Page 89 of Staff of Nightfall

“And tell your lover or handler or whatever Hargreaves is I don’t care if you two were chosen by the king for whatever mysterious reason. That doesn’t make you better than us.”

“No, sir.”

Breck grabbed her hand holding the fork and stabbed the tines into a piece of roast. “I said to eat.” He moved her hand toward her mouth. Her face burned as she bit the roast off the fork. “Good.” He released her hand.

Adelaide shoveled down food, but her appetite was gone. She finally finished and picked up the plate. Before she could stand, Breck slung his arm over her shoulders, keeping her on the bench. A tremor ran down her spine.

“Got somewhere important to be?”

She chose her words carefully. “I should return my plate, sir.”

“Lewitt can take care of that. Can’t you, Lewitt?”

“Yes, sir.” Freckles reached across the table and took her plate, stacking it on top of his own before carrying them to the tub in the corner.

“Tell me about yourself, Belanger.” Breck smiled, and it made her stomach churn. She was going to lose her dinner. “Tell me a secret.”

“I don’t like being touched, sir.” She sat still as a statue, staring at the empty space where Lewitt had been sitting.

“Hargreaves’ attitude isn’t rubbing off on you, is it? I’m leaning more and more toward you two angered someone. Who was it? Was it the king himself? What’d you do? Ah, youdidn’tget in his bed, is that it?”

“Sir, I want to protect the king.” Her fingers curled against the tabletop. “I want to be a good royal guard, sir. To do that, I need rest. May I please go, sir?”

“Rest? How boring. Or are you just wanting to bed Hargreaves?”

Adelaide felt her face and ears go red. In that moment, she truly understood Regulus’ earlier actions. She twisted free and jumped off the bench.

“I didn’t say you could go!” She stopped midstride and slowly turned around. Breck had stood, a cruel smirk twisting his mouth. “Come back here.”

She took a deep breath and stepped toward him.

“Closer.”

Another step. She could see the rings of brown in his murky green eyes.

“Closer.” Breck grinned, taunting her.

“May I please go, sir?” She stepped closer, her boots nearly touching his. He grabbed her hips and pulled her to him, and she bit back a cry. A couple of the men watching snickered. She leaned back, her heart thumping in her ears.Don’t cry.“Sir, this is hardly appropriate.”

“You being here isn’t appropriate.” His hands moved up her sides.

No. No, not again. Consequences and punishments be hanged; she was through. She wasn’t weak this time, and she wasn’t powerless. Adelaide grabbed Breck’s wrists and pulled his hands off her. The surprise on Breck’s face almost made her smile.

He yanked his hands away. As she turned and headed toward the door, he grabbed her braid and pulled. She winced but didn’t turn around. Anger burned in the pit of her stomach.

“Sir, respectfully, if you don’t let me leave right now, I will embarrass you in front of all these men.”

Breck laughed. “I think it’s going to be the other way around, girl.” He grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward him. “Making threats against an officer. Tsk, tsk.” He leaned forward, his gaze drifting to her mouth as his fingers dug into the back of her shoulder. “Kiss me to show how sorry you are.”

Never.She slammed her palms against his chest, releasing a blast of magical energy. Breck flew backward two table lengths then skidded across the packed dirt floor before his shoulders knocked into the wall under the counter. Adelaide didn’t wait for him to recover, she rushed out the door. Regulus was leaning against the wall just outside.

“Hurry.” She grabbed his hand as she sped past.

“What happened?” Regulus strode next to her. “Is everything—”

“BELANGER! Stop right there!”

She closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping as she stopped.

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