Page 191 of North Queen
This letter comes without excuse for the time it’s taken me to write you. Indeed, I should have sent it earlier. Much earlier.
The lord justice sent news of your attack. Times such as these fill one’s mind with everything they wished to have done differently, everything they wished to have said. There’s much to say, Norah.
I pray this letter finds you safe, but safety is not enough. I need to see your face, my child, to see you well. And Mercia needs her queen.
Come home, if only for a short time. Return to Mercia. Urgently.
You have my love,
Catherine
Norah’s mind raced. At first glance, the letter seemed a heartfelt realization by her grandmother that she’d almost died, with a plea to return home. Understandable. Except, Catherine had saidurgently.
The letter had arrived with Alexander’s order to visit Aleon. Surely the two were related. He’d told her he didn’t know what the letter said. Did he know Catherine wanted her to return home? What was really going on?
Norah found Mikael in his study, with the lord commander and Captain Artem. Of course. They turned as she entered. The cold of the room made her skin prickle. Her stomach knotted, but she forced herself steady.
Mikael’s eyes followed her in. “Do you know what the North is planning?” he asked her.
Now didn’t seem the right time to air her grievance about the captain’s intrusion in her sanctuary. Mikael obviously knew about the letter; he had to know how it had been found. Did he care? She tried to pull her mind from it—she needed to focus on settling things down. “You don’t know if anyone is planning anything. It’s purely speculation at this point.”
“The Bear rides for Aleon,” the brute snarled at her. “And the regent calls for your immediate return.”
Yes, it was damning, but she needed to keep things from escalating until she could figure out what was going on. “I was attacked,” she countered. “Mygrandmotheris worried. She wants me to return home.”
“Urgently,” he added.
Norah glared at him. “She fears for my safety. Can you blame her?”
The brute snorted. “You’re not inurgentdanger.” But his stormy glare swore otherwise.
Her eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t know that, and frankly, neither do I.”
“She sends the Bear to Aleon.”
“The council sends him,” she argued back.
“It’s the same,” Mikael said, stepping into the argument. His face was calm, but his voice brimmed with anger. And something else… Sadness? “As regent, your grandmother would be involved, even if she didn’t order it herself.”
No, her grandmother wouldn’t do that. Would she?
His eyes were still on her, seeking answers. “Do you know what the North plans?”
“Mikael. Just give me some time to understand what’s happening.”
He stepped closer and cupped her face in his hands, quieting her. “Do you really not know?” he whispered. “Salara.”
Again, she shook her head, but she could see his doubt.
“Salara,” he said again, more faint this time.
She realized it wasn’t Mercia he focused on—it was her, and whatsheknew. He was more concerned with her than Mercia. And his eyes were filled with more than doubt. All she could do was look back at him. She had no words. She didn’t know how else to assure him.
Slowly, he bent his head and brought his lips to hers. It wasn’t a kiss of passion, or of longing. It was a confession of fear. It said what his words couldn’t. He was begging her not to betray him. He pulled back slowly, his eyes searching her.
“Do you still wish to escape me?” he whispered.
Not escape… but she did wish to go back to Mercia, to the people who loved her, to the only people who could help her find herself. “Would you let me leave?”
