Page 91 of Shadow Queen
“I don’t have power,” Alexander stressed.
“You will try!” Mikael snapped.
Alexander sighed in resignation and looked at the sisters. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
But Sana shook her head. “You’re talking about a power that we don’t know. We only guess at this point.”
“You said the memories came when you touched him?” Naavi asked Norah.
Norah nodded uncomfortably. “When I kissed him.” Mikael’s face darkened.
Naavi waved Alexander to the pool. “Come.”
Slowly, he pulled off his boots and stepped into the water.
“Think of a memory that is important to you,” Naavi told him. “One that you share with her, one that is strong within your being.”
Alexander took Norah’s hands and closed his eyes. His hands were warm around hers. Norah watched him as he drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She wondered which memory he’d choose. Would she see it as hers? Or from his perspective? She closed her eyes too. And waited.
But nothing came.
Norah opened her eyes again. She glanced at Naavi, then back to Alexander, who still stood immersed in his mind.
“You must push against your shield, beyond it,” Naavi told him. “Dig into your being. If you love her, use it.”
Alexander broke from his memory, straightening. Norah bit her lip. He would never admit such a thing so openly.
Yet he didn’t deny it. He glanced at Naavi, then back to Norah. He stepped closer.
Norah’s heart raced in her chest.
He brought his hands to her face and brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. Then he pulled her even closer as he lowered his head to hers.
Her breaths came quicker now.
“If this doesn’t work,” he whispered, “forgive me.”
Alexander and Norah stood in the pool of the Wild. A memory that was important to him, the Wild woman had told him. There was such a memory. There were many—ones he thought about often. But one in particular filled his mind. It wasn’t a great event, or one that many would think was significant, but those weren’t the memories that fueled his love. The memories most important to him were the smaller things—Norah’s smile, the way her eyes gave away every emotion, the way she laughed.
Slowly, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her, deeply. He willed her mind to come back to her. And he focused.
Alexander walked through the kitchen of the castle, searching for something sweet to eat. He grinned as he spied a fig and pulled his knife from his belt, grabbing it and cutting it in half. Just then, Norah sprang through the door, laughing in surprise at seeing him.
“What are you doing?” he asked her with a grin as he slipped his knife back in its sheath.
“Hiding from Grandmother!” she smiled breathlessly. “Don’t tell her you saw me.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll not lie to your grandmother.”
“Alec!” she pleaded.
“She’ll know.”
They heard voices in the hall, and Norah looked at him wide-eyed, but he shook his head again.
“You’re intolerable!” she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along with her. “You’re coming with me, then.” She ran down the back hall and into a small supply room, pulling him in and closing the door behind them. They stood together closely in the cramped space, facing each other.
“Why are you hiding?” he asked her.
