Page 61 of War Queen
The rector stood by the window, a bird in his hands. He turned abruptly at her entrance. “Regal High,” he greeted in surprise, then he glanced down at the bird in his hands. He pulled the capsule tied around its leg and held it out for her.
Norah reached for it eagerly, breaking it open and fumbling with the tightly rolled parchment.
And she sucked in a breath.
Soren burst into the room, obviously seeking the same news. Her hands shook as she held it for him.
“What does he say?” he asked.
“Cyrus moved to attack before he was able to reach the western pass.”
Soren grabbed the small piece of parchment.
“But Aleon forces moved south and stopped Rael’s advance,” she said. “He made it. Mikael made it through the pass.” Her eyes stung as she said the words.He’d made it.
The note was short. Word that traveled by bird was always short. More would follow by messenger, she knew. She would have to wait. But she couldn’t.
Her heart raced at the thought of what could have happened had Aleon not moved to stop Rael. But why? She hadn’t heard from King Phillip since her council had tried to kill her. “Why would Phillip help Mikael?” she asked.
But Soren seemed distracted.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“How did Cyrus know Salar would be headed for the western pass? The eastern pass is more favorable; the canyons are wider, allowing an army to move through more quickly. If I were him, I would have anticipated Salar returning through the eastern pass.”
Norah shook her head. “You said it yourself. Mikael’s moving an entire army. I’m sure they’ve been seen.”
“Kharavian warriors aren’t seen.”
Norah sighed. “I know you have pride in your army, but we’re talking tens of thousands of warriors. You don’t move an army that size in complete secrecy.”
The shadow darkened under his brow. “It’s how we marched to Mercia. The Holy Knights didn’t know we were coming, and they were some of the greatest mercenaries in the world.”
“I’d like to think Alexander had a hand in that.”
“That he did,” Soren admitted. “But Cyrus knew Salar would go through the western pass. How?”
Norah shook her head. There was so much she didn’t have answers for.
The dining hall was quiet, save thetick tick tickof their forks against their plates as they ate. Soren had started joining for dinner, as Norah had asked, with surprisingly little objection from her grandmother. Catherine absolutely refused him having a blood bowl, and Norah found herself speechless that Soren obliged her. He did, however, continue to take bites of food from his knife instead of his fork, for which Catherine cast him a constant judging eye.
A week had passed since the news had come of Mikael safely making it through the Canyonlands, but she still awaited a messenger with more detail. Couldn’t he have just sent more birds? He’d taken several with him, couldn’t he have sent them all?
Things seemed to be settling, yet Norah didn’t feel settled. Cyrus had pulled back his forces at the sight of Aleon’s army, which was still a mystery, as was the fact that Japheth hadn’t joined the initial move on Kharav.
The doors to the dining hall opened, and a servant entered with a letter. “This just arrived for you, Salara,” he said with a bow.
Finally.Thank the gods. A message from Mikael.
Norah took it eagerly, but as she flipped it over, she stopped. On the back wasn’t the black seal of Kharav but the royal-blue seal of Aleon. She looked up at her grandmother, then Soren. “It’s from King Phillip.”
Catherine set down her fork, and they stared at each other for a moment.
Then Norah looked at Soren.
“Well, read it,” he said impatiently.
Right.Read it. She broke the seal and unfolded the parchment to find the words. “Dearest Norah,” she started. She swallowed. Why was reading so hard right now? “I’ve never celebrated another kingdom as I’ve celebrated your retaking of Mercia. It was a victory I personally felt.”
