Page 71 of War Queen
“Yes, I know. Although you’ve still not told me where you were.”
“That’s… a small detail… but, to truly keep me hidden, my memories were taken from me.”
His brow dipped. “What?”
“Everything was taken from me to hide me, erasing everything I was before. And when I returned to Mercia, I remembered nothing.” She watched as he seemed to absorb the information. “I quickly learned that I was betrothed to you, with the plan to go to war against Japheth and Kharav, save Mercia, help avenge the death of your younger brother, take the throne of the Shadow King, and banish his so-called evil from this world.”
He still only watched her. Not speaking.
“And I know my decision to… marry the Shadow King instead did nothing for your cause,” she continued. “But I found that Kharav was not the evil kingdom it was made out to be, and I saw a real opportunity for peace. So I took it. And Mikael…” She smiled. “He’s a good man. I think you’d like him.”
His brow twitched in surprise. “You love him?”
More than loved him. “I do,” she said, but sometimes words just weren’t enough. “I’m sorry, Phillip, for how things turned out for you. But I hope you can understand.”
He crossed his arms and sat back against the bench, staring out at the fountain. Then he gave a chuckle. But it wasn’t an amused chuckle. His face held a sadness.
“And you don’t remember? Still?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then you don’t remember our friendship?”
So they did have a friendship. “No,” she whispered.
“Or our circumstance?”
What was theircircumstance? She shook her head again, slowly, and resisted the urge to ask. It was coming. She waited.
He stared into the fountain for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice came soft. “You must have asked yourself, why the princess of Osan for my queen?”
Yes, that was true.
“Well, first and foremost, it’s because Osan will make an effective ally. But equally important, to me anyway, it’s because she doesn’t want to be married. She wants freedom.”
Norah scoffed. “And so you decided to marry her?” Well, that was cruel.
“We made the same arrangement as you and I once had—giving ourselves the freedom to love who we chose, while keeping our kingdoms relatively happy. You were to return to your love in Mercia, as Daiyona returned to hers in Osan this morning.”
What?Her mouth fell open, but she couldn’t speak.Thatwas the arrangement he was talking about. She would have returned to Mercia after wedding Phillip. She would have returned to her love.
To Alexander.
Norah couldn’t breathe. She swallowed back the choking sensation in her throat. Her mind swirled around her as she forced the words to come.
“How much did you know about…” She didn’t want to say Alexander’s name. “How much did you know?”
He gave a thoughtful frown. “Not who he was. Only that you loved another. As I did.”
His words hit her like a physical strike, and she swayed slightly. If she had married Phillip, she could have stayed with Alexander. She struggled to pull her mind back. She couldn’t let herself think about that. Not now.
“Do you remember him?” he asked. “The one you left?”
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. “He’s gone,” she whispered. “He died in taking back Mercia.”
He gave the moment silence. “I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t talk about Alexander. Not now. Maybe not ever, but especially not now. Norah swallowed, forcing herself to speak. “With Daiyona returning to Osan, at least you can finally be with your love.”
