Page 9 of Shadow Queen
Tahla eyed Caspian suspiciously. “You ride with a Northman? Surprising.”
“Is it?” the commander replied. “Our kingdoms are joined. It should be no surprise our forces are joined as well.”
“You command him?” she asked the Destroyer, not taking her eyes from Caspian.
“The commander leads,” Caspian cut in. “But I answer to my queen.”
“What about your salar?” she challenged.
Caspian knew he was being tested. “Queen Norah would expect my obedience to him, and so I give it.”
Tahla looked him over, seeming not to have made up her mind about him, but her eyes were curious, and he waited patiently as they explored him. “How is Salara?” she asked. “I trust you’re keeping my sister safe.”
Caspian noted her fondness for the queen, and that she obviously hadn’t seen her. “Keeping her safe is what I’ve dedicated my life to,” he replied honestly.
“Good.” She turned back to the commander. “Stay. We’ll see you rested and fed.”
“We need to keep going,” the commander replied, “but we’re in need of food and fresh horses.”
“Of course.” Tahla nodded as she turned and motioned them around the large fire.
“You didn’t tell her about the North Queen,” the commander said to Caspian, low so that only he could hear.
“She obviously hasn’t seen her. And the fewer people who know of a lone queen roaming the open, the better.”
The Shadow commander gave the slightest tilt of his head. “You surprise me.”
“In that you agree with me?”
“In that you seem like a smart Northman. A rarity.”
Caspian gave an amused puff of breath at the complimentary insult. And he didn’t so much think himself smart as just… not stupid.
It was quiet at the late hour, but people emerged from their stone houses to eagerly greet the commander. They seemed not only to respect the formidable Shadowman, but also to genuinely like him.Quite peculiar.
A large woman handed Caspian a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread. “Thank you,” he said as he accepted it.
He took a seat on a rock not far from Tahla and watched her in the firelight. She laughed as she talked to a man beside her, and Caspian sat, fixated on her beauty. The paint on her face did little to hide her high, chiseled cheekbones or the slender slope of her nose. This was a dangerous woman, he could tell right away, but it made no difference. He saw only her eyes, the shape of her face, the graceful way she moved in the flickering light of the flames.
And then her eyes found him. They burned brightly, seeing into him. Through him. His skin prickled over his arms, across his neck, and down his back. Inside, he twisted and fought the strange hold taking over.
The commander kicked his boot, bringing Caspian back.
“What has you?” the Shadowman asked with a hint of annoyance. “Finish and get a horse. We’ve a long ride still ahead.”
Caspian forced his senses back. “Where?” he asked. “Did you get an idea of where she might be?”
“I know she’s not here. And she didn’t come this way. Perhaps she flees to Aleon through the eastern pass.” The commander let out an irritated sigh.
Flee?“She wouldn’t flee, not now,” Caspian said. “She doesn’t just give up; she’s too intent on bringing peace. Knowing Norah, she’s probably searching for answers, or a way to solve whatever problem is in front of her. And Aleon is the last place she would go.”
The commander looked at him with a skeptical eye.
“Aleon’s forces must be quite worrisome if this calls for a joint effort,” Tahla called out to the commander from where she stood by the fire. “Maybe I should go with you? Or send warriors?”
“I’ll take you up on a couple men,” the commander said.
“Will more men not slow us down?” Caspian asked him quietly.
