Page 174 of North Queen
He smiled and brought his lips to hers.
The sun cast a deceptive warmth through the windows as Soren walked through the side hall of the castle, toward the king’s chamber. He’d expected Mikael at daybreak at the stable. They were to ride to the smaller Horsemen tribes of the Shoen to renew their agreements, but Mikael hadn’t come.
When he reached the king’s room, he was surprised to find it empty, with only Mikael’s servant.
“Where is Salar?” he asked.
Vimal gave a small bow. “He joined Salara last night in her sanctuary, my lord. He’s not yet returned.”
Soren bristled. He turned and strode back out of the chamber, down the hall, and through the castle, toward the North Queen’s sanctuary. As he turned the corner, nearing her hall, only a sentry guard stood watch, not her Crest guard. He slowed his pace; she wasn’t there.
He lingered in the cross section a moment, then he turned and left the way he’d come. He wondered where he might find Salar now. Mikael had already left the queen and the sanctuary, but he hadn’t headed back to his chamber.
As he crossed the center of the castle and headed toward the dining hall, something caught his eye. Two soldiers of the queen’s Crest guard stood at the end of a hallway at the back of the castle, by a door leading outside. Why would the queen be outside? And without her guard? He strode toward them. “Where is the North Queen?” he called.
“In the conservatory,” Bhastian answered.
“Without you?” he asked angrily but didn’t give them an opportunity to answer as he pushed through the doors and stepped outside. He stalked the short way to the conservatory, but as he reached the front step, he stopped. Through the side windowpane, he saw the North Queen.And Mikael.
The queen stood with her back against the stone wall. Mikael held her face in his hands, cradling her as his mouth covered hers.
A chilling burn crept under his skin and to his chest, then sank like a weight into his stomach. It wasn’t the kiss. It was what the kiss meant.
He slipped around the outside corner of the castle, out of sight from the conservatory, and leaned back against the stone exterior.
Soren drew in a slow breath and forced it out. He’d seen the king with other women, with his previous wives, but those marriages had been motivated by political gain and meant very little. Mikael had never loved anyone. Until now. And that was dangerous—loving the North Queen. The one threat to him. Mikael welcomed his fate.
Soren wanted blood so badly he could taste it on his tongue. He put his hand on his dagger again, curling his fingers around the hilt to settle his fury. But there was no settling.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Mikael said softly as he drew back from Norah’s lips. “But I’ve kept the lord commander waiting long enough.”
Norah didn’t want him to leave either, but she understood. She gave him a smile. “Go on, then.”
“I’ll return in four days.”
She nodded.
“Goodbye, Salara,” he whispered, and kissed her once more. Then he stepped out the door and headed toward the castle, leaving her alone in the quiet.
Norah waited a moment, her mind in a fog. She brought her fingers to her lips. She had never imagined this life. Mikael had woken a feeling inside her she struggled to accept. It was no longer just a marriage for an alliance. She wanted to be with him. Norah smiled to herself as she stepped out of the conservatory, heading back toward the castle.
She almost didn’t feel the blade as it plunged into her belly.
The second stab came in an instant, spilling a trail of blood to the ground.Herblood. She clutched her stomach as the red warmth saturated the front of her dress.
Norah stumbled back. What was happening? Her legs felt like they weren’t her own, and they folded under her weight. She tried to catch herself as she fell, but she couldn’t feel her arms. She lay on the ground, looking up at the sky. It was so gray. No clouds, just gray. She blinked as it grew darker.
“Where’s the light?” she asked the hands that grabbed her.
But there came only darkness.
Chapter fifty
Sorenheardthedoorto the conservatory open and peered around the wall to see Mikael stepping out, leaving the queen inside and heading toward the stables. He leaned back against the stone in the recess and waited. The king would be looking for him now.
He gripped the dagger at his side. Blood settled him. Blood created fear, and fear gave him control. But he wasn’t in control now, and no amount of blood would solve that.
His skin burned with hate. The Battle of Bahoul felt like a lifetime ago, but when he thought of everything he’d lost, everything the Northmen had taken from him, it was as if it had happened yesterday. His mother, his brother, his sister. His father. His land. Now to have the North Queen in Kharav, as his salara… this he couldn’t accept. And Salar had changed. He saw it—Mikael’s love for her.
