Page 140 of North Queen
He was different from how she’d imagined him. Older—perhaps a couple years older than she was. A trenched scar ran from just under the inside of his right eye and down over his cheek to his jaw. A second scar claimed the space over his left eye and channeled back into his shoulder-length black hair that was tied from behind. Perhaps they’d been from the same injury. Unlucky. Or lucky, depending on how one looked at the situation.
“Bremhad is his father,” Vitalia said.
Norah let out a breath. She saw it now—the resemblance.
Kiran shifted uneasily, the muscle tightening underneath his inked skin. This was a secret—a secret he protected.
“Bremhad has been thrown in the dungeon,” her maid added.
“There’s a dungeon?” As it rolled off her lips, she knew it was a stupid question. Even Mercia had a dungeon.
Kindly, Vitalia only nodded. “Kiran’s planning to break him out.”
He shot her maid an angry glare. “You said you wouldn’t tell her that.”
“You can trust her,” her maid pressed.
Norah gaped at him. “Break him out of the dungeon? You can’t do that.”
“I’m a warrior of the Crest. I can.” His courtesies were gone. But she didn’t fault him. Anger and fear drove him now. And he was right, he probably could get his father out, with some planning. He was an elite member of the Crest, skilled beyond any prison guard.
“No, Kiran, listen to me. This isn’t the way. If you break him out, you won’t be able to stay here. You’ll have to leave, to flee. You’ll both be hunted.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t do nothing. And once they know he’s my father, they’ll know my papers are fake. I’ll be thrown in there with him.”
She quieted as her mind raced. He’d faked his status to be eligible for the army. She clutched her own hands. This complicated things. “Regardless, you can’t break him out.”
How quickly the kindness in his eyes changed to aggression. “I won’t let him die down there because he made a mistake.”
Confusion filled her. “What mistake?”
Kiran hesitated, then he said, “Speaking to you in the Northern tongue.”
“Why would that be a mistake?” She knew the answer before she’d even finished the question. She scoffed in frustration. “Because the commander wants me to think that only a few can understand me. Better to spy on me, I see.”
Kiran didn’t confirm it. But he didn’t deny it.
“Let me take care of this,” she said. “I’ll have your father released.”
Kiran straightened, but he cast his gaze to the side with his lips tight and drew in a cynical breath.
“Do you not believe me?”
He looked back at her. “I believe you’ll try.” He didn’t think she could.
“Kiran, please. Let me help you before you do something rash. Do you not love your life here?”
“I love my father more,” he said.
Emotion swelled within her. Had she loved her own father this strongly? She reached out and clasped his arm. “Kiran, please. I promise you I’ll get him out.”
The silence was long and agonizing. But Kiran sighed, relenting. He gave a short nod.
She pursed her lips into a reassuring smile.
“Wait until we’ve gone,” Vitalia told him. “We’ll take the guard with us, and you can leave unseen.”
He gave a small nod. “Thank you.”
