Page 101 of War Queen
Why was it empty?
“What have you done?” she breathed.
He held it out for her. “He didn’t come.”
Her eyes dropped in a long blink as she curled her hand around the vial. He had used it. But Alexander hadn’t come. Relief washed over her. Then that relief turned to anger, and her eyes blazed back open.
“It wasn’t meant for you,” she snapped.
The shadow under his brow grew. “You’re angry atme?”
Was he serious? “To have taken the liberty, yes! To give no thought of what this means to me.”
“What this means to you?” His own voice was laced with anger now.
“Youknowwhat Alexander means to me!”
“So you wanted for me to just accept this?”
“I don’t know!” she cried. “I wanted you not to have used it! So readily, without even speaking to me about it, and on top of that, to have no regard for yourself!”
“What am I to fear for myself?”
Gods, this man was an idiot sometimes. “I don’t know what his power is. I don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“Yet you call him to you?” he challenged.
“Because he’s not here to harm me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No!” She pushed him back from her. “Youdon’t know!” A tear escaped down her cheek, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “You don’t understand.” He wasn’t even trying to understand.
Norah shouldered past him, out of the room, taking the empty vial with her.
Chapter twenty-six
Norahfinishedscanningtheletter Soren had given her—a letter from Aleon. Communications flowed freely now between the two kingdoms. Phillip wrote to Soren directly even, sending him scout updates and military reports. In return, Soren sent information their own armies had collected on Japheth and Rael.
Mikael remained wary of the empire, as she expected, but he also realized the value of friendship between the kingdoms. He hadn’t been happy about her attending Phillip’s wedding, feeling it had been too great a risk, but it had been a risk she’d had to take. These Shadowmen might know war, but they didn’t know the art of diplomacy, the power of politics.
She held the letter out for Mikael. A tension still hung between them. He’d apologized after their argument, and so had she, but the weight, the heaviness, of the circumstance lingered.
Norah watched him as he read the letter, and he nodded.
“It’s not a surprise,” he said.
Rael’s forces were heavy in number and just inside Japheth’s border, no doubt preparing to launch a joint attack. Following the rumors, if therehadbeen a rift between the two kingdoms, clearly it wasn’t enough to dissolve their pact.
“You don’t find the numbers surprising?” she asked.
“We know slaves have been flocking to the army of Rael for months, from all kingdoms. Their numbers will continue to grow.” He turned to Soren. “You’ll go to Aleon, devise our joint strategy.”
Soren shifted uneasily. “You need me in Kharav.”
“No.” Mikael shook his head. “I need you to figure out how to win this war when it comes.” He handed the letter back to Norah and leaned to kiss her on the cheek. His eyes were somber. “I’ll see you tonight.”
She nodded. Then he left them to the quiet of the room.
