Page 202 of War Queen
It would be a long day, and an even longer night.
Despite the exhaustion that still lingered, Norah couldn’t sleep. How could she when Mikael was under attack? She knew Lucien would have made it to him by now. He would have reached Mikael days ago. How long could Mikael hold?
He had to hold.
They started their march again before dawn. The time it took to move an army was excruciatingly slow. It was all Norah could do to not break from them and race alone the rest of the way.
She rode with her hand wrapped around the hilt of her sword. Adrian had given the weapon to her, and being able to clutch it brought her an inkling of comfort. Soren had also strategically stowed a short sword and two additional daggers in the folds of her saddle. She carried a crossbow fastened to the back of her seat, although she’d always struggled with the strength it took to pull back the cord. Still, having it made her feel slightly better.
The Aleon army had come with them, aside from two legions that had stayed behind to finish the takeover of Japheth. The ranks traveled in file, Mercia in the front, led by Soren and Caspian, trailed by Aleon with Adrian and Phillip. As they drew nearer to the mountains, they moved to stretch across horizontally. Phillip and Adrian joined beside her.
They reached the final ridge, and the mountains of Bahoul came into view. They seemed darker now than they had before—her mind was playing tricks on her. She squinted, and a sickening chill went through her.
The mountains seemed darker because they were covered in men—the men of the Raelean army.
Had they taken the stronghold? Had Lucien gotten to Mikael?
The urgency now cut to her soul. “Soren!”
His horse quickened, but he said, “We can’t start the charge from this far. We need to save strength for the battle.”
The wave of their armies moved faster, but not fast enough. Rael’s numbers were staggering.So many—there were so many men that she couldn’t see the snow that blanketed the ground of the mountains. But—
They were fighting…
The Kharavian army was still fighting. Hope seeded inside her. They hadn’t taken the stronghold yet.
Hold on, she begged Mikael. She couldn’t breathe.
The time it took to bridge the gap felt longer than the entire journey, but their pace quickened as they neared.
“Fall to the back,” Soren told Norah as they got closer.
As if he could make her…
Phillip pulled his sword as he rode beside her. The horses of the cavalry around them picked up to a trot, then a canter.
“Fall back!” Soren demanded of her.
But the army picked up more speed, and she pulled her own sword as she pushed her horse to a gallop. She wasn’t here to fall back.
“Salara!”
Horns sounded from the enemy, and the Raelean army poured out to meet them.
Norah charged with Phillip riding beside her. Their men followed, bellowing their cries of attack. The ground shook underneath her. Time slowed in the thunder. She cast her eyes down the sweeping line of Mercia and Aleon. For as long as she could remember, she’d fought the notion of war. She’d rejected its violence, its death. But now she came for Mikael, and she’d bring death to save him.
The initial clash was deafening. Metal rang in her ears. Soren veered his destrier toward her, but she cut her horse left and away. She hadn’t come to watch—she’d come to fight for what she loved. To the end. She screamed as she charged into the masses of black and blood.
Her blade met armor and bone, and she tore through with a fury, but no one tried to strike her back. As the enemy attacked her army, they only parted around her.
And she realized—she was linked to their king—they wouldn’t hurt her.
That didn’t mean she’d give them mercy.
Norah pushed her horse forward, toward the stronghold, striking down anyone that couldn’t get out of the way of her blade. To her right, Soren swung his axe like he was skinning the earth, arcing blood through the air. He’d stopped yelling at her, understanding, too, why the Raelean army steered clear of her.
Phillip fought to her left, bellowing commands as they tried to push forward.
