Page 157 of War Queen
“And now?” she asked. “Now that you know things are different, that things have changed—”
“Nothing’s changed.”
She shook her head. “How can you say that? You would still move against Mercia?”
“Norah, Mercia was never the target of my wrath. Only those who’ve oppressed my people.” He sighed. “For Alexander I felt a personal vengeance, yes, but you and I have never truly been enemies. And I’m sorry you’ve been caught in the middle.”
And she believed him. Her hope grew. He was being completely open with her. This was exactly what she needed—what they all needed. “No one wants this war.”
But his eyes blazed back at her. “I want this war.”
His sudden change in demeanor rattled her, and she stumbled over her thoughts for a moment. She shook her head in confusion. “What? No—why?”
“Because that’s what change requires. And that’s the price owed.”
Hewantedwar? “Lucien, thousands of people will die, your own people included.”
“All of us are willing to sacrifice.”
“For what?”
“For justice! The Shadowlands must pay.” His eyes flamed with a frightening fury. And it was growing.
Where was all this hate coming from? She desperately searched her mind for anything to help ease the tension. “Kharav is not the only kingdom who has slaves.”
“The Shadowlands fuel it. They sell the spoils of their wars; the slavers use Shadow rice to support their trade. There are others, it’s true—Etreus, Persus, Elam, Lorys—and they will all pay. Every single one of them. But I’ll take the Shadowlands first.”
The tension was escalating, and not in the right direction. She needed to get them back to where they were before. But she wouldn’t be able to do that now; she needed to let him calm.
She steadied her voice the best she could. “I think we’re both tired and have a lot to think on. Can we talk more later?”
He rose from the bench. For a moment, she thought he might not answer. Then he nodded. The world fell away, and they stood where they had started, at the stairwell.
“You’ll return to me?” she asked.
“When you call me.” It was a small reassurance. It wasn’t broken between them.
“Good night, Lucien.”
“Good night,” he said with a stiff bow of his head.
A new day came with the sun, one Norah was determined to make the most of. She swept into Catherine’s room. “I’ve decided that I’m perfectly fine that you’d rather have the Destroyer of the Shadowlands, known for his brutality and complete unpleasantness, look after your beloved Sophia, instead of your one and only endearing granddaughter—your own flesh and blood.”
Where she’d expected a snarky reply, there was none.
She’d take it as forgiveness. She walked to the window and pulled open the draperies.
Catherine was still sleeping on the bed. She was growing more and more tired.Great, now she was going to have to repeat that all over again when she woke.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d sleep longer than me. Time to stir. Serene’s bringing breakfast.”
But her grandmother didn’t move.
She slowed. “Grandmother?”
Silence.
She approached the bed. “Grandmother?” Her breath wavered. Catherine looked so pale. Why was she so pale? She swallowed. Ever so slowly, she drew closer.
