Page 164 of North Queen
“Come on, Kiran,” she said over her shoulder. “They’re only boys.”
They made their way down the hill, and the young men stood quickly when they sighted them approaching. The Crest guard circled them, and the men held out their hands, showing no weapons.
“Who are you?” Norah called to them.
“Who wants to know?” one of the men cut back. His accent told her he wasn’t from Kharav, as Kiran had surmised.
“Salara wants to know,” Kiran snapped at them.
The man’s eyes widened, and he looked at his friends.
“Who are you?” Norah asked him again.
“Ando,” he replied quickly. Norah could hear the fear in his voice. He glanced at his friends again.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
“We’ve made a mistake, Your Majesty,” another man said quickly. “Please.”
“They’re from Osan,” Kiran told her.
Norah hadn’t realized they were so close to the neighboring kingdom.
“They’re forbidden to cross the border,” he added.
“Please, Your Majesty,” Ando said. “We mean no harm. We’ll be on our way.”
“Why are you here?” she asked.
They looked at each other hesitantly.
“Well?” she prodded.
“We lost a bet,” Ando admitted. “We are indebted to spend a night in the Shadowlands. We didn’t think anyone would be here. Please, Your Majesty.”
She turned to Kiran. “Let them go.”
“The lord commander would never let them live,” he told her.
“Well, the lord commander isn’t here.”Thank the gods. She looked at the young men with a scowl. “This isn’t a place for games. Go back home and consider yourselves lucky.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you! Thank you!”
They bowed appreciatively, and Norah waited while they collected their things. They gave one last bow before they clambered onto their horses and spurred them off over the next hill. Norah smiled after them.Boys.
“We should return to the castle now,” Kiran called.
“Let’s wait a bit and then ride to the top of the next hill. I want to make sure they’re off.” She took a moment to drink water and rest. “I think we should make this a regular event,” she told Kiran. “I like it out here.”
“Thank you for the warning,” he said wryly.
She chuckled. “All right, let’s see if they’ve gone.”
They rode up the hill to check on the young men, but as she reached the top and looked down, her pulse quickened. A small group of soldiers had stopped them.Kharavian soldiers. And in the center, she saw the commander.
“This isn’t good, Salara,” Kiran said. “You should go back. You don’t want to be out here.”
But Norah wasn’t thinking about going back now. She urged the mare down the hill, with her guard following close behind her. She reached the bottom as the men were being pushed to their knees.
