Page 141 of War Queen
Slowly, Cyrus reached up and pulled his helm from his head.
Norah gasped. The face that looked back at her nearly broke her.
The blond hair.
The square jaw.
The blue eyes.
“Alexander?” she breathed. Her mind had to be fooling her. She glanced at Soren for validation that he saw the same, and his dark stare told her he did. Her eyes darted back to Alexander. She could only sit with her mouth agape, unable to speak, unable to breathe.
How was this possible? It wasn’t. As she looked closer, she saw this wasn’t Alexander. He had the same face, the same hair, the same eyes, but he was different. An imposter—Cyrus was an imposter.
Suddenly the air shook. Cyrus jerked up his shield as two bolts from Soren’s crossbow buried themselves into the black metal.
Soren was attacking.
“No!” she cried.
But it was too late. His horse charged.
The woman beside Cyrus raised her arms and whispered foreign words into the air. A stinging wind swept through. Soren’s destrier reared and lashed out with its front hooves, as if fighting an invisible enemy, but it didn’t continue its charge.
Sephir tossed her head and reared. Norah clutched the mare to keep from falling off and dropped a hand to the animal’s neck to calm her.
Soren twisted atop his mount, his hand straining for the small battle-axe at his side, but he couldn’t grab it, and Norah realized he was being held by an unseen force. A growl of pain ripped from his lips.
“Stop!” she screamed as she reached for him, but she wasn’t close enough to touch him. And there was nothing she could do to help. Soren bellowed again.
“Stop!” She shot a glance at the ridge where Mikael was waiting. Was he seeing this? Why wasn’t he coming? She needed him.
“The Shadow King cannot see.” Cyrus said calmly, answering. “Nothing looks amiss for him.” The voice was Alexander’s, but this couldn’t be Alexander.
Norah glanced at the woman beside him, who continued to mouth silent words into the air. She turned her eyes back to the ridge, where Mikael still waited. He had no idea what was really happening. She was on her own.
Soren groaned again, and Norah looked back to Cyrus. “Please,” she said, forcing her voice steady. “Stop. You’re hurting him.”
The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly, then he cut a look to the woman beside him.
Soren’s body sagged in relief, but he still sat unnaturally, held by the unseen force.
Norah stared back at the Raelean king. She knew this wasn’t Alexander, but she couldn’t take her eyes from all his familiar features. Her lip trembled. “Who are you?”
“Perhaps the name Lucien may be more familiar to you,” he said.
Lucien? “Alexander’s brother?” she asked. Alexander had a brother who’d died as a child. Only, this man was very much alive.
His eyes gave a cruel smirk as he watched the realization hit her.
“You’re his exact likeness,” she whispered.
“As many twins are.”
Twins. She hadn’t known they were twins. Apparently, there was a lot she hadn’t known. Norah shook her head in disbelief. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
Lucien gave a slight tilt of his head. “Yes, I am. At least that was the intent of my mother.”
“But now you’re king of Rael?”
