Page 70 of Shadow Queen
Adrian gripped his sword tightly for the next attack, but the commander straightened. His eyes hinted a genuine smile, something Norah hadn’t seen before.
“You’re not bad,” Soren said.
Adrian grinned and looked at Norah, and she smiled back in her own surprise.
“Keep practicing,” the commander said.
“Yes, my lord,” Adrian said breathlessly. “Thank you!” He looked back at Norah. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone so happy.
“That’s all,” she told him. “You can go now.”
He gave an excited bow of his head. If the lord commander hadn’t been there, she knew he would have hugged her. “Thank you, Norah!” he said. Then he turned to Soren. “Lord Commander.” He bowed again, then turned and trotted back toward the barracks.
Norah smiled. “Thank you,” she told Soren after Adrian left.
He gave a small grunt.
“If I didn’t know better,” she added, “I might think you enjoyed yourself.”
“Well, it wasn’t terrible,” he said with mild irritation.
She pursed her lips to keep her smile from growing. “Again, thank you.”
He shifted uncomfortably but gave a nod.
It was late afternoon as Norah made her way through the great hall and toward the conservatory, with the dogs at her side. She looked forward to spending some time in the gardens. Movement caught her eye, and she turned to see Alexander walking toward her.
“You took Adrian to meet the Destroyer,” he said angrily as he drew near.
Cusco growled in warning, and she reached down to calm the animal. He had become quite protective of her, even growling at Mikael, which had given her a good laugh. “They were both out this morning,” she said, “so I introduced them.”
“How kind of you,” he said shortly.
“Alexander,” she pleaded. “Adrian was ecstatic.”
“About meeting the man who’s killed thousands of our people?”
“About meeting the greatest warrior of our time!”
Alexander took a step back, visibly insulted, and she instantly regretted her words. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“That man is a monster,” he said bitterly, “and I don’t want Adrian near him. I don’t even want you near him.”
Anger rose in her cheeks. “Our fathers created that monster! Do you forget?”
Alexander gave a disgusted grimace. “You defend him?”
“He extended a kindness to the son of the man who led the forces that killed his own family! His father, his mother, his sister, his brother. Kharav has suffered at the hands of the North, and the lord commander has lost just as much as anyone else!”
Alexander’s eyes burned in troubled astonishment.
Norah sighed. She didn’t want to argue, especially not with Alexander over a man like the commander. She stepped closer to him. “Put aside your own bitterness. Allow your brother this small joy.”
He snorted and looked away.
She reached out and took his hand. “Alexander.”
He brought his gaze back to her.
