Page 59 of Shadow Queen
“He’s alive!” Serene assured her.
Nora’s heart faltered. “What?” He wasalive?
“He’s alive, and they’ve taken him to the soldiers’ infirmary.”
Norah reached out and clutched Bhastian’s arm. “You have to take me to him!”
“You should stay here,” he told her. “The Crest is here. I’ll see how he is and bring you news.”
“I want to see him,” she demanded. “Right now.”
Bhastian glanced at the other soldiers of the Crest in the room, then reluctantly nodded.
Serene ran to get a dress. Then she and Vitalia helped Norah hastily change from her torn and bloodstained nightgown in the side bath chamber.
After, Bhastian led Norah and her maids through the castle, outside, and toward the soldiers’ infirmary, with the Crest close after. They entered from the side. The building was mostly empty, with all warriors actively sweeping the castle for any remaining threats.
They made their way through what appeared to be a large dormitory hall. Beds lined the walls. Some were empty, some held wounded men. At the end stood a small cluster of soldiers. She saw the concern in the men’s eyes. Titus was a man of strength and had built respect from the Kharavian ranks, much like Caspian. The healer was at the foot of a bed, wiping his hands with a clean cloth. His face was solemn—not a face of good news.
Norah’s heart raced as she drew closer. Titus’s massive frame lay the length of the bed, and a clean blanket had been draped over him. His eyes were closed.
“He’s still in grave danger, Salara,” the healer told her. “He’s lost a lot of blood. I’ve done all I can. Now we wait to see if he wakes.”
If he wakes.He had to wake. Titus had been with her from the beginning, before even she could remember. She couldn’t lose him now. This couldn’t be his death—handed to him by some faceless bastard.
The healer left, and she stepped closer to the bed. His face looked so peaceful, not at all like he was on the brink of eternal sleep.
Norah sank onto the bed beside him. She laid her hand on his arm. “His family has served mine for generations,” she said to the small cluster of warriors around her, not taking her eyes from him. She felt her emotion rising. “He deserves so much more than this.”
The men all stood quietly. A deep sadness hung in the air.
“They found four more bodies of assassins in another hall,” Bhastian said gently from behind her. “We think he killed them before he was overtaken.”
“Mighty Titus,” she whispered through her tears. “If there had been four more of them, I would have been dead for sure.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Thank you.”
Norah wiped her cheeks and stood. “Where did they take the bodies?”
“Salar wouldn’t want you there,” Bhastian told her.
She didn’t care. “Take me.”
Norah followed Bhastian with a small army of the Crest behind her. They wove down and underneath the castle, to the dungeon hall, and reached a large room where the bodies of the assassins had been taken and laid atop tables under the torchlight.
Mikael and Soren stood, their backs to her, looking at the dead men with a small group of warriors. Norah felt a pit in her stomach. “Who are they?” she asked as she came up behind them.
The men turned, surprised at her sudden appearance. Mikael’s objection showed on his face, but he didn’t voice it. “We don’t know,” he said.
Norah looked at the dead men, and a shudder ran through her. These were the men who had tried to kill her. But it wasn’t these men she still feared, it was the one who sent them.
“I want to know who they are and what they want,” Mikael said.
Norah knew what they wanted. “He seeks revenge,” she said, her eyes on the dead man closest to her.
He followed her gaze. “This one?”
“All of them,” she said. “They’re him. One man.”
“There is obviously more than one man,” Soren said.
