Page 86 of War Queen
Relief filled him. Not that he actually believed him to be alive again, or to have cheated death. But Salara was a smart woman, and it would be very difficult to fool her, especially using the image of a man she knew so well—a man she loved. He’d been so sure it wasn’t the Bear, but for her to believe so strongly, it had begun to eat away at his confidence. And she said she’d touched him, felt him. He ran his eyes over the remains—not this body, she hadn’t.
“Sorry, brother,” he said quietly. Then he pushed the top of the sarcophagus back into place.
Soren looked and found Salara’s grandmother off to the side. She had lowered herself to sit on a bench along the wall. His opening of the tomb had shaken her. To breathe in the death of one lost, that would stay with her. And he pitied her.
Her lips were pursed, but he knew it was to control her emotion. Slowly, he approached and sat beside her.
They sat in silence for a long time.
“I raised him, you know,” she said finally. “After his mother went mad. His father… Well, the work of a justice is unending, and so I saw to the boys. I raised Alexander to be a proper lord. He was a sweet child. Kind, loyal. He was easy to love, and I did so like he was my own. Both of them.” A tear escaped down her cheek, and she wiped it back.
“You raised good men,” he told her. He looked back at the sarcophagus. “The Bear was the only adversary I’ve ever grieved. And in the end, one of the few men who ever truly knew me.” He stopped. Curse the North gods, he was starting to feel emotional himself.
The woman leaned back slightly. “You are surprisingly gracious for one so fiendish in nature.”
Soren snorted. From her, he’d take that as a compliment.
She looked across the room. “And you care for Norah, I can tell.”
He did. And it was annoying.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“I’m going to take her back to Kharav.”
The woman stood abruptly. “Have you lost your mind? Closer to Rael and Japheth? Closer to war? Is that not why you brought her to Mercia in the first place?”
He stood too. “She’s in danger here.”
“This is her home! This is where she’s protected!”
“Yet this trickster of the mind is reaching her here. Do you know how she sees him? He can’t just come to her. He needs his blood to touch her skin, and she finds the vials in her chamber. He’s gettinginto her chambersomehow.”
Catherine’s eyes widened, and her breath quickened. “Then we’ll increase the guard.”
“I already have.” Was she really going to try to tell him how to protect Salara?
She shook her head. “And you think her being in Mercia is more dangerous than the Shadowlands? I think not!”
“Circumstances have changed, now that we’ve confirmed our alliance with Aleon and Osan. And I can protect her better in Kharav.”
“Like you protected her from the assassins?”
He grew quiet. “That was a failure I take very personally.” He softened toward the woman. He understood her hesitance. “Salara’s not safe here. And yes, there are dangers in Kharav, but these are dangers I know, dangers I can fight and defend against. I don’t know what’s happening here.” He sighed. “And I think it will be better for her mind to get away from the things that constantly remind her of him, to get back to the one person who can help her heal.”
She stood quietly, uncertainty still on her face.
He needed the grandmother’s help in convincing Salara to appoint a justice; she couldn’t leave Mercia without one. He clenched his jaw. The woman needed more convincing herself, but what else did he have?
“Lady grandmother,” he said as respectfully as he could. “She needs to set up the North so she can return to Kharav. She needs to name another lord justice. I’m sworn to her. I wouldn’t press this if I didn’t believe it was best. And I know you don’t trust my king, but you would be sending her back to the man who loves her above all else.”
Her lip twitched slightly as she looked around the hall again. Finally, she nodded. “I’ll talk to Norah about a justice,” she said. “There are a few lords—”
“Caspian. The Bear trusted Caspian. As do I.”
She hesitated, but then nodded. “All right.”
Uncurse the North gods.Finally.
