Page 167 of Shadow Queen
His brow creased. “I do take you for smarter sometimes.”
She pursed her lips as a flash of anger brought heat to her cheeks.
“Salara, you’re trying to influence a kingdom that’s not your ally to fight your war.”
“It’shiswar,” she argued.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “He only thinks it’s his war. And he’ll attack Japheth on his own time, unless you make it your time. You can’t force him, as he’s shown you with Bahoul. You must incent him. And if he is incented by the thought of the North and Aleon together, you’ll use it.”
“Soren, manipulation isn’t the answer to everything. I actually do want a good relationship with Aleon. I want trust between us. We could be strong friends, allies.”
Soren stepped closer, his eyes dark. “You can’t be allies. If you ride beside the Aleon king, you bring Salar’s end.”
The thought of the vision hit her like a blow to the stomach, like it always did. She felt sick.
The horns sounded.
“Salar’s returned,” he said. He held the letter over a candle, lighting it afire.
“No!” she cried, reaching for it.
But he pulled it back. “Why would you keep it?”
“I keep all my letters.”
He shook his head. “That’s a stupid mistake. You’ll not keep this one,” he said as he tossed it into the fireplace, letting the flames consume the rest. “Now go meet your husband.”
Norah walked quickly to the courtyard to meet Mikael, overwhelmed by the vision that she tried so hard to push from her mind. Would a pact with Aleon really put them on the path toward his death?
When she saw him ride in, she smiled. He had only been gone a few days, but she missed him. She had missed him before he’d even left. There was a distance between them now, one that left a crushing weight on her heart, one she didn’t know how to fix. He felt alone. She needed to show him she was by his side.
His eyes searched for her, and when he saw her, he moved toward her. She waited until he reached her and dismounted before she stepped to greet him.
“Husband,” she said softly.
“Are you well?” he asked.
She nodded with a small smile, but he didn’t smile back. Worry still etched his brow. “I’m glad you’re home,” she said. Norah stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Come inside.” She curled her arm around his, and they started up the stairs.
“Did you get your men?” he asked as they stepped inside, and the large doors closed behind them.
Norah didn’t want to speak of Aleon, not now. She only nodded.
“How many?” he asked.
“Let’s talk about this later. I just want—”
“How many?” he asked again.
Norah swallowed back the unease rising in her throat. She had hoped to ease things between them before venturing into this topic again. But not answering him would only fuel his anxiousness about it, she knew. “Ten thousand,” she said finally.
His face held no expression, hiding the emotion behind it. “I should have given you the men.”
She hated that he faulted himself. “You need them for Kharav,” she tried to assure him.
“And I shouldn’t have pulled them from Bahoul. Soren told me not to.”
“You didn’t know the Mercian forces had been stripped back as well. Mikael, you can’t blame yourself.”
