Page 87 of War Queen
“And about your king,” she added. “I don’t like him. But he’s a good king, and I do trust him.”
Soren gave a faint smile under his wrap. “Perhaps one day you’ll feel the same about me.”
“No, Destroyer,” she said. “I actually like you.”
He looked at her from the corner of his eye with a hidden smirk. He might actually like her too.
Chapter twenty-two
Itsmelledlikeshit—notof the animals as he passed the stables, but of the chaos that fouled the air around them all. Soren knew he’d spoken harshly to Salara, and undeservedly so. She truly thought she’d seen the Bear. Clever bastard—whoever was behind the elaborate scheme. He’d find them. And gut them.
He carried the crimson box that had held Salara’s crown as he strode toward the sparring field where he knew he’d find the pair of raven-haired siblings. He’d come to rely on them. Often. Soren trusted very few—select members of the Crest, the young bear, Caspian, and the pair.
Cohen saw him first as he approached, but both came immediately to meet him.
Soren pulled down his wrap from his face. “I’ve a task for you,” he told them as they neared, and he held out the box. “Salara received a gift yesterday. It came in this. I want to know if anyone saw anything.”
“What was in it?” Calla asked.
He eyed her in annoyance. Always so many questions. At least they weren’t stupid questions. “Her crown.”
The girl’s mouth popped open. “Her mother’s crown? The one you lost when you first took her and haven’t been able to find?”
Well, most of her questions weren’t stupid questions. “I didn’t lose—” He looked at the boy in disbelief. Cohen shrugged.
Curse the North gods. Soren didn’t have time for this. “I want to know who sent it.”
Where was it delivered?Cohen asked.
Soren liked the boy’s silent language. He wished the girl would use it more. He wished everyone would use it more.
“The servant who brought it in said it had been left in the entry of the main doors,” he told them. “Someone had to have seen something.”
Cohen frowned.Do you think the sender means harm to Salara?
“I do.”
Calla took the box. “Do you think it’s a Northman?”
He let out a long breath. “I want to say no. But I don’t know how an outsider’s getting through to her here.”
She nodded, with her normal determination coming to her eyes—that determination that Soren needed. “We’ll see what we can find.”
Norah stared at the crown in front of her as she sat at her vanity under the light of morning. She clenched the blood vial in her hand and thumbed the top as she mulled.
How had Alexander found her crown? Where had it been? And how had he gotten it to her? Here. Now. Perhaps it was the same way as he’d gotten her the vials.
When he’d given her the crown in the vision, she’d thought it was a symbol—something he knew would be important to her to show her he was real. But it wasn’t a symbol. He had truly given it to her, and now even more questions flooded her mind.
She wanted to call him back, but how many answers would he give her? And how long could she keep calling him? Perhaps indefinitely, so long as she had the blood. But where was the blood coming from?
The door to her chamber opened, and she jumped, quickly shoving the vial into the pocket of her gown and turning.
Her grandmother swept in, with Serene carrying a plate of fruit and cheese behind her. “I thought we could take breakfast in here together this morning,” Catherine said as she pushed the draperies wider, letting in more light.
Norah forced a smile.Great—a private conversation. No doubt to question her sanity after learning of her visions of Alexander. She rose from the vanity with a sigh and joined Catherine at the small table by the window. Serene poured a hot cup of tea for both of them. Her grandmother flicked her hand, and Serene added a chalice of wine. Then the maid saw herself out, closing the door behind her.
Norah sat. Where would they start? Would she be made to recount everything she’d seen in the visions? Likely. All the while being told it was a product of her grief, a lapse in her sanity.
