Page 155 of War Queen
“That and Sophia.”
Norah frowned as she looked at the gray feline on the foot of the bed.
“Your cat?”
“Mmm,” Catherine pursed her lips in simple acknowledgement as she reached for her cup of tea on the bedside table.
Norah picked up the cup and handed it to her. “What about your cat?”
Catherine shrugged. “Nothing. I only want to make sure she’s cared for after I’m gone.”
Norah sat back, looking squarely at her grandmother. “Wait. You’ve asked the lord commander of a four-nation army to look after your cat?”
“Oh, Norah, he’s the only one who pays her any mind at all.”
Norah scoffed. “I do too!”
“When? You don’t so much as look at her.”
Because she was acat.Norah wasn’t too keen on cats, but she would have taken care of her grandmother’s cat.
Catherine’s eyes taunted her. “He pets her every time he comes in.”
Norah wrinkled her face. “How many times has he come?”
“More than you!”
“I come here every day!”
“So does he, sometimes twice a day!”
Soren came regularly to see her grandmother? Well—“I’m running two kingdoms!”
“He’s leading a four-nation army to war!”
Norah gasped. “You got that from me.”
Catherine pursed her lips, looking quite pleased with herself.
Norah stood. She couldn’t believe this. “Fine. I don’t want your cat anyway.”
“That’s why I’m giving her to the Destroyer.”
She wanted to scream. “Well, I hope you’reallhappy together!”
“Theywill be,” her grandmother replied shortly. “I’llbe dead!”
Norah turned and stalked out of the chamber, her mind fuming. What was even happening? When she reached the main hall, she stopped and sank down onto a side bench, covering her face in her hands.
“Salara,” came Mikael’s voice, and she looked up as he sat down beside her. “Are you all right? What’s happened?”
She sat back against the bench and shook her head. “I’m losing my mind. I just”—she paused and took a breath—“I just got into an argument with my grandmother about not giving me her cat.” She covered her face with her hands again. “I don’t even want her cat.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. “You’re under a lot of stress right now.”
“We all are.” She put her hand on his thigh. “Including you.”
He covered her hand with his. “Are we all right?” he asked softly.
