Page 62 of North Queen
Alexander ambled forward, prompting her into a walk beside him. He didn’t speak, only walked, and the silence was settling.
“They don’t really see me as a queen, do they?” she asked finally. “Alastair challenged who I am, but it hardly seems to matter at all, so long as I wear the crown and marry. That’s all they care about. I could be anyone, as long as I look the part and do what they say.”
“But you aren’t just anyone,” he replied. His voice came softer. “Norah, this has been the plan for the past ten years. Mercia needs the alliance with Aleon. Of course they would be eager for it, now that you’ve returned.”
Norah frowned. “So I should just marry?”
“That’s not what I said.”
She stopped, looking up at him. “What are you saying, then?”
His lips parted, but no words came.
“Would you have me do this?” she asked. “Would you have me wed King Phillip?”
The line of his jaw tightened. “There’s been a lot said today. Put it from your mind for a while. When the emotion is gone, you’ll be able to think more clearly.”
“There’s nothing I can do to put this from my mind.”
Alexander’s brow twitched, as though he’d had a thought.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I have an idea. Come on.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I promise it’s not a tomb.”
Chapter eighteen
Norahraisedadoubtfulbrow. “We’re going inthere?”
Alexander stood at the mouth of a cave that trailed deep into the darkness from the icy mountainside. She had followed him outside the castle, pulling her cloak over her face and tucking her hair inside to slip by undetected. He’d led her to the cliffs and to a small cleft large enough for them to step down into one at a time. Along the narrow walk they went, looking out over the sea of ice, and then carefully sidled along a ledge to where they stood now.
“A cave?” she asked.
“I’d normally allow a lady first as a gentlemanly courtesy, but you should follow me.”
“Gladly,” she said, waving him ahead. She followed him into the cave, and the light faded as they made their way deeper. A small rush of excitement ran through her.
Alexander paused, turning to her and holding out his hand. “It’s going to get dark. Very dark. Just hold on to me, and I’ll lead you. You needn’t be afraid.”
She had a number of feelings at the moment, but fear was not one of them. She smiled as she took his hand. They made their way farther into the cave, and it wasn’t long before Norah couldn’t see anything at all. “I didn’t expect this today,” she told him.
“I admit it’s highly unconventional and certainly not endorsed by your grandmother. In fact, I’d appreciate if you would overlook it when next speaking to her.”
She grinned into the darkness. “My lips are sealed.”
They walked slowly, with Alexander giving her hand small reassuring squeezes as they went.
“How much farther?” she asked.
“Still a ways yet.”
Her curiosity grew. “What’s back here?”
“A magical place,” he told her.
