Page 114 of North Queen
“How would you describe it?”
“It was a kingdom that almost wiped out the Uru. They wanted our land along the river. They attacked our villages, took our horses, slaughtered our people.”
A wave of horror washed through her. “What happened?”
“Salar came. He drove Choan back. But after the battle, after Salar returned to Kharav, they attacked again despite his warning not to. So, he did what he had to.”
He’d protected them. Norah swallowed. “He told me the Uru helped him after he fled Aviron, that you saved him.”
“Death was coming for him. We gave our best crops and furs to the spirits, and we prayed for six days. On the sixth day, his fever broke. Then we showed them through the canyons and home.”
Relief filled her. The king hadn’t destroyed Choan for fun. He’d been protecting them. He’d been protecting the people who’d helped him in his time of need—people who’d sacrificed for him, who cared for him.
How different everything was than what she’d thought she’d known. But still… all this death.
“Is your husband dead?” she asked. Then she chided herself. It was too personal a question, too prying.
“Publicly—who knows? Privately, in the most beautifully horrible way.”
Norah’s stomach twisted, but she couldn’t muster sympathy for such a man. “What happened?”
“Soren.”
Tahla didn’t need to say more. Norah could imagine. She noted that Tahla called the commander by his name. “You two are close?”
“I’ve known Soren since he was a boy. Now he’s all grown up and thinks he’s a fancy lord, but I never let him forget I can always get him with a blade.”
Norah smiled. Tahla was a beautiful spirit.
When Norah and Tahla arrived back at the village, a crowd of children surrounded them, cheering at Tahla, who grinned back at them. The woman slid down, and Norah returned the mare to the other horses beside the river.
The chief was waiting. “You rode Savantahla?” he asked Tahla incredulously.
“By Savan’s grace, and Salara’s,” she said, smiling back at Norah.
Tahla’s use of the Shadow title surprised Norah, but it felt… nice. She pushed the feeling down. She didn’t want to like it. She didn’t want to be salara,the Shadow Queen.
Norah’s eyes found Mikael’s. He looked shaken—he’d feared she’d left. She gave him a small reassuring smile before Tahla pulled her attention back.
“Come!” the chief’s daughter said. “I have something for you I think you’ll like.”
Norah glanced back at the king and then let Tahla pull her away again. She followed the Urun woman up a path, through the rock, and down a trail that curved around, revealing a large waterfall with a pool at the bottom. Torches circled the pool, chasing back the night.
“This place is amazing,” Norah said.
“Come on!” Tahla said excitedly as she pulled off her clothes.
Norah laughed in surprise, and she looked around shyly.
“Don’t worry. It’s private for us,” Tahla assured her.
Getting naked and jumping in a waterfall in the middle of winter after getting betrothed to the Shadow King was not what she’d expected herself to be doing right now. But Tahla’s spirit made her happy, so she pulled off her boots and wriggled out of her clothes.
Tahla dove into the pool, disappearing underneath and then rising back to the surface. She grinned at Norah, waiting.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
Norah took a deep breath and jumped, prepared for the sting of the cold. But to her surprise, the water was warm, and she let it carry away her burdens in its current. She came to the surface and breathed, finding Tahla. “It’s warm!” she exclaimed.
