Page 56 of North Queen
She ran her thumb across his lips. “May your words be my words.”
Then she reached and scribed a line on his breastplate with her fingers, just above the winterhawk. “May your heart be my heart.”
Norah smiled down at him. “Rise, Lord Justice.”
Alexander stood with emotion thick in his eyes. Then he took his place by her side, and cheers of approval deafened the hall.
Alexander was already in the great hall by the time Norah arrived. He watched as she stepped into the celebration, and cheers erupted. Several lords and their wives stopped by to offer their well-wishes to him, and he forced himself to peel his eyes from her long enough to extend his thanks. Then he turned his attention back to her.
She was beautiful. She captured the room the way she always did, filling the air with her light. He couldn’t help but smile. He heard a faint call to his right, but it wasn’t enough to pull him away.
“Alexander,” the voice came again, more sharply now.
Catherine. Although not required now that she was no longer queen regent, he bowed his head. “You look stunning today,” he greeted her.
She stood beside him with her eyes across the hall on Norah. “Flattery won’t win my support.”
Her words surprised him. Alexander looked at her. “Do you not support me as lord justice?”
She didn’t answer, and it wounded him.
He pushed out a breath. “Did you not name me so yourself?”
“It’s not that you won’t make a fine lord justice, Alexander. The gods know you already do. But Norah wasn’t here to cloud your mind before.”
His pulse beat heavily in his ears. He looked out across the hall. “Do you question my commitment to my duty?”
Catherine put her hand on his arm, drawing him to look back at her. “Of course not. But it will only make the path harder. For both of you.”
“My place is by her side. She’s my queen.”
“But she’s not yours.”
He knew this, but her words cut him. Still, he showed nothing. He admitted nothing.
Catherine sighed, looking back out across the hall. “But regardless of my worry and my attempts to keep you from it, you were always destined for this. I wish your father were here. He’d be so very proud of you.”
He drew in a breath as he fought back a wave of emotion. “Are you?”
Catherine squeezed his arm as tears brimmed her eyes. “Of course I am.” Then she stepped up on her toes and pulled him down, kissing him gently on his cheek. “Congratulations, my dear boy. There’s no one more worthy. I only fear for you both.” Then she squeezed his arm once again before leaving him to the celebration.
Her words hung heavy, reeling him into a mist of disquiet, that he almost didn’t notice Norah approaching.
“Congratulations, Lord Justice,” she said.
A smile crept back to his lips, and his worry was forgotten, as all worries were when she was near. “Congratulations, Queen Norah,” he said with a bow.
“Please don’t call me that,” she said in a hushed voice. “I’m barely keeping it together between yesterday and today.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. YourRegal High.”
She laughed, and for that moment, he’d never been happier. He wanted to help take the burden away and make her forget—even if for only a moment—that the world hung on her shoulders.
“I feel like since the priest said it, it’s proper now,” she said.
“Itisproper.”
She shook her head, amazed. “How did you even manage that?”
