Page 82 of Prince of Shadow and Ash

Adelaide applauded. The knights exited the arena and the next competitors entered while servants cleared wood shards from the ground. The matches flew by, not least because of how easy it was to get caught up in the crowd's fervor. Nolan won his match. She didn’t applaud him. He didn’t acknowledge her.

At last, Regulus entered the lists. Green fabric fluttered around his right bicep, tied around his armor. He smiled at her before closing his visor over his face. Only two thin slits indicated where his eyes were under his helm. His opponent, a knight who looked more mountain than man, rode a brown destrier as large as Sieger.How in creation is anyone supposed to unhorse him!A caparison of red chevrons on a field of dark blue covered the horse to its knees. She recognized the heraldry.Must be Sir Edgar Druadan.

Her heart pounded as Regulus and Sir Druadan charged each other. As hooves threw up clots of dirt and horse nostrils flared, they leveled their lances. Adelaide leaned forward, clenching her fists. The impact of their lances on each other’s ecranches and the simultaneous burst of lances into tinder sounded like a clap of thunder. Both men swayed in their seats, but kept their balance. The crowd roared in delight. Adelaide released a shaky breath.

They rode to the end of the arena and wheeled around. Pages handed them fresh lances. Minerva reached over and squeezed her fist.

“Relax!”

“I remember you being similarly tense last time Gaius tilted,” she scolded.

Minerva laughed. “All right, that’s true.”

Her gaze remained trained on Regulus as the horses leapt forward. The pounding of their hooves seemed to vibrate in her chest. Both men’s heads snapped backward as lances met helms. Her eyes widened and her nails bit into her palms. Splintered wood rained onto the ground. Regulus swayed but made it to the end of the arena. Harold turned Sieger around. Regulus shook his head and adjusted his helm before taking a new lance. She looked to the opposite end of the lists. Druadan had also maintained his seat. They were tied.

Her jaw hurt from clenching her teeth. She released a long exhale and tried to shake some of the tension from her shoulders. Both men raised their lances, signaling they were ready. Their squires released the reins. The horses charged. Adelaide pressed her palms together and raised her hands to her mouth, her thumbs tucked under her chin. Hooves thudded. The crowd cheered.

Druadan’s lance pummeled into Regulus’ visor, pushing his head back as the lance snapped in half. Regulus’ lance slammed into the left side of Druadan’s chest, just shy of his ecranche. The lance bowed. Regulus leaned forward, even as his head whipped backward. Adelaide gasped.

Druadan leaned back in his saddle. The broken lance slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground. Regulus’ lance burst, sending out shards like dozens of forcefully thrown wooden knives. Druadan flailed as he twisted backward and sideways over his horse’s flank. He hit the ground with a clang. Regulus had won.

Adelaide leapt to her feet, applauding as a cacophony of cheers, gasps, and boos erupted from the crowd. Regulus leaned forward on Sieger, his head swaying from side to side. She froze.Oh, Etiros, please. Let him be all right.

Harold seized the reins and stopped Sieger. Adelaide looked over the heads of other standing spectators, watching with bated breath. Regulus removed his helm and looked back over his shoulder. He caught her gaze and smiled. Relief rushed over her as she smiled back.

Chapter 30

REGULUS STRETCHED HISneck. The pain was fading, but that was cutting it close. Sure, he had seen knights take similar blows and walk away. But not exactly fine; a hit like that often sent knights home. Hopefully, everyone was too caught up with his opponent’s unhorsing to notice him take a blow that could have snapped his neck in half. In fact, he suspected somethinghadcracked. The sorcerer’s dark magic was at work, making his neck tingle and ache.

Once free, he would have to relearn how to fight without the ability to take risks he knew might kill him. Learn how to fight to live again, instead of accepting he couldn’t die.

One thing he knew, he wouldn’t miss how it felt. The pinching, the burning, the prickling. So different from Adelaide’s healing. That had been soothing. Cool and warm all at once. Numbing and mending without pain and leaving no scars. If it wasn’t already clear that the sorcerer’s healing came from a place of corrupted magic, Adelaide’s magic proved it.

As Regulus stretched and waited for his next joust, his thoughts wandered. What a pair they made. Adelaide also carried a weighty secret that she lived in fear of someone discovering. But her secret, while dangerous, at least was notbad. Not like his. He worried that the pure magic in her would sense the corrupt magic in him. But if she hadn’t detected it yet, she couldn’t, right?

He had to tell her the truth.

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