Page 7 of North Queen
She took another step back. “Why?” As far as she was concerned, the forest was keeping her safe from random strangers.
“The Wild isn’t kind to those who trespass.”
Was that what had happened to the two men earlier? Yet it hadn’t done anything to her. Maybe this was a ploy to get her to go with him. If she was who he said, how had she come to be wandering alone in a forest, anyway? Perhaps she’d run away. Maybe she didn’t want to go back. She bumped up against a tree behind her.
“How long have I been gone?” She couldn’t have been out very long. Her dress wasn’t too soiled, aside from her fall, and her hair hung untangled and neatly kept.
He pushed out a scant breath, baffled. “You remember nothing?”
She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. “No.”
He stared at her. “You’ve been gone three years.”
Her breath quivered, and she gripped the tree behind her to steady herself. “Three years?” She shook her head. That wasn’t possible. How could one, especially the granddaughter of a queen regent, just disappear for three years?
He looked around them again. “Norah, please. We have to go.” He reached out his hand. “Will you let me take you home? Your grandmother’s at the castle.”
Castle. She glanced around for her fox. Her thoughts had been in jest, but perhaps he really had been leading her to a castle. Better than a burrow.
“We won’t arrive until tomorrow,” Alexander told her. “But there’s an old homestead we can reach before dark. It’s not much, but it’s shelter with a place for a fire.”
She still fought the uncertainty, trying to take everything in and searching for clarity on her situation. But she did need shelter and a fire. And still, there was something about him…
“Norah,” he pleaded, “you do know me. You may not remember yet, but I do. And your people do. They’ve been waiting for you a very long time.”
Her people. She knew he meant it in reassurance, but it brought only more anxiousness. So much responsibility. If people were truly waiting for her, they’d expect something from her, need something from her, and what could she give if she couldn’t remember?
And could she trust this man? She shifted, glancing at the winterhawk emblem on his breastplate again, then the gilded handle of his sword. He certainly wasn’t the same as the foul-intentioned men before. It was almost nightfall, and it had started to snow. She couldn’t see another choice. She’d have to trust this stranger—this stranger who knew her. Slowly, she nodded.
With a small exhale of relief, he led his horse in front of her and reached out his hand. “May I?”
She eyed him warily. “I can manage.”
The corner of his lips turned up, and he gave an obliging nod.
She felt Alexander’s eyes on her as she climbed onto the horse. Her dress made her efforts less elegant than she’d hoped, but she managed to settle sideways into the saddle, with the dagger still in her hand.
The animal, a trained warhorse, stood steady, but Alexander held it like he trusted nothing. He waited until she gave him a nod. Then, with a final look around, he led them back the way he’d come.
Chapter three
Shedidn’tknowhim…
Alexander led his horse past the tree line, out of the thickly wooded forest, and north into the snow-covered hills. A small sense of relief filled him to step out of the Wild and away from its dangers, but it was short-lived. He’d rather face those dangers than accept the circumstance before him now.
Three years.Three years he’d waited for the day he would see her again, and she didn’t even know him. A pain gripped his chest, but he fought to ignore it. Later. He’d deal with it later, after he got her to safety. After he got her home.
Leaving the forest, she pulled her cloak tighter around her and grew even smaller in the saddle of his giant destrier, like she was reluctant to leave. Her eyes swept warily across the open hills, as if she didn’t know she was crossing into safety. As if she preferred to stay in the most dangerous place in the world.
Something had happened to her. The blood on her hands…
“Will you tell me what happened?” he asked.
Her lips parted, and she looked down at the dagger she held. Then she swallowed.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he added. It had obviously been traumatic for her. His chest tightened. He should have come sooner. If only he’d known.
At least she wasn’t physically hurt. In fact, far from it. She looked well taken care of. Had she been in the Wild all this time? No—that was impossible. So wherehadshe been, and how did she end up in the Wild?
