Page 11 of North Queen
She reached out and took it. The blade was shorter, and the hilt fit her hand better. It was his favorite knife, custom made and well taken care of, unlike the rusted drifter’s dagger with open seams along its handle.
He pulled off his calf sheath and held it out to her as well. “Put this around your leg, inside your boot, with the knife where you can easily reach it.”
She slipped the blade into the sheath and stared down at it in her hands. When she raised her eyes again, they locked with his. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “No need to thank me. It’s my duty.”
Even in the dim light of the room, the storms of her blue eyes pulled him in, holding him. “We should get some rest,” she said.
Yes. Rest. Alexander rose and pulled open the second pack. He shook out a rolled pad over the meager bed. “You sleep here. I can’t promise comfort, but it’s clean. I’ll be by the door.”
Norah gave a small nod. She settled in, creaking the bed frame with every movement. He pulled a chair to the door and sat with his sword unsheathed and resting across his knees.
But as she lay, she didn’t close her eyes. She only stared at the ceiling. “What happened?” she asked finally. “I have to know. Why did my father take me away?”
He sat quiet. This wasn’t a short story, and not one of the first he wanted to welcome her home with.
“Tell me,” she pressed.
Alexander let out a long breath. “We were at war, and they were coming for you.” He paused. “Your father feared your capture, and so he took you. Far. Somewhere safe.”
“Who was coming for me?” she asked.
“These aren’t stories to tell in the night. You’re safe, Norah. There’s so much to remember, to learn. There will be plenty of time.” But he knew his answers only drew more questions. “Rest,” he said. “There will be more tomorrow.”
Finally, she closed her eyes. After a time, her breaths came longer and deeper. He relaxed in the chair, but he wouldn’t sleep. Not until he safely got her home.
Chapter four
Norahwoketothesound of a crackling fire. She pulled the blanket higher around her neck and nestled into its warmth. It smelled of pine and soft leather, comfort and refuge—a familiar smell, a smell she’d always loved. She smiled as she blinked her eyes open. But unfamiliar stone walls looked back at her, and her smile faded.
Where was she?
Memories of the day prior flooded back, and she sat up with a start. The blanket that covered her spilled down into her lap, and she saw it wasn’t a blanket at all, but Alexander’s cloak.
She glanced around the empty room. Where was he?
Sunlight poured in from the small window onto the bed and across the floor. Her racing heart slowed. She eyed the cloak again as she drew her fingers across it, all too aware of the sense it had given her.
The door opened, and Alexander stepped in with more firewood and something else in his hands. The smell made her stomach rumble. She pushed off the cloak and stood, straightening her dress and brushing her hair back from her face.
His eyes caught hers, and he paused, simply looking at her. His lips parted. “Good morning,” he said finally.
Even though he’d spoken only two words, his voice held a strange familiarity.
“Good morning,” she replied.
He broke from her gaze. “I hope you slept well. Are you hungry?” He held out a hand of freshly cooked meat with flatbread wrapped in linen. “There’s water by the fire.”
“That smells amazing, thank you,” she said, taking the food. “And I slept surprisingly well.”
Alexander refueled the fire and then sat on the edge of the hearth. He held his food in his hand but didn’t eat it.
Norah tried to keep her eyes from him as she ate, wary of the lure of his gaze and of the stir it caused inside her. “Yesterday you said you saw me in a vision—what was it?” she asked, refocusing herself on getting more answers. “How did you know to come for me?”
He shifted back on the hearth. “It was the last vision seen of you, three years ago, right before you left. We didn’t know what it meant at the time, but after you disappeared, we suspected it was a clue as to where you were. You were in the middle of a forest, with trees all around you, dressed as you are now.” He paused. “And your hair was… bright, shining. As it is now.”
She raised her eyes to his and found herself caught in the snare she had tried so hard to avoid.
