Page 83 of War Queen
The table was quiet as dinner was served. Her grandmother hadn’t said much since seeing the painting. Neither had Soren. But she knew what was on their minds, what was on all their minds.
“I’ll head out in the morning,” Soren said, breaking the silence.
Norah’s head jerked up. “What? Why?”
“To get to the bottom of this. I’ll take the pair.”The pair—what he called Calla and Cohen, who had become somewhat of his little sidekicks. As if she hadn’t noticed.
“And what are you expecting to find?” she asked.
“Who’s behind this. Who’s in your head.”
Catherine looked at Norah with a bent brow. “What do you mean?”
Norah cut Soren a daggered glance. She hadn’t told her grandmother about Alexander coming to her. She hadn’t planned to. But Soren’s chastising gaze told her he wouldn’t let her keep it to herself.
“Norah,” Catherine pressed.
How to explain this as sanely as possible… “I’ve been having visions.”
Her grandmother’s eyes widened. “You’ve seen what is to come? The future?”
“No, not like the seers.” She shot Soren a frustrated scowl as she searched for words. Then turning back to her grandmother, she said, “They’re not exactly visions, but more like… visits.”
“Visits?” Catherine frowned. “From whom?”
“That’s what I mean to get to the bottom of,” Soren said.
Norah pursed her lips. “I know who it is.”
Soren shifted back in his chair. “Salara.”
He didn’t believe her, but it didn’t matter. “It’s Alexander.” Her heart pulsed in her throat as Catherine gaped at her.
Her grandmother looked at Soren, then back at her.
Norah could feel Soren’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t meet them.
“It’s a trick,” he said.
“It’s Alexander,” she argued, now looking at Catherine. Someone needed to believe her. “He’s come to me, as only I would know. It sounds like madness, yes, but it’s him.” A desperation washed over her. She needed her grandmother to believe her. “He gave me back my mother’s crown.”
Catherine drew in a breath. “You have it?”
“No, I mean…” This was certainly sounding like madness. “He gave it back to me in a vision.”
“You saw him again?” Soren asked angrily.
Curse the gods.This was getting worse. She finally faced him. “How could I not after Samuel’s vision? I’m trying to get to the bottom of this too.”
His nostrils flared, and the muscle along his jaw tightened.
“Don’t you see?” she begged him. “He knows what would have been important to me—something only those close to me would know.”
“Everyone knows that crown is important to you,” he snapped back. “I’ve lit up half this cursed world searching for it.”
Norah quieted. She’d forgotten about that, and a wave of guilt washed over her. Still, it changed nothing of how she felt. Soren hadn’t been there—he hadn’t seen Alexander like she had.
Catherine’s face was hard to read. Did she believe her? Norah searched her eyes… and her heart sank. Oh gods, she didn’t. Worse than that, her eyes were the eyes of pity. At least Soren believed she sawsomeone, even if he believed it wasn’t Alexander.
