Page 108 of Staff of Nightfall

She hesitated. An invisible blade sliced across her jaw.This can’t continue! Kirven, Nolan, whoever is doing this, they have to get tired of it, right?She whimpered as pain dug deep into the front of her shoulder, just above her armpit, and twisted back and forth. Dresden grabbed her shoulders as her eyes watered and she moaned. The knife or whatever it was dragged out of Regulus and she felt her power healing him as the pain abated. She squared her shoulders. Without looking back at Beale, she said, “So be it,” and pushed past Dresden out of the room.

They were only a few feet from the barracks when Beale’s voice rang over the courtyard. “Adelaide Belanger, you are under arrest for desertion, a crime of treason against the king. Men, seize her.”

She stopped mid-stride. The dozen or so men around the courtyard looked over. No one moved. Adelaide grabbed Dresden’s hand and sprinted toward the gate. Beale shouted at the men, and they drew their weapons and started after them.

“Stay back!” Adelaide threw an arc of fire behind her as she ran. The guards slowed but didn’t stop. They were almost to the gate when two men stepped in front of them, their faces white. With a wave of her hand, she blasted them out of their path. Their pursuers were all behind them now. She blindly threw a blast of energy behind her and heard a couple men grunt. They ran through the gate and she skidded to a stop and whirled around. She raised her hand, and a shimmering blue barrier filled the open gate. The closest guard tapped the barrier with his sword. A burst of energy pushed him back.

“Let’s go.” She strode away from the barricaded gate, her jaw set.

Dresden hurried after her. “Do you have a plan?”

“Get out of the palace. Find Regulus.” She turned toward the livestock gate, the closest exit, and dodged a servant boy leading an obstinate goat. “Kill Kirven and Nolan.”

“Remind me never to let you and Regulus plan anything alone,” Dresden said. “He’s a great fighter, a firm but understanding captain, and an inspiring leader, but his plans usually need some help to be actualplans.”

“I’ll figure it out.” She strode toward the gate and ignored the shouting voice in her head agreeing with Dresden, telling her she was making the same mistake they had made before the masquerade. The guard on duty glanced between them.

“Um, no one told me—”

She cut him off, conjuring a ball of flames above her right hand. “Unlock the door.”

The guard paled. “I...I can’t without orders—”

“Then give me the keys and I’ll do it.” The flames flared larger and hotter.

“I really wouldn’t try her if I were you,” Dresden said, a flicker of amusement in his voice. “The love of her life has been taken and she’s on the war path.”

The guard backed toward the gate. “I’ll be thrown in the stocks.”

Adelaide groaned. She dropped the flames and shoved her hands forward. The blast pushed the guard back and up against the gate with a crash. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. She pulled the keys off his belt and opened the lock holding the crossbeam in place. She pushed the gate open and tossed the keys on the guard’s chest before striding out of the palace. Once they were well away from the palace walls, she stopped. She needed a direction. Walking with no destination would waste precious time. And every minute she wasted was another minute that Regulus—

Wait. She stared at Dresden.

“They stopped.”

“What?” Dresden looked around the narrow, shadowy alleyway between two tall wooden buildings. His hand gripped his sword as he watched the townspeople walk by the opening of the alley, busy with their lives and their shopping as if their king wasn’t on the run. “Who—wait. The pain? It stopped?”

“Yes. What does that mean?” She should have been relieved, but irrational fear clawed at her mind. They couldn’t have found a way to kill him—could they? No. No, she wouldn’t lose Father and Regulus. She couldn’t.

“It means he’s okay for the moment,” he said, his voice calm. “Now, we need a plan. We can’t just wander around, hoping to stumble across them before the guards find us.” He stroked his beard. “If they’re torturing him, they’re unlikely to be in town. Even with a gag, that would make a lot of noise and draw too much attention. If the sorcerer was worn out from your fight, they wouldn’t have gone terribly far. He must have needed to regain his energy, just like you did, which is probably why they didn’t start on Regulus until this morning.”

He spoke so matter-of-fact. It reminded her of the way she once heard Father and some of his friends discussing how to find and corner a hobgoblin that had been causing havoc in the gardens. Methodical, dispassionate. But this wasRegulusbeing tortured he was talking about.

“They’d likely want to stay close enough to town that they could sneak in and listen for gossip on where the king is,” Dresden continued. “But they wouldn’t want to be too close to the palace in case of search parties while they’re recovering and getting whatever it is they want from Regulus.”

She leaned against one of the buildings. The rough wood snagged on her dress, but she didn’t care. “How are you so calm?”

“I’m not calm!” Dresden slammed his palm into the wall. “I’m trying to becontrolled.Controlled keeps you from making stupid decisions and wasting time or getting killed. Regulus might not be great at coming up with plans, but he never meets the enemy on their ground without stopping to think. You know how many mercenary troops had as high a success and survival rate as ours? Not many. Because he never made a move without sending out scouts. He never broke camp until he had consulted with his lieutenants. He tried to avoid going in somewhere when he didn’t have a way out.” He sighed. “Until the sorcerer. He gave up and got reckless after that. It’s part of why he would never let us go with him. But that’s irrelevant.”

Adelaide looked up at the sliver of blue sky peeking through the narrow space between the wide top floors of the buildings. Some kids ran past the alleyway, laughing as adults shouted at them. She massaged her forehead. “All right. Do you have an idea?”

“Just...give me a minute to think!”

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the building.Where are you, Regulus? Where would they take you?His face filled her mind. His intense gray eyes. His lopsided smile from the pull of his scar. The gentleness in his strong hands as he held her. She needed his strength right now. The way she felt protected when curled against his side.I need you, Regulus. Where are you? Please, Etiros. I need to find him.Something tugged at her gut. A gentle current, almost like the pull of the neumenet tree, but different. Her eyes flew open.

“Dresden.” She stepped into the alley, heading toward the back of the buildings. The pull grew, and she knew in her heart. “I can find him.”

Adelaide raced through the twisting streets of the town. A couple times she had to back up and retrace her steps when the pull shifted, and she realized she had missed a turn. Dresden tried to tell her to slow down, that they should form a plan, but the thrum of energy leading her toward Regulus overpowered his protests.I’m coming, Regulus. I’m coming.

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