Page 15 of War Queen
He smiled back. “And I love you,” he replied, and he kissed her.
Days passed slowly. Two, or three. Or four. Norah forgot how many.
“Another one,” Calla said as she held up an arrow with a small dead bird pierced on the end.
Norah’s attention popped back to the present, and her jaw tightened.Another one.
“What on earth?” Salara-Mae gasped.
They stood in the gardens where Norah and Salara-Mae had picked up a regular cadence after breakfast. It had been a challenge to explain the increased guard without alarming the king’s mother. They hadn’t told her abouthim—how the blood-bird man had returned. She rolled her eyes in her mind. She had to think of a better name.
Blood-bird man. Sender of her assassins. The birdman. Blood sorcerer. Everything she thought to call him sounded too silly or too reverent of his power—whatever inexplicable power he had. He was back, and he was watching her.
“Diseased birds,” Norah said quickly. “We’ve been culling them to stop the spread.”
Salara-Mae winced and gave a disgusted frown.
Norah picked up their walk again. They’d have to tell his mother at some point. Mikael had said he didn’t want to worry her. More likely, he didn’t want to face questions he couldn’t answer from a person he was trying not to speak to. She silently chastised herself. She should give him the benefit of the doubt. It was true that burdening her wouldn’t be of any benefit. They didn’t know who was behind the birds, or what he would do next. The information would likely only make Salara-Mae paranoid of every bird she saw, as it did Norah. Or Salara-Mae would think they’d gone mad, which also wouldn’t be helpful. They needed to find out more.
“Have you stopped trying for a child?” Salara-Mae asked as they continued.
Norah stopped, speechless for a moment. She’d raise this topic now? Now, of all times? “Ummm… now’s perhaps not the best time for a child.”
“On the contrary, it’s the perfect time.”
Perhaps it was Salara-Mae who had gone mad.
“My council has usurped my throne. We’re on the brink of war with Japheth and Rael, perhaps Mercia and Aleon as well. How is this the perfect time?”
“So youaren’ttrying.”
“It’s not a choice!” she cut back, sharper than she’d intended. She drew in a deep breath to calm her anger. “It’s not a choice,” she said again, softer.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t been trying. They just hadn’t come to expect anything. At least, not Mikael. He seemed happy without, as if Norah alone were enough. He placed the fault on himself, which might be true. Or perhaps it was her failure. There was no way to know for sure. Either way, something died a little more inside her every time her blood cycle came.
“We should get back,” Norah said. She couldn’t have this conversation again.
Salara-Mae didn’t object, but as they turned toward the castle, a servant ran to meet them.
“Salara!” he called before he even reached them. “There’s a messenger from the North.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled to pull a breath. “A messenger?”
“They’ve escorted him through the western pass,” he said, breathless. “They’re bringing him to the castle now. Salar waits for you in the throne room.”
Norah glanced at Salara-Mae, who held an equally shocked expression on her face. Norah turned back to the servant. “Send for Adrian as well. Have him meet me there.” Then both she and Salara-Mae picked up quickly toward the throne room.
A messenger from Mercia—what news would he bring? Would Alexander have sent him? Or her council? What could they possibly have to say?
Mikael stood in the center of the room, waiting. They didn’t spend much time in the throne room, but he always waited for her before taking his seat. He held out his hand as she walked toward him, and she took it. His warmth thawed her icy fingers, seeping up her arm and calming her racing heart. She forced a smile. He’d stood solid beside her through Mercia’s betrayal. She feared he would waver with the pressures of his own kingdom, but when she needed him, he was there, as if nothing else mattered.
“What has happened in here?” Salara-Mae gasped.
Norah followed her horrified gaze to the two thrones cut from their elevated bases and set side by side. She bit her lip; she’d forgotten about that. Norah glanced at Mikael, and he shrugged.
“I like them better this way,” he said.
And she loved him even more.
