Page 16 of Staff of Nightfall

Chapter 7

Regulus didn’t rememberfalling asleep, but as the sound of voices cut through the darkness, he pried open his heavy eyes. He moved and clutched his side, biting back a moan as a stab of rippling pain spread over his ribs. It had been awhile since he’d had to deal with lingering severe injuries. Adelaide leaned over him, her concerned face filling his field of vision.

“Easy there. The physician’s on her way.” She bit her lip. “I can’t muster enough power to heal you again. There’s something there, but...I can’t reach it.”

“It’s really not that bad.” He smiled as convincingly as possible. “Help me sit up?”

She moved back and helped him sit. He had to clench his teeth to keep from crying out as his ribs pinched. Carrying Adelaide had been a bad idea. But he would have done it again. Now upright, he noticed Lord and Lady Belanger sat in wooden chairs on the other side of the bed, near Adelaide. They watched silently as he moved back to lean against the wall at the head of the bed.

“I have good news.” Adelaide beamed, her eyes twinkling. “Mother has agreed not to blame you.” She winked at Regulus and he laughed, then clutched at his ribs again. Her smile faded.

“I’m fine.” A lie he was used to telling. He smiled and shook his head. “Maybe a kiss would help, though.”

Lord Belanger cleared his throat and Regulus’ face burned. He’d been so focused on Adelaide he’d already forgotten they were there. But Adelaide grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him full on the mouth. He closed his eyes, put his hands on her waist and kissed her, not caring that her parents were watching. It took every ounce of his self-control not to pull her back in when their lips parted.

“Better?” she whispered, her eyes dancing. She still held his face in her hands.

“Better.”

Lord Belanger cleared his throat again, more obviously this time.

“Please.” Adelaide rolled her eyes and dropped her hands from his face as she turned toward her parents. She leaned back on her hands. “You two can’t talk.”

“Fine.” Lord Belanger flushed. “I suppose that’s fair.”

A knock sounded at the door, and an older woman with a crown of gray braids walked in carrying a wool bag.

“Maggie!” Adelaide motioned the woman over with a warm smile. “This is Lord Hargreaves. He needs his ribs looked at.”

The woman—Maggie, apparently—walked over to the bed, her gaze darting between Adelaide and Regulus with curiosity. She set the bag on the bed. “Take your shirt off.”

He hesitated. He needed her care; but did it have to be here, in front of Adelaide and her parents? She would have to see someday, but he’d hoped it would be after they were married—when it wouldn’t matter anymore. Well, he could hide the most embarrassing ones, at least. As he pulled off his shirt, he kept his back close to the wall.

Adelaide gasped, and heat rushed up his neck to his ears. He wished it was a gasp of appreciation, but he knew it wasn’t. He was scarred. Several were from his time as a mercenary, like the one on his face. Many were from the last two years. The sorcery had healed him, but left scars. Some small and easy to miss. A couple were large, like the uneven white scar across most of his abdomen from the dragon’s tail.

Maggie glanced up at his face, then turned her attention back to his ribs. “Hm.”

He looked down. A stab of pain accompanied the movement. Blue and purple bruises marked yellowed skin over his injury. She pressed against the ribs with cold fingers. He gritted his teeth and flinched away.

“Hold still, dear.” Maggie ran her fingers over his ribs.

Regulus stared at the gauzy green fabric suspended over Adelaide’s four-poster bed, ignoring the ache and stabs.

“Definitely cracked,” Maggie said. “And these...” She turned his arm to get a better look at the scabbed bite marks and red skin on his arm, then pulled him a little away from the wall to prod at the bite on his shoulder. He twitched against the prick of pain but tried to stay still.

“Anything you can do?” Adelaide put her hand on top of his.

“I’ll salve the bites to fight infection, as I did with your arm. They should heal all right. The ribs will need salved, wrapped, and he’ll need to keep movement to a minimum.” Maggie pushed against his ribs again and he clenched his teeth until his jaw ached. “But they appear to be aligned and not threatening his lungs. He will heal, but it will take time.”

The breaks had been worse before Adelaide started to heal them. Breathing had been difficult and agonizing, but he’d tried to hide the blood he’d coughed up. He hadn’t coughed since she healed him. Adelaide looked downcast, so he gave her a reassuring smile. He couldn’t say anything in front of Maggie, who he guessed didn’t know about Adelaide’s magic, but he hoped Adelaide saw the silent thank you in his smile. She had healed his arm, and his ribs weren’t threatening to burst his lung. He counted that as a win. And Adelaide was alive and well, bigger win.

“Swing your legs over the side of the bed.” Maggie fetched a stool from in front of Adelaide’s vanity. She set it next to the bed and her forehead wrinkled when she saw Regulus hadn’t turned. “This isn’t an ideal angle, my lord.”

Regulus gulped and did as instructed, his face already burning with humiliation. Maggie didn’t seem to notice as she pulled a pot out of her bag, covered her fingers in sweet-smelling green salve, and began working the salve over his bruised ribs.

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