Page 196 of Shadow Queen
“You can’t be here,” he told her.
Fear coursed through her. Why didn’t Soren answer? She jerked the handle again. “Soren!”
Alexander caught her and pulled her back. “I’ll see if he’s all right and send word to you. But you need to go back to your chamber.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
“You can’t expose yourself.”
Norah struggled to hold in her sob. She couldn’t leave Soren.
“I’ll make sure he’s all right,” he promised.
But she still couldn’t go.
He gripped her shoulders and pulled her eyes to his. “I’ll make sure he’s all right. You have my word. Go.”
Finally, she relented and backed away. Then she reluctantly turned and headed back to her chamber.
Alexander stood in front of the door to the Shadow commander’s chamber. He looked at Caspian beside him. “You go too. You need to look after Norah.”
“You can’t go in there,” Caspian argued. “I’ll do it.”
“No, you’ll look after Norah. That’s an order.”
Caspian stood in the hallway.
“Go!” Alexander snapped.
Finally, the captain yielded and headed back to the hall of the queen’s chamber. When he had gone, Alexander turned back to the door.
“Destroyer,” he called.
There still came no answer. He put his ear against the door and listened. No movement inside.If this bastard was dead…he’d kill him.
Alexander pulled his sword and angled its tip into the crevice of the door. The latches were well-made and strong, but Mercian steel was stronger. He strained as he put his weight against it, prying it, forcing it. Finally, the latch broke, and the door swung open.
Soren lay on the floor near the window, stripped of his clothing. No doubt he’d been trying to pull the heat from his body with the cold stone. He lay still, his eyes closed, unmoving.
“Destroyer,” Alexander called to him.
He didn’t respond.
“Soren,” he called again, stepping to the window and dropping down beside him. The commander’s chest shuddered as a small gurgle escaped his lips—he was alive. He tried to cough, but only a choking noise came from his throat. He couldn’t breathe. Alexander pulled him up to a sitting position. By the gods, he was a heavy beast.
“Breathe!” he ordered, giving Soren’s back a hearty beat with the heel of his hand. The commander’s body heaved and then let out a drowning cough. The thick warmth of blood ran over his own arm and down the commander’s chest. Alexander hit Soren’s back again.
The commander took a desperate breath and his body relaxed in relief. Alexander positioned himself against the wall behind Soren, leaning the weight of the commander against him and holding his body upright. The Shadow beast couldn’t hold himself, and his head fell back against Alexander’s shoulder. But he was able to breathe.
“Death is near,” Soren’s voice came in barely a whisper. “Let it come.” His body shook with another cough, and Alexander held him forward as he purged more blood from his lungs.
“They say this is the worst—the third day,” Alexander told him. “You need to stay upright. If you lie down, you’ll drown in your blood.”
“I don’t have the strength.”
Alexander shifted and positioned himself more firmly against the commander’s back. “I know,” he said.
And they sat.
