Page 94 of Shadow Queen
Sana stepped into the room and came quickly to the defense of her sister. “Your father saw the vision of the Shadow King taking you, your lifeless body carried away by a monster.” She glared at Mikael with a bitterness in her eyes, then looked back at Norah. “He brought you here, begged Naavi to protect you. He knew what would happen, but he begged her anyway. And she did as he asked.”
Naavi’s eyes were filled with tears. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said, recalling. “Your father didn’t want this for you, but he was desperate.” She looked at the unconscious justice. “To hide you from the Eye, I had to break the bond to the Aether. When you could no longer cry out for those you loved, I stopped. And you disappeared from the eyes of this world.”
Those she loved…
Mikael stood. He didn’t meet Norah’s gaze as he stepped through the side door into an adjoining chamber.
Norah glanced at Soren, and he cut her a dark scowl. What did he want from her? She had nothing left to give.
“I’m sorry, Norah,” Naavi said. “If there were more I could do for you, I would.” Then she and Sana slipped out of the room, leaving Norah to her despair.
Norah put her head in her hands. Cruel, cruel fate. She let out a defeated breath. She had lost everything. Then she stopped.
Not everything.
She stepped through the side doorway, into what she had thought was an adjoining chamber, but it was a large outdoor hall with a small fountain in the center. Mikael stood beside it, gazing into its waters.
“Mikael,” she said softly.
He stirred slightly, hearing her, but he didn’t answer.
She came to his side, letting herself take in the calming sound of the fountain. “I said things I didn’t mean,” she said.
“You did mean them, but they’re things I already knew to be true.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know this is hard. But, Mikael, I love you.”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t if you could remember.” He looked blankly at the fountain. “So strong it was, your love for him, that even the Wild couldn’t take it all from you. It’s but a shell now, a fragment of what it once was, yet… I still not dare ask you to choose.”
She brought her hand to his face. “Mikael,” she breathed. “I—”
But he clasped her hand gently and pulled it down. “Please, Salara. Leave me for a while. Just a while.”
She didn’t want to leave him. She wanted to take back what she said. But it was too late for that. He thought she didn’t love him, at least not as she loved Alexander, but he was wrong. She would make him see that. But for now, she squeezed his hand before leaving him to the quiet.
Norah returned to the room with Alexander and sat in the chair beside the bed, at a loss for what to do or what to say.
Soren watched her with his same menacing scowl.
“I know you’re angry with me,” she told him.
“We should never have come here.”
“Do you really believe that?” she asked.
“So, you had one question answered. At what cost?” he said bitterly. “Salar almost died today. Your Bear lies unconscious. All so you can live in the past. What about your future? What about all of our futures? Is that not enough?” He turned and left, walking back toward the great cathedral, where they first entered.
Her gaze found Caspian’s. His eyes weren’t unkind.
“Was I selfish to come here?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. It seemed… very possible before… that you could get your answers here. All of us wanted that for you. And we all knew the Wild was a dangerous place.”
She nodded, but inside she felt herself about to fall apart, and she swallowed it back. Soren was right. They should have never come. She’d known the Wild was dangerous. Why had she let them?
She moved to sit beside Alexander on the bed. Caspian gave a small bow and excused himself from the room. Alone with Alexander now, she brushed her fingers through his golden locks just above his brow. What had he tried to show her in the pool? Perhaps it was best he couldn’t. A tear fell down her cheek.
“These Northmen aren’t easy on the heart, are they?” a voice called behind her, and she turned to see Naavi. The Wild woman had seen everything, knew everything, Norah remembered.
