Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(28)
Before Darren or Paige could say a word, I stomped over to the other side of camp, splattering mud against my heavy cloak and entering the royal tent. I waited for my husband to follow me inside.
Sure enough, Darren appeared moments later, rainwater dripping from his hair and lashes.
“I’m sorry.” The prince’s eyes sought my face; they were filled with shame. “I didn’t stop to think what this might be like for you. You’ve been so….” The prince took a step closer and cursed as his boot caught on the bottom of the tent’s flap. “Sstrong through all of thisss.” Darren made a face as he tried the words again, only to slur once more. “I f-forgotttt—”
The prince slumped forward, and I caught him in my arms.
I slowly transferred Darren to the ground and wrapped him in heavy furs.
Don’t. Don’t you dare think about what you’ve just done to the boy you claim to love.
The sleeping draught had hit just in time. The Black Mage was fast asleep, and when he awoke, his last memory would be my barely restrained outrage over the rebel’s life. The whole camp would remember that rage. I would never be a suspect in Tallus’s escape.
I brushed away Darren’s choppy bangs and pressed my lips to his forehead. “I’m sorry.” They were the words I could never say to him before, and it felt so good to say them now. “I’m sorry for everything.”
*
I waited until the murmur of voices died down and there was only the patter of rain. Then I tiptoed back into the center of our camp, taking care to duck around trees just in case someone was still awake.
No one was.
Twenty knights and mages were sprawled across the camp’s floor. Twenty of the Crown’s best unaware of the true traitor in their midst.
I ran forward to adjust Hadley so that she could breathe easier from her position on the ground. I felt guilty while thinking of my comrades—my friends—left out in the pouring rain to freeze, but I couldn’t draw suspicion by dragging them all under cover. Paige and Henry were clustered together on the ground, drawn swords scattered close by. They caught on faster than the rest.
I made one final scan of the scene before hurrying over to Tallus.
“Thank the g-gods.” The man’s breath was coming out in white puffs of air, his limbs shaking from the cold. Someone had taken his blanket away after I’d left, probably because of my scene. I bit back a groan. The price of my speech.
“Here.” I slashed at his bonds with a cooking knife before tossing it to the ground. I couldn’t let anyone think he’d gotten free through magic.
“We need some of my blood on those ropes,” the knight croaked. “No one will believe I escaped that easily.”
“I’m not letting you take any more injuries.” I grabbed the knife, but Tallus snatched it away, his reflexes surprisingly fast.
His expression was sad. “It has to be me. You can’t awake with new injuries. They would know something was wrong.”
I ground my teeth and looked away as the knight let out a low grunt while cutting into his palm and then pressing it against the rope’s end. You know he’s right. You need to focus on what comes next.
“You have two hours, three if we’re lucky.”
“Only three?”
“The stew diluted the potion’s effects, but it was too risky to drug the ale. Most only took a bite or two at most.” I flushed in the dark. “It wasn’t a pleasant aftertaste.”
The knight studied the range behind us. “Nyx stocked a hideout for me a day’s ride north from here. Enough supplies for a month.”
“We need to get out of here now. Don’t worry about covering your trail. I’ll do it on my way back.” I tossed the knight some bandages from my saddle pack. “Wrap your hands.”
Tallus opened his mouth, his question already on my mind—
I cut Paige’s mare loose and watched her flee south. My guard would kill me if she ever found out.
“We’re going on foot.” Tallus needed as many distractions as two hours could buy. “When they try to decide which path you took, Darren will assume you’ve fled south to the rebel base after he tracks those prints.”
The prince wouldn’t want to waste time combing the forest when his brother’s life was at stake. He would send others later after he was back with the king, but by then Tallus would be long gone north.
The knight swallowed heavily. “Thank you, princess.”
“I’m one of you first.” Darren would never have made me his wife if he knew.
I gripped the knight’s waist as we started forward, using my other hand to cast a light. A day in the prison and three days of travel with old injuries hadn’t helped, even prepared as Tallus was.
“Tallus…” I cleared my throat and squinted up through the pouring rain at the man who had braved so much for his cause. We had walked an hour together, and as much as it pained me, I had to turn around. Any more time would jeopardize our cause.
The knight didn’t regard me with disdain, but I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. After all, I subjected him to that night in the dungeon. “Your sacrifice won’t be for nothing. I promise.”
“Derrick was—” Tallus’s voice cracked, “—a great friend of mine. I volunteered for this role.”