Page 36 of War Queen
“We have to catch them before they reach the tunnels,” Alexander told him.
They raced by a large hall and skidded to a stop. Inside stood a man with a dagger in his hand. Soren recognized him as a councilman—the one called James. He was thinner than Soren remembered, his frame now gaunt and his eyes, hollow.
The Bear held up his hand as he approached slowly. “James,” he said, but instead of the warning or threat Soren expected, there was a pleading in his voice.
“I knew it was only a matter of time,” the old councilman said, clutching the dagger and bringing the tip to his own chest. “The gods send their judgment for our sins. I’m sorry, Alexander. I’ve failed you.”
The Bear shook his head. “James, don’t do this.”
Soren glared at Alexander. “That’s exactly what you want him to do.”
“Shut up,” Alexander snapped back. “James,” he called to the man. “Put the dagger down.”
“I’ve failed you,” the councilman said again. “I’ve failed Norah. But most of all I’ve failed Mercia.”
Soren clenched his jaw. They didn’t have time for this.
James plunged the dagger into his stomach.
Soren rolled his eyes.Finally.
“No!” Alexander shouted as the councilman fell forward to his knees. He caught the old man and eased him down. “No! James!”
“I’m sorry, Alexander. Forgive me.”
“James!”
“Forgive me,” he said as his last breath left him.
The Bear sat clutching the councilman.
Soren gaped at him. “Are you going to be able to do this? We have”—he counted on his fingers—“five more to go.” Or more… He didn’t remember how many councilmen there were. No matter—everyone in a robe would die today.
Alexander stood slowly. “James was like a father to me.”
“Yeah, well, a coward, traitor father who tried to kill Salara. Come on.”
The Bear grabbed Soren’s arm. “It’s not my intention to kill the council. These men need to be brought to trial for their crimes against the crown.”
Soren stopped, speechless. He shook his head in confusion. “Trial?”
“This is the way things are done in Mercia.”
Was it? “Are you not literally called the justice of the queen? Is it not you who judges their innocence?”
The Bear shifted his weight back on his heel. There was a pause before he said, “I am, and I do.”
Soren stepped closer, his eyes burning into the Bear’s. “Have you personally not witnessed their treason?”
Alexander’s eyes burned back. “I have.”
Soren gripped his breastplate. “And how do you find them?”
The Bear’s breath deepened, and Soren soaked up the fury radiating from his armor. “I find them guilty,” Alexander said.
He pounded his fist against the Bear’s breastplate in solidarity. “Consider this your trial, then. Come the fuck on.”
But Alexander grabbed him. “Theywilldie for what they’ve done. But they’ll stand before their queen and answer, after they’ve watched her retake her throne. I won’t take that away from her.”
