Page 50 of War Queen
“Is your grandmother all right with that?”
“She told me to tell you to come.”
His brow raised in surprise. “Did she?”
Damn. She pulled her lip between her teeth. “No. But she probably would.”
“Would she?”
Damn. “No.” She swallowed. “I just want you there.”
“Then I’ll be there.”
She gave him a relieved smile. “Thank you,” she whispered, and turned toward the castle.
Mercia was beautiful in the beams of the morning sun. Even in the cold. It was easy to pretend that everything was the way it had always been, that nothing had changed—no battle, no blood, no loss. Alexander could still be in his study, as he usually was in the mornings.
Alexander.
She could pretend, if only for a moment, Alexander was still there.
But he wasn’t.
Norah paused on the stair and gripped the railing. She thought she’d battled the worst of the grief, but it swelled inside her again and threatened to cripple her.
“Salara,” Bhastian called from behind. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I just want to go to my chamber.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said quickly. She just needed to get to her chamber and catch her breath. Norah waved him off and forced herself up the rest of the stairs and into the castle. She took the halls as quickly as she could, trying to bite back her emotion. As she reached her own hall and turned the corner, the free fall of her mind momentarily stopped. She spotted a familiar face standing guard outside her door.
“Titus!”
The large guard bowed his head, respectfully formal, but Norah didn’t care about formalities. She crossed the distance between them, leapt up, and threw her arms around his shoulders.
“I’m so glad you’re here, and well!”
She hadn’t seen the Northman since she’d fled Mercia. Or had she? Perhaps he’d been near, she just hadn’t noticed him in the chaos of her return. A pang of guilt needled her that he hadn’t crossed her mind in the days she’d been back, that she hadn’t sought him out.
He patted the back of her shoulder but refrained from hugging her back. Still, she let herself hold on to him a little longer before releasing him. She couldn’t handle any more loss, and seeing Titus walked her back from the sorrow’s edge that had threatened her composure just moments before.
He cleared his throat, and she finally pulled back.
“Queen Norah, it’s very important to me that you know I would have given my life to stop the council. But I wasn’t on guard, and I didn’t know what had happened until after you’d fled.”
“I know.” She clutched his arm in reassurance. “Titus, I never doubted you. Not for a moment. I only worried that those I cared about had suffered or been harmed in some way, including you. I’m so relieved to see you well, and back in my service.”
A slight smile touched his lips. “I’m glad to be back in your service. And to see you back on your throne.”
“How’s your wife?”
He nodded. “She’s well. As is my daughter.”
“A daughter!” Norah grinned. “Titus, congratulations!”
The guardsman smiled. “Thank you, Regal High.”
