Page 61 of Staff of Nightfall

Chapter 23

Regulus sat up witha gasp, nearly hitting his head against Dresden’s in the dark. Every muscle vibrated with energy. He felt like he had just jumped into a freezing lake while half-asleep, and the jolt to his system had erased any feelings of tiredness. He grabbed at where the sword had pierced his abdomen. His chainmail was sticky with blood, but it was like the wound had never been there.

“Regulus.” Dresden sobbed and hugged Regulus to his chest, his body shaking as he squeezed so hard Regulus couldn’t breathe. When Dresden pulled back, his face was streaked with tears.

“Are you hurt?” Dresden shook his head, and Regulus looked around. “Where is—”Adelaide.

Alfred held her across his lap, leaning over her ashen face. Regulus’ heart nearly stopped until her chest rose with a small breath. He moved toward them.

“Adelaide?”

Alfred didn’t look up as he stroked her head. “She did something to heal you, and then she just...fell over. I think she fainted, but she’s barely breathing.”

“What?” Regulus touched her braid where it fell across her shoulder.

Alfred sniffed, and Regulus realized he had been crying. “She healed your wounds, but you were still dying. And then she put her hand on your arm. I don’t...” He drew in a ragged breath and kissed her forehead.

“You were nearly gone,” Dresden said. “I thought you—” His voice cracked, and he broke off.

“She wouldn’t let you go,” Alfred murmured.

Dresden snuffled. “She said... Your arm... Oh, no. No. I know what she did.” Regulus looked back, surprised by the horror in his friend’s voice. “Look at your arm, Reg.”

Regulus frowned down at his arms. His right sleeve was pushed up to his elbow under the chainmail.

“The underside.” Drez sounded resigned, almost bitter.

He turned his right arm over and lifted it. The chainmail slid back to his elbow. A new black mark stood out against his skin; an intricate knot of interlocking shapes formed from an unbroken line. He squinted in the dim moonlight. Two triangles, their points extending toward the sides of his arm, formed a diamond shape between two...hearts?

He ran his fingertips over the mark. A comforting warmth spread up his arm at the touch and the strangest humming sensation nestled deep in his chest, almost in his soul. The humming drew his gaze toward Adelaide. He took her hand. Something inside him tugged toward her. An ethereal connection he couldn’t explain, but that made him feel at ease and energized at once.

“She marked you,” Drez said angrily, “just like the sorcerer.”

“No.” Regulus smiled and caressed the side of her face. “Not at all like the sorcerer.”

“She made you agree you wanted to be bound to her forever. She used magic to put a mark on your arm, and somehow that kept you alive when you should have been dead. Doesn’t that sound familiar?” Frustration laced Drez’s voice.

“This isn’t sorcery.” Regulus turned toward Drez. “This isn’t about control. It doesn’t hurt. It feels completely different. Less one-sided. It even looks different. This isn’t slavery.” He looked back at Adelaide’s face. Even in sleep, exhaustion pulled at her features. “This is love.”

“I hope you’re right.” Drez sighed. “At least you’re alive. I...”

“I’m okay.” Regulus clapped Dresden’s shoulder. “Thank Etiros you are. If I’d woken up and you...” He swallowed hard.

Dresden crumpled and rubbed at his beard. “I thought I lost you. You looked like—” He stopped himself with a shake of his head, but Regulus could imagine what he was going to say. Like any of the friends they had lost as mercenaries. “I won’t forgive you if you die,” Dresden muttered. “I won’t forgivemeif you die.”

“Drez—”

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