Page 5 of Shadow Queen
That was the opposite of what she should probably do. Norah could name more than one person who’d chide her for trusting strangers, including herself. She eyed the girl. Hells—she knew a good spirit when she met one. “I think I’ll actually take you up on that offer. It’s incredibly kind, thank you.”
Calla smiled again. “This way,” she said as she started down a trail through the trees, waving for her brother to join.
Norah followed Calla and Cohen down a trail that opened into a meadow. A small homestead sat in the sunset. She smiled at the cobbled farmhouse as they approached. It was humble but well cared for, with boxes of thick-stemmed flowers hanging under the windows. Evergreen shrubs lined the graveled walkway to the front door, and dark flagstone on the side led to a large garden. “Do you and Cohen live here by yourselves?” she asked.
“With our grandparents,” the girl answered.
“How will they feel about a visitor?”
“I don’t know,” Calla replied. “We never have visitors.”
That was a good sign. She should be able to keep to herself if she wasn’t on a path well traveled.
“You can hobble your horse on the side if you’d like.”
“That’s all right,” Norah said, pulling the saddle from the mare. “She won’t go anywhere.”
Calla gave her a doubtful look. “She’s really pretty. Would be a shame to lose her.”
“It would be, but she’s fine.”
Calla shrugged. “C’mon,” she said, tipping her head toward the garden.
“Apah! Amah!” Calla called as she walked.
A head rose from between the thick rows of green and yellow, and a man stepped out into the pathway. He was an older man, his long hair tied back and grayed by time, but there was no mistaking the evidence of a warrior. The inked skin on his arms told her he’d seen his share of battles—he still looked like he could manage a few more, but a heavy limp slowed his walk. He carried a small bucket and tossed a handful of pulled weeds into it, not yet aware of Norah. He replied to Calla in the Kharavian tongue, brushing his hand on his apron.
“Apah,” Calla called again for his attention. “We have a visitor.”
The man looked up and stopped. He stared at Norah as he slowly set down his bucket. He was darker than the children, and the lines on his skin told his years. His eyes moved to Calla and then Cohen. He looked at the mare, then back to Norah. She could feel his unease.
“I don’t mean to impose,” Norah tried to assure him. “I’m only passing through.”
“Marta,” he called over his shoulder.
A woman stepped out of the flora to join him, equally wary of their visitor. Norah looked over her with curiosity. Her skin was light, like her own. And despite the gray of her hair, it hadn’t been black in her youth. This woman wasn’t from Kharav.
“We don’t have many visitors, but you’re welcome here,” the man said.
“Thank you. I mean to stay for only the night, and then I’ll be on my way in the morning.”
He eyed the mare again, distracted, but then pulled his gaze back to Norah. He glanced around. “You’re traveling alone?”
She supposed it did seem odd that a lone woman would be traveling across a foreign kingdom. She hoped that was the only thing that seemed odd to him. “Yes.”
He looked at his wife, quiet, but then gave Norah a nod. “I’m Hamed,” he said, then gesturing to the woman, “and this is my wife, Marta. Come. Let’s go inside.”
Marta placed her basket full of leafy greens on a preparation table, and Calla started washing them in a large bowl of water.
Norah watched, fascinated, as everyone busied themselves with dinner. “You have a full garden in winter?” she asked, trying for polite conversation.
“While it’s cold, it doesn’t freeze here in the valley,” Hamed said. “We can get away with a good variety of winter vegetables. It’s one of the many reasons we like it here.”
Cohen quickly set bowls on the table and then went to fetch water in a pitcher. Hamed stirred the coals on the fire, fueling the heat under the pot that hung from above. Calla added her chopped vegetables and smiled at her grandfather as he held the lid for her.
“So, you just live out here by yourselves?” Norah asked.
Hamed gave a nod. “We lead a simple life, but it’s ours.” He looked over and smiled at Marta lovingly.
