Page 178 of Shadow Queen
She spread her hand over the fabric of the tunic against his chest. His warmth permeated through it.
He reached up and put his hand over hers. “I know.” He brought her chin up so that their gaze met again. “I know you choose me, Salara.”
She gave him a small smile through the wave of emotion. That was what she desperately needed to hear. She did choose him, and she needed him to know it, to feel it, to believe it.
“While I’m still here, you choose me,” he added. “But it’s not betrayal when I’m gone. And this has made me realize I must help you prepare.”
A sickening fear seeded in her stomach, vining up into her heart. “For what?” she breathed.
He brought up his other hand and brushed her cheek. “To rule without me.”
“No.” She shook her head, denial rippling through her. “Don’t say that.”
“I have to. You have to be ready.”
“No!” She tried to pull her hand away from under his, but he held it.
“Salara,” he said as she fought against him.
“I won’t hear it!” Talk of defeat meant he accepted his fate, but she didn’t. She fought harder.
He gripped her sternly. “Norah, stop!”
Her struggles weakened.
“You’ll listen to me,” he said, softer now. “When I’m gone, you need the alliance with Aleon. You’ll take his offer of marriage. Then, with Soren and the Bear beside you, and the power of the empire, no one can stand against you.”
She would never do that. “Stop!”
“I’ll stop when you acknowledge it. Iwilldie, Salara. And soon.”
She shook her head again, and a cry escaped her.
“You’ll have Soren and the Bear by your side, regardless of what happens to Kharav. They bring with them the loyalty of both our armies, and I know they’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep you safe. As I must do. It’s why I’m sending you back to the North.”
Norah’s mouth dropped open, and she pulled back again. “What?”
“Cyrus grows a vast army, which he’s already moved into Japheth. If it’s Gregor’s intention to march against me, which I’m certain it is, I don’t want you here.”
He couldn’t possibly be sending her away. Her place was by his side. “I can’t leave you!”
He brushed her cheek again. “Salara, you have to go. Go to the North, where you’re protected. And if I should fall, you won’t be alone. You’ll have the Bear. And Aleon will stand beside you.”
He was right in that Phillip would be hesitant to come to her aid in Kharav, but he would readily join her in Mercia to march against anyone who opposed her, especially if the opposition was Japheth. But she would never wed the king of Aleon. And she wouldn’t leave Mikael. She hadn’t weathered this madness only to lose him again.
“I’m not leaving you,” she insisted.
“Salara, you have more power in the North. You’ll be able to help me more there.”
Yes, she would have more power in person than trying to influence her council from afar, but that wasn’t enough to pull her from him. “We’ll get through this. I’ll stay, and we’ll get through this. You don’t even know these things will actually happen.”
“And if they don’t, you’ll come home. And everything will be as it was. But I can’t manage this and fear for you at the same time.”
“You don’t need to fear—”
“I’m breaking!”
She stilled as he gripped her.
