Page 105 of North Queen
The commander’s lip quivered in fury as he bared his teeth. Then, suddenly, he released her and pushed himself off and away from the bed. “You won’t speak of this again,” he snarled.
“And you won’t speak of Alexander,” she countered.
A pact sealed in animosity. Surprisingly, he seemed to settle. He pulled out a flask and some wrapped meat and dropped it on the bed beside her.
Just then, Norah heard a shuffle outside the room. “What was that?” she asked.
“The horses.”
“Inside?”
He shrugged. “No one to care.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she found herself looking around the room. They weren’t in a simple house.
She picked up the flask and brought it to her lips, surprised to find whiskey instead of water. She suppressed a cough as she swallowed, then drank again. Her stomach grumbled as she bit into the meat. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.
The commander stood watching her as she took another drink.
“When will the king be here?” she asked.
“Two days.”
“What about the storm?”
“The army will keep him well.”
Norah finished the meat and took another drink. The warmth of the alcohol spread under her skin, and her shivering calmed.
The commander rose to put another log on the fire. He still walked with a slight limp from when his horse had fallen on top of him at the stronghold.Good.She hoped it still hurt. Her eyes stopped on a freshly healing cut on his side, and a smirk pulled at her lips that shehadmanaged to get him with her knife when he’d caught her trying to escape. Served him right. She hoped that still hurt too.
Norah let herself look at him. His body was thick and muscled from fighting. Ink patterned his chest and shoulders, running down his arms. His skin was smooth and hairless, and she followed the lines of his form lower. Unlike the king, the commander bore the markings over his thighs as well.
He looked at her, and she quickly turned away.
“Are you just going to stand naked by the fire until your clothes dry?” she asked irritably.
“Would you rather me come to bed with you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she hissed.
He chuckled, entertained by her anger.
They sat in silence for a while. The commander sat by the fireplace and leaned back against the wall. She turned her back to him and pulled the blankets tighter around her. She needed rest; escaping took a lot from the body. She listened for the steady rhythm of the commander’s breath to tell her he was asleep, but it never came.
Norah woke to the commander still sitting by the fire. It was morning. “Do you ever sleep?” she asked shortly.
He gave her an annoyed look but didn’t respond.
She rolled her eyes. “They say no sleep will make a man go mad.”
“Perhaps I’m not a man.”
“Or perhaps you’re already mad.” She found herself thinking of the king, wondering how he was faring through the storm. “If the king dies, will you kill me?” she asked him.
“He won’t.”
“What if he does?”
