Page 101 of Prince of Shadow and Ash

“I surrender.”

Adelaide froze. The men who had been moving toward her jumped forward and surrounded Regulus. Two of them grabbed Regulus’ arms. Perceval and the others stared at Regulus, their disbelief clear.

“I said, stand down,” Regulus repeated as the knights pinned his arms behind his back and pushed him toward the doors. Perceval sheathed his sword, his face red.

“What? No!” Adelaide grabbed at one of the men and tried to pull him off Regulus. “Let him go!” Another man pushed her away as they hurried Regulus out of the hall. Her boot caught on the hem of her skirt, and she started to fall.

Hands grasped her arms and steadied her. Nolan smiled, a picture of carefree calm. “Easy there.”

She pulled away. Regulus had already disappeared through the doorway out of the hall, trailed by his fuming men. “What is wrong with you! What are youdoing?”

“I would have thought it was obvious. Getting rid of an obstacle.” He looked at her patronizingly. “I warned you. You don’t want to go to war with me.”

“Treason? They’llhanghim!”

“I certainly hope so.”

“You...” That’s when she saw the dagger in his belt. Regulus’ dagger. Her dagger. He must have caught her gaze, because he rested his hand on the hilt and smirked.

Maybe she should just kill him. Then there would be no witnesses to Regulus’ supposed crime. Just several witnesses for her, murdering a baron’s son in front of a sheriff.

“You can put a stop to this, you know.” Nolan stepped closer. “Say you’ll marry me, and I promise, the bastard will live. I’ll leave him and his alone.”

The breath seemed sucked from her lungs. She couldn’t even push herneverpast her stuck tongue. She looked toward the door. Regulus’ men stood on the other side, at the top of the stairs leading down in the foyer, their backs to her. The sheriff stood in the hall, watching her and Nolan with disinterest.

“I guess he dies, then.”

She looked back as Nolan crossed his arms and stared into her eyes. Waiting for her to break.

“You know, others were with him, when he was plotting treason.” He looked at his fingernails. “One of whom, now that I saw him here, looked suspiciously like your brother-in-law.”

Adelaide covered her mouth with her fist and gasped. Her gut clenched.Etiros, please.Her face burned. So did her hands, and she clenched her fists tighter to keep her magic under control. “You’re a monster.”

“I’m just a man willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want.” The icy look in his eyes made her shiver.

“You think I could ever love you?”

“Eventually, yes, I think you will.” He shrugged. “But I don’t need you to love me. I need you to marry me and act happy about it.”

No. This was all wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had to...had to... Her shoulders drooped. She had to protect her family. And she couldn’t let Regulus die because of her. “Fine,” she whispered.

Nolan stepped so close her skirt brushed his boots. “What was that?”

“I’ll marry you.” The words tasted like vinegar. “So long as theyalllive. You can’t let them hurt or kill Regulus.”

Nolan grinned. “Sheriff!” He stepped around her. “I’ve just realized—we’ve got the wrong man. Turns out he’s innocent.” Nolan held up a hand, as if sayingoh well.

“You want him arrested, or don’t you?” the sheriff huffed.

Nolan took Adelaide’s hand and strode toward the sheriff, pulling her along. “Not anymore.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t worry, you’ll still get paid.”

Adelaide’s mouth hung open, but both men ignored her as they walked out into the foyer full of armed men, with Regulus in the center. Gaius and Minerva stood off to the side. Minerva’s eyes were wide in her ashen face. Gaius’s forehead wrinkled and his lips pinched, eyes narrowed. Nolan, Adelaide, and the sheriff passed Dresden and the others at the top of the staircase as they walked down toward Regulus. The sheriff approached Regulus, and Nolan followed with Adelaide in tow.

“You say thisisn’tthe man?” the sheriff asked Nolan.

Regulus looked at the sheriff in surprise, then at Nolan. His eyes flashed when his gaze landed on her hand in Nolan’s.

“I realized it when I was talking to Adelaide,” Nolan said flippantly. “The man looked almost exactly like Hargreaves, but now that I look at him, he’s far too tall. The man I overheard was about Adelaide’s height, so it couldn’t be Hargreaves.”

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