Page 35 of Staff of Nightfall

Without hesitation, Adelaide took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere. But you need a distraction. So practice.” He pointed at the fire. “Put up a barrier from the fire to the trunk of the tree.”

They practiced for hours. Adelaide put up one barrier after another. Straight, curved, a complete dome over her and Regulus. Then Regulus made her keep a barrier up while she conjured and used lances, knives, and swords. The neumenet’s power flowed alongside hers, as if guiding her, helping her learn. By the light of one of her spheres, Regulus set up a bunch of branches in the ground and had her knock them all down while he tried to break through a barrier. She sent the last branch flying into the forest and dropped the barrier. Regulus stumbled forward as she bent over, hands on her knees, breathing hard. Her stomach growled.

“All right. That should be enough for tonight.”

She smiled at the pride in Regulus’ voice.

Chapter 14

Sunlight glinted offthe neumenet tree’s leaves, casting a rainbow of color into the tendrils of mist drifting over the meadow. In the early morning light, Regulus imagined he could see how thin the veil between their world and the fairy realm was under the tree’s canopy. Even if the ground under magical trees still proved hard and uncomfortable.

He had always hated sleeping on the ground. But with Adelaide pressed against his chest, the ground and his aching muscles didn’t seem so bad. As their eyes met, the enchanting beauty of the meadow and neumenet tree faded away, leaving only her.

The sound of her gentle breathing. The dip in her waist where his arm fit so perfectly. Her gorgeous round face and soft brown skin, her dark brown eyes that held his gaze captive and tangled up his insides. The second the sorcerer was dead, Regulus was going to marry her and make sure he woke up to her every morning.

Adelaide ran her finger along his scar, tickling his skin and sending his mind careening in a dozen directions, several of which were less than innocent. But shame about the scars covering the rest of his body tainted his thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?” she murmured.

His face heated. “Um... How to help you train today.”

Adelaide laughed, her eyes glinting mischievously. “No, you weren’t.”

“No,” he admitted. “I was thinking about doing this.” He leaned over, gripped her waist, and kissed her. “Every day.” He kissed her cheek. “For the rest.” A kiss against her neck that made her sigh. He smiled and moved his lips back to hers. “Of my life.” She met his kiss and clutched the side of his neck. Her stomach rumbled, intruding on the moment and making him laugh against her mouth. “Hungry,piahre?”

“Using so much magic makes me starved.” She gave him a quick peck and slipped out from under him.

He collapsed onto his stomach on the grass that was still warm with her body heat with a groan. A few moments later, Adelaide’s shadow fell over him.

“Are you going to eat, or should I use your back as a table?”

Regulus sat up and rolled his eyes. She sat across from him and handed him some bread and roasted nuts. He raised a brow as she tore into the bread with as much gusto as one of his men after a hard training session. Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips to his scarred cheek before returning to his eyes.

“I know you said you like my scar, and that I don’t need to hide.” He tossed some nuts in his mouth, trying to appear nonchalant. “But... I heard you gasp when you saw the rest. Are they...” His throat knotted.Repulsive?

---