Page 70 of North Queen
Burden hung from his brow as the words sat silent on his tongue. “Our fathers never would have allowed us to be together,” he said finally.
“That’s not what I asked.” She wondered if his heart was beating as heavily as hers.
“I would never dishonor you, Norah.”
Her question remained unanswered, and it hung in the air.
“We should get back,” he said, a formality returning. “Your grandmother will be wondering where you are.”
But she didn’t want to leave.
He offered his hand, and she took it, but as she slipped down from the tree, she stumbled, falling back against the trunk and pulling Alexander with her. He caught his balance on the bough and hooked his arm around her, steadying her. The closeness stilled them. A tremor ran through her, and Norah gasped as an image flashed in her mind. It was an old image, a memory.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“We were here before,” she breathed.
He froze, and his eyes burned. “You remember?”
“Yes. No.” She shook her head but didn’t take her eyes off him. “But I remember you. Here, like this.” She reached her hand up and threaded her fingers through his golden locks. A wave of warmth washed through her despite the winter air. “Your hair was slightly longer,” she whispered.
Norah drew her fingertips to his cheek, feeling the smoothness of his shaven face. The heat in her stomach grew, but the flash of the image was fading. Alexander’s face. His golden locks. His eyes, young and mischievous. They were just moments, but she needed them. She needed to hold on to them.
She pulled him closer. “I know they’re here.”
His brow creased. “What’s here?”
She searched his eyes, and the image reached out once more. Younger Alexander. The Alexander that smiled. She drew in a ragged breath, feeling a stitch in the canvas of her being.
“Norah?” His voice brought her back.
She shook her head. “No, no. They’re here.”
“What’s here?” he asked.
“Stop talking.”
She looked into his eyes again—the depths of their blue were drowning. It was Alexander. He was stirring her memories. Her breath quickened.
Summer lazed around them, and they lay on their backs under the tree, laughing. Alexander rolled to his side and caught a lock of her hair.
She smiled at him. “Where will we go?”
“Wherever your heart desires.”
“By the sea,” she said. “Where the water is warm, and we can lie in the light of the sun.”
He leaned over, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. “You are the sun,” he said, and kissed her tenderly.
The vision faded. She gripped him tighter, trying to draw more of the memory.
“What did you see?” he asked.
Familiarity flowed from where her skin touched his. Norah brought her other hand to his face and pulled him even closer. Her sight clouded. Before she could think of her actions, she lifted her chin and brought her lips to his. He stiffened but let her pull him in.
There was a sudden shattering, and the memory was as clear as the present.
Darkness sat around her as she waited at the tree for Alexander. Her heart raced, and she smiled to herself, pulling her bag closer. She’d brought only the things most important to her; this was all she was taking. There would be no more castles, no more life of privilege, but they would be together, and that was all that mattered.
