Page 76 of North Queen
His head jerked up, and his eyes caught hers. “What?” he breathed, finally finding his voice. “She can’t travel alone.”
“You say that as though she’s traveling half the world away. She’ll be well within the safety of Mercian lands until she reaches Aleon. And she won’t be alone. She’ll have the captain and an army to escort her to the border, where King Phillip will meet her. In her absence, you’re needed in Mercia with the rest of the council. That’s your duty, Alexander.”
Duty. He had given his life to duty. And it had ripped out his heart.
With a final gaze, Catherine stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Norah woke on the side chair where she’d fallen asleep, with her eyes still puffy from tears. It was dark outside. She stood as she reached up to push her hair back from her face. She opened her chamber door slowly to find Caspian and Liaman on watch.
“Queen Norah,” Caspian greeted her.
“How long until morning?” she asked.
“Quite some time yet. Should I send for your maid?”
She shook her head. “No. Could I just get some water? And maybe something small to eat?”
“Of course.” He nodded to Liaman, who left quickly for her requests.
Norah left the door open and sat down at the vanity, looking at herself in the mirror, but not seeing. Caspian stood in the doorway, facing outward. How awkward it felt with him now. “What you saw yesterday,” she started, “what you heard—”
“I saw and heard nothing, Regal High.”
“You would be a poor captain of the guard if that were true.”
Liaman returned with some water, wine, and an assortment of food on a small plate. Caspian took it and excused him, leaving them to talk privately. He put the plate on the vanity in front of her and poured some water into a chalice. Norah eyed the wine, but she had spurred enough judgment for the moment, so she kept herself from reaching for it.
He gave her a sympathetic smile, as if reading her mind, and filled another cup with wine. “He wouldn’t want you to hurt like this,” he said softly.
Hurt was a good word. It did hurt.And Caspian knew. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she looked up at him. “What do you know of how he feels?”
His face sobered. “Forgive me,” he said quickly. “It’s not my place. I shouldn’t have spoken.”
“I don’t want decorum. I want you to answer.”
Caspian let out an uneasy breath. “I’ve known Alexander his entire life, and you’ve always been the center of it.”
She swallowed. “He hasn’t shared this with me.”
“You mean he hasn’t spoken the words that betray his duty? Because that’s what he’d be doing.” He paused. “It’s not my place, but I urge you caution. He gets closer and closer to a danger I’m not sure you understand. If the council were to know, they would remove him.”
“He’smylord justice,” she argued. “Inamed him.Iam queen.”
Caspian frowned. “If the council thinks Alexander stands in the way of an alliance with Aleon, even you won’t be able to save him.”
Norah’s heart beat heavy in her chest as a fear seeded itself within. What didthatmean?She looked back at her chalice. “Is that why you’ve taken to guard work? Am I so obvious now it requires a captain’s attention?”
“It requires a friend’s attention,” he said. “Discreet attention.”
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“You must take care to not show your feelings in front of anyone else,” he told her. “And trust your grandmother. She loves you both, and she works to protect youandthe lord justice.”
Chapter twenty-two
PreparingtodepartMerciafelt surreal. Norah had only known it as home for a short time, but it was strange to leave. She knew nothing else. Her grandmother would continue in the role of regent in Norah’s absence, with the council’s support. Perhaps it was better. Norah hadn’t exactly mastered being queen.
Packing everything had been time-consuming. It would take a week to travel southeast through Mercia to the border of Praetoria, the first kingdom of the Aleon empire, where Phillip would meet her. Weather permitting, they’d reach the imperial capital of Valour in another week. The army gathered across the bridge on the mainland, readying the horses.
