Page 110 of Shadow Queen
The beast of a Shadowman turned. “Does it not? I command the armies.”
Alexander shook his head. “Not the Northmen.”
Soren frowned with a shrug, as if allowing Alexander a small victory. “Notall, that’s true.”
“None,” Alexander stressed.
“I lead the Crest. That makes Caspian my captain. And now I command Bahoul.” His eyes smiled wickedly. “More will come. Give me time, Bear.”
“Bahoul?” Alexander repeated.
This was the first Caspian had heard of this as well. The queen had given the mountains back to Kharav? To the Destroyer?
“Perhaps you should talk to Salara,” the commander said, before casting a warning gaze at Caspian and leaving.
Alexander found Norah in a large stone house in the village’s center. His skin burned in anger. “You gave Bahoul back to the Shadowlands?” he asked when he saw her.
Norah turned. He saw her anger in response to his own, but he didn’t care.
“I gave Bahoul back to Kharav, where it rightfully belongs,” she said with an edge in her voice.
Surely, she didn’t know what she had done. “Your father died for those mountains.”
“No, my father died for a war fueled by fear and hatred.”
He stepped back in surprise. How could she say that? “The Destroyer says he is sworn to you.”
She hesitated before replying. “He is.”
Had she not wanted him to know?
“Norah, you can’t accept his oath. He can’t truly swear himself to you.”
Her eyes narrowed defensively. “Why not?”
He couldn’t believe he had to explain this. “He’s the Destroyer. Oaths are for men who know loyalty!”
“There’s no man more loyal than the lord commander,” she snapped back.
Her words struck him. He couldn’t reply.
She closed her eyes momentarily. “I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I don’t consider you in that statement. You know how I feel about you.”
He wasn’t so sure anymore. He took another step back, then turned and left her to the evening.
Chapter thirty-one
ThegloryofMerciashone brightly on the horizon, and Norah felt a spring of joy in her heart.Home.
Adrian rode beside her, and he wore a lopsided smile. He was happy to be returning too. She’d wanted to bring Calla and Cohen, but she wasn’t sure if Hamed and Marta would approve of their grandchildren traveling across the continent to a kingdom that used to be their enemy—to the kingdom that had claimed the siblings’ parents. So she’d had them stay. Soren had just put them into a training regimen and assigned tutors for their studies, without Norah even asking. He’d likely cite it as another favor to call upon, but for the moment, she was grateful. They’d be looked after until she returned to Kharav.
Norah turned her attention back to Mercia. She shot Adrian a grin. “How fast is your horse?”
“Faster than Sephir,” he challenged.
“Salara,” Soren called out in warning behind her.
She glanced back over her shoulder, knowing that his large destrier didn’t have the speed. “Am I hearing you want to race too, Lord Commander?”
