Page 25 of Staff of Nightfall

Chapter 10

They didn’t dare stopwhile on Father’s land. Too much of a risk of either Father’s men or Nolan finding them. Although, if Father’s men found them, they’d just be taken back. Nolan was the bigger threat. If Father’s men did find them, though, they’d be even more likely to come across Nolan on their return journey. So they rode. When they had put enough distance between themselves and Belanger castle, they stopped in a copse of ash trees surrounded by large bushes. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Adelaide awakened to pinkish light filtering through the trees, casting long shadows. Regulus was already up, digging through the sack he had brought. She stretched her sore neck while massaging her left shoulder. Regulus reached into the bag and tossed her a red apple.

“How’d you get food?”

“I wandered into the kitchen before I went to bed. Said I liked to have food in my room in case I wake up in the night. The cook seemed confused and concerned I took so much, but he’s the cook, I’m the guest and the lord, so he couldn’t tell me no.” He ducked his head and tied the bag to the back of Sieger’s saddle. “Hopefully enough to get us to Holgren and back.”

“Holgren? That’s a—”

“Royal forest. I know.”

She stood and brushed grass and leaves off herself. “What if we’re caught?”

“I guess we’ll figure that out if it happens?”

That didn’t sound like a plan, but she didn’t have any better ideas. So she mounted Zephyr and they continued on, toward a royal forest they didn’t have permission to enter and a magic tree that may or may not be sentient.

They rode for hours in silence, but Adelaide didn’t mind the comfortable quiet. The laughter and squeals of children carried through an overgrown hedge, and she wondered what hers and Regulus’ children would look like. They would almost certainly be tall.

“I want to learn Khast,” Regulus said abruptly.

She cocked her head. “You do?”

He looked over, his expression earnest. “I want you to teach me Khast. I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but...it’s important to you, so I want to learn.”

Adelaide could have laughed with joy, but she didn’t want him to think she was making fun of him. “I’d love to teach you,mareh piahre.”

“Mar-ay pea-aw-ruh.” Regulus said each syllable as if rolling it around his mouth, trying to get a feel for the sounds. “That’s what your mother called your father. What’s it mean?”

Adelaide gave him a teasing smile. “My love. My father likes to call my motherpiahre cha mareh gehvam. Love of my life.”

“Pea-aw-ruh chaw mar-ay gay-vam.” Regulus sighed. “It sounds better when you say it.”

Adelaide chuckled. “We’ll work on it,sumdir.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Now you’re just being cruel.”

“Never, handsome.”

Regulus blushed. “All right, how do you say beautiful?”

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