Page 124 of Shadow Queen
Norah’s breath faltered.
Alexander reached up and clasped the nape of her neck, pulling her to him. He dropped his head and caught her mouth with his. His kiss was deep and possessive as he pushed her back against the rock and snaked his arm around her. The smoothness of his skin against hers stole her resistance, if she even had any.
Norah tasted the sweetness of berry on his lips, with the faint scent of wine on his breath. She realized the wine had gotten the better of them both, and she pulled back. “You’re not yourself,” she whispered. Neither was she.
He paused, seeming to call back his senses, and his face sobered. “Forgive me.”
But he didn’t release her, nor did she pull herself from him. But they couldn’t be here, not like this.
Norah pulled him down and brought her lips to his ear. “You need to leave. Now.” Any longer and she wouldn’t let him go. Then she slipped from his arms and drew back into the depths of the darkness.
Alexander stayed for a moment, lingering in the silence. Then he waded slowly to the edge of the pool. Norah watched him, the smooth round of his buttocks, the curve of his thighs, as he rose from the water. She couldn’t take her eyes from him.
She moved slowly, stalking him from the darkness. She felt every bit a monster lurking in the shadows, wanting to call him back to her. And he would come. She knew he would come.
Alexander picked up his clothes and disappeared into the darkness of the cave, and Norah let out a long, shaking breath, begging her senses to come back to her.
Norah stood in the library by a towering shelf that stretched to the ceiling. She focused her eyes on the pages of an open book in her hands, but found herself unable to read it, or even see it. Every time her mind wandered, it took her back to the cave, back to Alexander.
She cursed herself, angry at what she had done, for what she had almost done. He still held a piece of her, and she loathed herself for it.
The doors opened, and she turned to see Catherine sweeping toward her, clearly upset about something.Perfect. Norah needed a good berating to take her mind away. She wondered what she had done—or maybe what Soren had done—to warrant the deep scowl her grandmother wore, although she didn’t really care. She’d appreciate a scolding for just about anything right now—anything to keep her thoughts from the cave.
“What did you say to him?” Catherine demanded when she reached her.
What?“To who?”
“To Alexander.”
Norah’s blood ran cold, and she swallowed as her stomach knotted. She had been hoping to be chastised for something different, something very different. Surely there was a myriad of other things for Catherine to be angry about. “Why?” she asked, with a crack in her voice that made her cringe inside.
“Weeks ago, he finally accepted a marriage with Ismene, but this morning, he came to advise me he’d changed his mind.”
Norah’s chest tightened.Ismene? The young woman Catherine had worked to match him with so long ago? Were they courting? For how long? Why hadn’t he told her?
“What did you say to him?” Catherine demanded again. “I can only assume you’ve had an influence on his decision.”
“I didn’t even know he was betrothed!” Norah looked around. She needed to sit down, but there was no chair. Alexander had agreed to marry Ismene? The heat of jealousy flooded her, but she knew it was a jealousy she had no right to feel.
“He’d already asked her father’s permission, and Lord Dartan has given it. Rescinding his marriage offer now would be a disgrace.”
Was her grandmother really blaming her? “Then you shouldn’t have forced it on him!” Catherinehadforced him. He hadn’t wanted to.Right?
“This is what is best for him,” her grandmother said angrily.
“How?”
“That girl loves him!” Catherine snapped back. “Selfish child! Look what you do to him. When you were captured, a madness took him. He marched to war without listening to reason. When he returned with the news of your marriage, all he could think about was getting back to you. And when he did, you sent him home beaten and broken. And still, wherever you go, he longs to follow. Is this what you want for him? You have to let him go!”
Her emotion spoke for her. “If he wants to be free, then I free him.”
“He would never want to be free from you.” Her grandmother’s eyes burned into her. “But you let him love you, Norah. You’re responsible for his pain, and his disgrace.”
Norah’s lip trembled, and her eyes welled. Deep in her heart, she knew this was best for him, and she couldn’t push down the rising guilt—perhaps she’d just ruined it.
Catherine turned and left, and Norah leaned back against the wall of the library as the wave of emotion washed over her.
The sun rose slowly, eating back the frost on the ground. She sat on a bench in the garden in the chilled air of morning, but she didn’t feel the cold. Norah hadn’t slept, and she wouldn’t. She didn’t deserve rest—the peace it brought, the renewal.
