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Confusion welled in Regulus as Adelaide’s barrier dissolved above them. She pulled away and took a shaky step toward the sorcerer.
“We surrender. You win. My family and Regulus’ friends are safe.”
Regulus’ shoulders caved. For a moment, the spark in her eyes, the way she said together... He thought she had changed her mind. So that was it then. A lifetime spent serving the sorcerer. Spent watching Adelaide taint her soul with sorcery and suffer under Carrick’s control. But the alternative of abandoning her to bear that alone was worse.
“Could have saved us both a lot of trouble and me a splitting headache if you’d given in earlier,” the sorcerer grumbled.
“No harm will come to my family or Regulus’ friends?” Adelaide pressed.
“So long as they don’t interfere with me, no harm will come to them.”
The sorcerer would provide himself a loophole.
But it must have been good enough for Adelaide, because she pushed her sleeve up over her elbow. “You’ll take Regulus, too?”
The sorcerer huffed. “Fine. Give me your arm.”
“What?” Carrick sounded offended. “You can’t—”
“I can do whatever the hell I want,” the sorcerer snapped. “Now stop whining before I change my mind about keeping my word.”
Carrick grunted, but shut up.
This is wrong. Regulus gripped the hilt of Carrick’s sword. If he could cut off Carrick’s head...
“Drop it, mercenary.” The sorcerer’s voice was cold. “Now, mage. Your arm.”
Adelaide hesitated, and hope sparked in Regulus. But then she held her arm out to the sorcerer. Regulus looked away. He couldn’t watch.
“Do you know what shiraa means, Kirven?” Adelaide asked. Regulus frowned up at her.
The sorcerer shrugged. “It’s Khast. Tigress.” He placed his hand over her forearm.
“Tigers,” Adelaide said softly, “don’t like being caged.” Her palm glowed a soft blue. A shaft of solid blue light appeared in her grip and extended into the sorcerer’s stomach.
The sorcerer shrieked. A blast of green light knocked Adelaide to the ground. Regulus seized the sword and leapt up. The sorcerer was focused on healing the hole Adelaide had put through his abdomen, paying no attention as Regulus rushed him. Carrick shouted a warning, and the sorcerer’s head whipped up.
Regulus swung with every ounce of energy he had for the sorcerer’s neck. The sorcerer gaped and lifted his hands, his palms glowing green, but too late. Regulus screamed a battle cry, all his anger and heartbreak lending strength to his wearied arms. The sorcerer’s head tumbled to the ground.
The sorcerer’s body fell.
Regulus’ chest heaved. It was over. Really, truly, over.
He lowered the sword. For the first time in two years, he felt free. He squared his shoulders as an immeasurable weight lifted off him. But then he looked for Adelaide, and his rage threatened to rip him apart.
––––––––
KIRVEN’S BLAST KNOCKED Adelaide to the ground. Blackness crowded out her vision and her arms shook as she tried to push herself up. She lurched to her feet, but before she could turn to aid Regulus, Nolan wrested her to the ground and shouted a warning to Kirven.
Nolan rolled over on top of her, pinning her in place. She tried to send a blast of magic off her body, as she had done before to break free of Kirven’s ropes, but was too drained. Nolan’s legs trapped her hands against her thighs and his hands on her shoulders wouldn’t let her shift enough to see what was happening with Regulus and Kirven.
“You won’t want to see that, love.” He pressed his forearm across her chest as she struggled.
Regulus bellowed a war cry. Adelaide slammed her head into Nolan’s mouth. The impact hurt more than she had anticipated, and her eyes watered. Nolan cursed and pushed against her until she feared her sternum would crack. Regulus’ shout stopped. Nolan gasped and pulled away, his brow furrowed.
“What...” He shook his head and shifted enough she could pull one hand free.
She blasted Nolan backward as Regulus shouted, “Get off her!”
Adelaide sat up, her body shaking and stomach roiling as her eyes fought to focus and her head ached. Regulus kicked the side of Nolan’s head and held the point of the sword to Nolan’s throat. Adelaide’s gaze locked onto a mound of black and red robes.
Kirven’s head was not attached to his body. She pressed her fist to her mouth, transfixed by the horror before her. Her stomach clenched. Look away, look away...
“Ad,” Regulus said. She tore her eyes from Kirven’s grotesque head to Regulus standing over Nolan. “I want to run him through.” His voice was so low and gravelly she hardly recognized it. “I want to do more than that. But not if...” He grunted. “If you want him to hang.”
She wanted to curl into a ball somewhere dark and cry until she fell asleep, then sleep until this was all a distant memory.
“Um...I vote hanging,” Nolan said.
Adelaide stood, her legs shaking. “Why? So you can try to talk your way free?”
“To be honest, yes.” Nolan’s voice lacked its usual confidence. “I was tricked! And then he used me! He controlled me and tortured me and forced me—”
“Did he force you to kiss me?” Adelaide shouted. She conjured a throwing knife, even though the effort made her sway. “Did he compel you to assault me?” Her voice shook. She raised the throwing knife. This wasn’t what Father would want. The king would appreciate a prisoner to make an example of. And it might help with her desertion problem. She sighed and let the throwing knife vanish. “I need a peace offering for the king.”
Regulus shook his head. “What are you—”
“I...” She kicked at the grass. “I sort of deserted.”
“What?” The rage vanished from Regulus’ voice, replaced by fear. “To come find me?” She nodded. “You’ll be hanged!”
Nolan laughed. “Fancy that.”
“Shut up, or I’ll run you through.”
Adelaide raised her head and tried not to flinch at Regulus’ appalled expression. “A prisoner the king can execute to remind his people he’s in charge might help my case.”
“Okay,” Regulus sounded panicked. “Okay, that might work. Okay.” His voice leveled as he calmed himself. “Looks like you’re good for something, Carrick. Ad, can you get the chains with the shackles?”
Adelaide hurried to bring the shackles from the oak tree. She crouched next to Nolan, careful to avoid looking at his face. She closed a shackle around his wrist, then moved to his other side and closed the other shackle. Regulus used the chain to pull Nolan to his feet.
“Try to run,” Regulus said. “And I’ll slice open your ankles. Understood?”
Adelaide stepped next to Regulus and looked up at him as he stuck the sword in his belt. His stormy expression softened as he gazed at her.
“Are you okay?” he murmured.
She nodded, although her lower lip trembled. “You did it. We’re...”
“Free.” Regulus looked tired, despite his smile. “We did it, mareh piahre. We defeated him together.”
She smiled, unsure what she was feeling in the wreckage of her emotions. Relieved, certainly. The echo of failure still resounded in the back of her mind. She doubted she deserved Regulus. But as she looked into his piercing gray eyes, she felt overwhelming love.
“Can we save the adoring looks for when I’m not around?” Nolan muttered.
“You should apologize, cad,” Regulus growled.
Nolan glared at Adelaide. “I’m sorry.” He pulled his lips back in a snarl, contorting his handsome features into the monster he really was. “I never should have let you leave that morning after I took you from Arrano. I’m sorry I didn’t break into your room that night and make you my—”
Regulus’ fist connected with Nolan’s jaw with a sharp crack as Adelaide paled.
Nolan spit blood and grinned, his teeth smeared with red. “Too bad you can’t kill me, since the wench got herself in a predicament.”
Anger burned away Adelaide’s exhaustion, mixing with her fear. She clenched her fists as she tried to stop shaking.
“Bet you can’t make her tremble like that, mercenary.”
Rage and humiliation knotted her insides and squeezed her throat. Regulus punched Nolan’s stomach, and Nolan stumbled back, coughing. Nolan straightened and stepped back as far as the long chain would allow.
“Want another kiss, love?” He licked his bloodied lips as his eyes roamed over her. “Maybe a bit more?”
She shuddered. “Gag him.”
Nolan gave her a mocking smirk as Regulus moved toward him. “I’ll convince the king I was ensorcelled, and Hargreaves entrapped you. And when I marry you, I won’t waste time—”
Adelaide screamed and threw a knife she didn’t recall conjuring at Nolan. The glowing blade buried deep in his neck. His face went slack as he choked. What did I just do? The blade vanished and Nolan fell to his knees, pressing his hands against his throat. She stared in mute shock, rooted in place. Your bargaining chip. You need him alive! But she couldn’t move as his face whitened. He fell forward with a clatter of chains.
Adelaide dropped to the ground. He might still be alive. But she didn’t have the energy or desire to save Nolan’s life. She stared at Nolan’s body as tension built behind her forehead. Regulus knelt next to her and held her against his chest.
“He deserved it, Adelaide.”
She sobbed and wrapped her arms around Regulus’ neck.
“He was guilty and dangerous,” Regulus whispered. “And he deserved so much worse.”
“I murdered him.” She buried her face in his shirt. “Justice...”
“This is justice.” He rubbed her back. “Even your father told me Carrick deserved to die. Now or later, why does it matter? We’re royal guards. We have the authority to kill a traitor to the crown.”
“Well...you are,” she mumbled. “Oh, Etiros, what have I done?”
