Page 185 of Shadow Queen
Adrian exceeded what either kingdom alone could have made him, and he belonged to so much more than just Mercia—he was destined for even greater things beyond.
“What?” Adrian said, pulling him from his thoughts.
Alexander hadn’t realized he’d been staring at him. He shook his head. “Nothing.”
They marched through the capital city, rounding the legions toward the soldiers’ barracks and into the provisioned overflow housing. After turning command over to the field captains to settle the army, Alexander and Adrian broke away to the courtyard, where Alexander knew the Shadow King would be waiting. He’d seen him on the wall.
His core didn’t roil as it usually did on the way to the king, perhaps because his hatred for him had died somewhere along the way. Alexander wasn’t sure when. Perhaps it was when he realized how Adrian had grown in the Shadowlands. Or maybe it was well before the journey, when the king had sent Norah to the safety of Mercia. He could have kept her, forcing Mercia and Aleon to his side to help him stand against the threat of Japheth and Rael. But he didn’t.
Alexander still didn’t like him, but he no longer hated him.
They entered the courtyard, where the Shadow King now stood, and brought their horses to a halt. Alexander slid down from his mount and gave a stiff bow of his head.
“You bring forces of Aleon to aid me?” the king asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
“They were given to the queen,” Alexander said, “and she gives them to you.”
“They will follow Kharavian command?”
Hardly. “They’ll follow Mercian command. I also bring forge equipment, with smiths. We’ll teach you how to work Mercian steel. If you can do the ironmaking and casting here, it will quicken the time it takes for us to get it to you.”
The king shifted in surprise. He hadn’t expected that either. This man didn’t know how fortunate he was.
“She sends you everything she can,” Alexander told him.
“Including you.”
Alexander stilled. Was he rubbing it in? His blood heated under his skin.
“I’m grateful,” the king said. “I know she wouldn’t take sending you lightly.”
Alexander eased.
The king pushed his gaze to Adrian. “The lord commander remains with her?”
Adrian bowed his head and pulled a letter from his jacket. “He does. And he sends this for you.”
The Destroyer had entrusted Adrian with a letter to the king? Adrian had said nothing of it.
The Shadow King took it but didn’t open it. His eyes met Alexander’s again. “I need you to return to her.”
Alexander straightened. He’d half expected the Shadow King to cast him from the Shadowlands, and he imagined it in all forms—ordering him to leave, driving him out, or even just killing him. But never had he imagined the king would tell him toreturnto her.
“You’ll depart tomorrow.”
Tomorrow?Tomorrow? “She sent me with two armies to aid you. I can’t just leave.”
“You can and you will.”
Alexander stumbled over his words, caught between astonishment and disbelief. “Youneedme. There are ten thousand men who await my orders.” Was he really arguing with the Shadow King to stay in the Shadowlands?
“Take them back with you.”
Alexander snorted. Was this man mad? He needed all the help he could get.
The Shadow King stepped closer. “You and the lord commander are the only ones I trust with her safety. You have to return to her.”
Alexander stilled, sobering. This king would deny himself aid to keep Norah safe. He’d send the man he hated most in the world safely home, to protect the woman they both loved. Alexander glanced down, gathering his thoughts. Norah expected him to keep this man safe too. “I’ll go then. But I’ll leave my brother in my stead.”
