Page 73 of Shadow Queen
He waved off Vimal as his servant moved to take off his attire. “Leave us.”
Vitalia gave Norah a curtsy and followed Vimal from the room.
Norah looked at Mikael with a raised brow. “What’s the matter?”
He shook his head.
“Tell me,” she pressed.
He reached out and pulled her close. “The only thing the matter is the way I spoke to you before about Gregor.”
A small smile came to her lips, and she let him wrap his arms around her. “I accept your apology, if that’s what it was supposed to be.”
“It was. Itis. I’m sorry.”
“I thought you might be angry with me for goading him.”
He shook his head and held her tighter. “You say things I can’t. And, I’ll admit, it does allow me greater leverage when you hint the threat of the North against him, if I appear the advocate on his behalf.”
“Well, I’m glad to be in service to my salar.”
He smiled, and his eyes grew darker. “Say that again.”
Her lips peeled back to reveal her own smile. “I’m glad to be in service to my salar.”
And he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Water puddled on the cobblestone streets. A billow of gray hung over the city. Alexander pulled his hood farther over his brow as he stepped out into the rain. He was appreciative of the weather for once, as a hooded man wouldn’t draw attention. But as he made his way toward the castle, he was acutely aware he was being followed. He stepped into a side street, intending to cut through to another walkway, when a man stepped into the path in front of him. Alexander stopped and looked behind him, where the other man who had been following him cut off his retreat.
“The Mercian lord justice,” the man in front of him called out. “I heard you were here.” He had a chopped cadence to his accent—he was a man from Japheth.
“Good day, gentlemen,” Alexander said, then he moved to continue walking.
But the man in front of him stepped into his path, and two more men appeared.
“What’s your intention?” Alexander asked them. “I’m expected at the castle.”
The man in front of him smiled. “Be a shame if you didn’t make it there. An accident, perhaps?”
Alexander put his hand on his sword’s hilt. “An unlikely accident.”
He heard the draw of a sword behind him and looked back out of the corner of his eye. The men were closing in. In a singular motion, he pulled his sword from its scabbard and spun with a blow to the closest opponent behind him. The man fell backward, onto the cobblestone street. He followed with an upswing at the man on his right, who met his attack with his own blade. Alexander fought him back before turning his attention to the advancing man to his left. But a blow to the back of his head dropped him to his knees. He tried to stand but was met with a swift knee to the chin, sending him spiraling backward.
Alexander rolled to his side and staggered to his feet, but he had dropped his sword. A man rushed him with a short sword, and he ducked, pushing the man to the side and bracing for another attack. A sword swung wide, and he leapt back. It sliced through the fabric of his shirt but didn’t reach his skin. But he couldn’t escape the second swing that bit into his thigh.
He stumbled backward, losing his balance and again falling to his knees. There was no time to react to the blade that came for his head.
But a small battle-axe hit his attacker in the chest, killing him and dropping him to the ground. Alexander swayed on his knees as the Shadow commander walked by him, killing two more men with shots from his double crossbow. The commander turned back toward the fourth man, who was picking himself up off the ground.
“Are you mad?” the man yelled as he looked at his fallen companion with an axe in his chest. “That was King Gregor’s nephew!”
The lord commander paused, and the man took the opportunity to run away. He turned back to Alexander. “Get back to the castle and don’t leave,” he snarled. Then he pulled his axe from the king’s dead nephew and disappeared into the rain.
Norah found Mikael with Soren in Mikael’s study. He stood, gripping the sides of his desk and leaning over it with a stoic look on his face. Soren stood across from him, his eyes dark.
“The lord justice told me what happened,” she said breathlessly as she entered. Her pulse beat in her throat. Alexander’s recount had her running to find Mikael before he’d even finished his words.
“Your justice is exactly the problem,” Mikael snarled. “If he wasn’t here, this wouldn’t have happened.”
