Page 30 of Staff of Nightfall

Chapter 12

“Absolutely not.” Reguluspulled Adelaide closer.

Minutes ago, he thought he had traded slavery to the sorcerer for slavery to fairies, of all things. He might not know much about magic, but everyone knew fairies were tricky. Manipulative. He had just seen that for himself. According to the stories, they also liked to trap people in their realm.

“We’re leaving.”

“That’s not for you to decide,” the female fairy said with a hiss. The other fairies whispered to each other. “You aren’t ready, mage. Kirven has honed his skills for years. If you face him unprepared, you will die.”

Adelaide curled into Regulus and placed a hand on his chest. “For how long?” she asked.

“As long as it takes,” the male fairy said.

“Or until we run out of time,” the female added.

Regulus fought the urge to draw his sword. It wouldn’t help in this instance. “Why can’t I come?”

“You’re not a mage.” The female stated this as if it were obvious. “If you came with us, you wouldn’t be able to leave.”

“You wouldn’t let me leave?”

The male fairy rolled his eyes. “No, you wouldn’t beableto. You need magic to leave the fairy realm.”

“Why can’t you teach me here?” Adelaide asked.

An excellent question, Regulus thought.Tricksters.

“We can’t stay here long,” the female said. “We weaken the longer we are in this realm.”

“Can I talk to Regulus alone for a moment?”

The two fairies looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation. Regulus glanced toward the horses. If the fairies were telling the truth about weakening while in their world, maybe they had a chance at running away.

“Fine.” The female waved her hand dismissively.

They stepped away from the fairies and Adelaide folded her arms over her stomach. Regulus tapped his leg.

“I don’t like it.”

“But they have a point.” Adelaide bit her lower lip. He blinked. He needed to focus on the problem at hand and not how attractive that was. “What if it takes a mage to stop a sorcerer?” She kicked at the ground. “And I can’t...” She looked away.

---