The Way of Kings: Chapter 66

Kaladin inspects Skar's wound mid-battle, reminding him not to put any weight on it until it’s healed, while Teft tries to resist being treated as an invalid. The battle for The Tower rages behind them, but Kaladin is almost too exhausted by his overuse of Stormlight to pay attention to it. When he turns to examine the fighting, though, he’s shocked to see Sadeas retreating. He orders the men into bridge positions, discussing with Moash why the Highprince could be leaving a battle that was going well. He wonders if Sadeas might have been badly injured or even killed, but then sees Sadeas crossing the chasm, his armor’s paint unscratched. Kaladin sees the second Parshendi army surrounding Dalinar and realizes that Sadeas has betrayed his ally. He rushes to Sadeas, wanting to confirm that the traitor is unwounded, and hears his last words to Dalinar: "I told you, old friend ... I said that honor of yours would get you killed someday."
On the plateau, Dalinar and Adolin fight a desperate battle. Their armor is cracked in countless places, leaking Stormlight and growing heavier, slowly but surely. Adolin bellows that he warned his father not to trust Sadeas, that they walked right into it, and Dalinar knows he’s right. He wonders how he could have been wrong about Sadeas the entire time. When the Parshendi swarm and Dalinar sees his guard begin to buckle, he orders them to pull back.
He and Adolin take a much needed breather. Dalinar tells Adolin that he should come out and say that he’d led them to destruction. Adolin surprises him by saying that no, it’s not his father's fault. Adolin wouldn’t have asked him to stop trying to make Alethkar better, to become like Sadeas. He wishes they hadn’t let Sadeas trick them, but he doesn’t blame Dalinar for Sadeas’s betrayal. Dalinar realizes that, at last, his son has accepted the Codes.
With that knowledge, Dalinar’s guilt evaporates, and he finds himself at peace. He thanks his son, and tries to rally his men. He delivers a rousing speech, emphasizing that they follow the Codes because of who they are, and that by doing so they have become better people, even if they are about to die. That in dying well they will have lived gloriously. The men don’t cheer, but they regain resolve, and Dalinar charges back into battle, thinking only how sorry he is to have left Renarin to rule House Kholin alone.
Quote of the Chapter: