Page 19 of War Queen
And she gasped.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she let out an emotional laugh.Sephir.
The mare galloped straight toward her. Norah ran to meet her, not able to wait for the animal to reach her.
Sephir skidded to a stop in front of her and reared before tossing her head with a squeal. Norah threw her arms around her neck. Her laughs turned to cries as she clung to the mare, her tears falling into the animal’s thick mane. She smelled like mountain air and fresh forest pine.
The last time she’d seen Sephir, she’d been queen of Mercia. She’d had Alexander and Soren and her grandmother. And Vitalia. She’d had Cusco and Cavaatsa. Sephir smelled like family, like happiness and rich memories lost.
Norah cried.
The heartache turned to joy that she’d gotten something back. And she cried some more. Not just for Sephir’s return, but for everything. All of it. It all came to the surface—her fear, her hope, her exhaustion, her loss. And now her joy.
And she needed this joy.
Norah held on to the mare until her tears ran dry. Then she held her longer. The animal’s warmth seeped into her skin, the Wild spirit feeding her own. She’d known she needed Sephir back. She just hadn’t known how much. It was like the gods had given her back a piece of herself.
Norah wiped her cheeks before stepping back. “You missed me, did you?” She smiled at the mare as she wiped her eyes again and patted the animal’s neck.
Sephir snorted and tossed her head again.
Norah laughed. “Gods, I’ve missed you too.” She grew more serious. “I was so worried something had happened to you.”
Bhastian’s voice came from behind her. “She’s returned!”
She grinned back at him but didn’t take her hand from the mare for fear it was only a dream.
Kiran came forward, his eyes smiling under his wrap. “She escaped the North and traveled all the way to Kharav to find you.”
Norah hugged the mare again. “Maybe she heard my heart calling to her.”
Kiran shook his head, still in disbelief. “The men can take her back to the stables, give her a good rub down and feed.”
The stables.Right. Norah longed to jump atop the mare and feel the wind of a gallop again, but she had to find Mikael and talk to him about Adrian. Not to mention, galloping off alone with rumors of intruders wasn’t the wisest idea.
Norah hugged the mare once more, scratching her neck affectionately. “You’ve journeyed a long way to get home, friend. How does a brush down and a bucket full of grain sound?”
The mare tossed her head, and Norah laughed. “All right then, go with them, and I’ll come visit you later.” She gave Sephir a pat, and the animal let two approaching stable hands lead her toward the stables.
“I almost thought you were going to jump on her and take off,” Bhastian told her as she watched Sephir be led away.
“You know she thought about it,” Calla added, coming up behind them.
Kiran and Bhastian chuckled.
“Of course she did,” Kiran said.
Norah smiled at them both. They knew her well. “But I have something more important,” she added as she turned her mind back to Adrian. She needed to find Mikael. “Where’s my husband?”
Bhastian nodded toward the castle. “I last saw him in his study.”
He was likely still there. She nodded and picked up her pace toward the castle. As expected, Mikaelwasin his study, where he’d been spending more and more of his time.Plottingis what Norah usually told him he was doing, but she knew it was more like thinking, and worrying, and searching for solutions.
He looked up from where he sat at his desk as she entered.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Plotting,” he said, putting his hand over hers and leaning back against her.
