Page 117 of War Queen
Norah pulled her hands from his and wiped her face. “Mikael is taking me back to Mercia tomorrow.” She paused. “This is the last time I’ll call you.”
He shook his head, and it knifed her heart. She brought her hands back to his face, tracing the lines she knew so well. His eyes pleaded to her.
“Goodbye, Alexander,” she whispered, and opened her eyes to the living.
The room was quiet.
Norah sat for a time, staring at her lap where Alexander had knelt in front of her in her mind. She pulled a small handkerchief from the vanity and wiped the blood from her hand, then rose unsteadily.
Move forward.That was what she needed to do.
She threw the vial into the fireplace.
Chapter thirty
MostoftheKharavianarmy stayed in Kharav, with only one legion accompanying Norah and the king back to Mercia. Caspian rode near the back as they traveled north. He was happy to be headed back to the Uru, where he’d been the week prior in coming to Kharav, but too soon he’d be leaving Tahla and his son again, and he didn’t know when he’d see them next.
Caspian accepted this life, welcomed it even. He’d never imagined himself finding love or having a son. Now he had both, and he was grateful. Men wasted their joy on seeking perfection in it, but he’d relish every moment. He had to. He had to find joy where he could.
Alexander’s death had hit him harder than he could have ever imagined. He missed the man he’d known his entire life, the man that was like a brother to him. Caspian had always expected himself to be the first between them to leave this world. To him, Alexander had been… invincible, his death impossible. Caspian would have given his life for him, and it’s what he always thought he would do. When Alexander died, it had shaken everything within him, rocked his very foundation. And now he found himself in a role he wasn’t worthy of, praying that he could fill it half as well as his friend had.
He’d worried for Adrian, but the young man had surprised him. Adrian had shown himself to be every part Alexander’s brother, every part the son of the great Beurnat the Bear. He’d grieved deeply, but then he’d risen.
The lord commander had a hand in it, no doubt. And the king. They treated Adrian as if he were their own man—they had faith in him, and expectations of him—and he rose to those expectations. Now under the lord commander’s watch, Adrian served beside King Phillip—a seemingly impossible circumstance. Yet here they were in seemingly impossible times—Mercia and Kharav united with Aleon, with Caspian as lord justice. Although months had passed, it still hadn’t taken hold in his heart, but he’d give his everything to it.
His pulse raced as they neared the Canyonlands. It had only been a week, but he couldn’t wait to hold his son in his arms again, to hold Tahla.
When they reached the tribe, he worked quickly to settle the legion outside. Then he made his way inside, to the village’s center fire, where Norah and the others had settled among the Urun people, visiting. Norah sat on a large rock by the warmth of the fire, laughing and holding Katakah in her lap.
Caspian took a seat close by. He couldn’t take his eyes from the infant. The child sat contently, bundled in furs, looking like a bedroll. He had to hold back his chuckle. He glanced up to see Norah looking back at him.
“Sorry,” he murmured as he shifted his gaze to the fire.
The center of her brows twitched. “Why?”
He only shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean to stare.”
She grinned. “How can you not?” She looked back down at the infant in her lap and scrunched her nose at him. “He’s the most adorable thing.”
Caspian couldn’t help a smile as he looked at the child. “That he is.”
“Do you want to hold him?”
Yes.Yes, he did. “No,” he said quickly. “No.” It would be awkward for the Mercian lord justice to hold an Urun baby. Norah never thought about what was awkward, only about sharing things that brought joy. This baby certainly brought joy, but Caspian had to decline. Still, he watched as she adjusted Katakah’s cover more snugly over his head and around his cheeks to keep him warm. But there was no covering the plump rounds on the babe’s face, and a chuckle escaped Caspian as Norah’s attempts only squished the fat and puffed out the child’s lips more.
Norah laughed too. “Did you see Katya’s son?” she asked.
He nodded with a smile. “I did.”
She laughed again. “These chub babies just melt my heart.” She looked over at him. “Fatherhood would look good on you too, Caspian.”
His smile died, and he had to force himself to keep it.
She must have noticed, as she stammered, “I-I mean… you should just know if it’s what you wanted… I’d want it for you, that’s all.”
It was what he wanted. More than anything.
“Not that it’s my business,” she added. “I just, I, uh”—she smiled as she shook her head—“or maybe it is my business because Titus asked me. But I don’t think you’d ask, so you should just know that you’d have my blessing if it was what you wanted.”
