in two years. And you know how to avoid it happening again.”

Regulus snorted.If only you knew.“One time, but I still almost—” He stopped as the mark on his right arm tingled, like the gentlest touch of the points of a thousand needles. He grabbed his arm and grimaced.

“The mark?” Dresden murmured.

Regulus nodded. His men watched him leave in silence. There was nothing to say; nothing they could do. Nothing that wouldn’t make things worse, anyway. Up in his room, Regulus unlocked the chest that housed the black suit of armor and a bronze mirror. The rectangular mirror was just larger than Regulus’ head, with a plain frame. He hesitated before he picked it up and placed it on a nail on the wall.

“I’m here, my lord.”

The mirror shimmered and an image of the sorcerer replaced the burnished surface. “Excellent.” Deep shadows hid the sorcerer’s eyes beneath his ever-present hood. “I need you to go to the Singing Caves. There’s a cave marked by a white elm with golden leaves. Enter it and retrieve a relic from the dragon’s horde.”

“The what?” Regulus gaped at the sorcerer.

“The dragon, the dragon!” The sorcerer waved his hands. “Kill the dragon if necessary, find the relic it is guarding, and bring it to me.”

Regulus massaged his temples. An actual dragon? “But—”

Pain sliced up his arm from the mark.

“Question,” he gasped. “Not—defiance.” The pain vanished. “Don’t dragons usually have piles of treasure, my lord? How will I recognize the relic?”

The sorcerer harrumphed. “It will be separate from the other treasures, perhaps even displayed in a difficult-to-reach area. And, it looks like this.” He held a parchment in front of the mirror. A drawing of what looked like a hollow oval composed of thick wire swirling into a rounded point at each end filled the mirror. The sorcerer waited a moment, then pulled the drawing away. “It shouldn’t be hard to find, if you have half a brain.”

Regulus’ shoulders tensed as he tried to hide his indignation. He could not afford to anger the sorcerer with his men so close. “Anything else I should know?”

“Just that it’s powerful, so if you let that dragon destroy it, I’ll destroy you. And I want it quickly. It will take you a couple days to ride to the Caves. Best leave now.” The image shimmered and reverted to a dull mirror. Regulus’ hazy reflection stared back. Judging him.

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