She looked back at Serene and forced a smile, appreciating her maid’s effort to ease her heart. “That’s what I keep telling myself, but trivial things don’t require a lord justice.”
Norah paced the garden until she could no longer feel her fingers, then she headed back to the castle. She walked the long hall, and when she reached her sanctuary, she froze. Inside stood Captain Artem. And in his hand—Catherine’s letter.
“What are you doing in here?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer.
“This is my sanctuary. You’re not allowed here!” Her eyes moved to the parchment in Artem’s hand. “That’s my letter!”
He stood, unbothered by her anger. “Why would a letter come from the regent?” he asked. “Telling you to return home urgently?”
“You read my letter?” she seethed. She held out her hand. “Give it to me!”
But he only looked at her with an icy gaze. “All while the Bear meets with Aleon.”
“Give it to me!” she demanded again.
Kiran stepped inside from behind her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Artem shifted his gaze to Kiran, and his eyes darkened. “Do you forget your place, warrior?”
“You forget yours,” Norah snapped. “Give me my letter, and get out! You’re never to set foot in here again.”
Artem gave an amused snort. Then he tossed the opened letter on the vanity before leaving, giving Kiran a daggered glare as he shouldered by.
Norah stood, still in shock.
“Are you all right, Salara?” Kiran asked her after Artem had gone.
She only nodded, unable to speak.
“We’ll take our post. Call if you need anything.” Then he and two other members of the Crest saw their way out, closing the door behind them and leaving Norah to her rage.
Vitalia and Serene said nothing but shifted closer to her.
Norah’s hands shook as she picked up the letter from the vanity and sat on the chair at the small table. For the first time, she read its words.
Dearest Norah,
This letter comes without excuse for the time it’s taken me to write you. Indeed, I should have sent it earlier. Much earlier.
The lord justice sent news of your attack. Times such as these fill one’s mind with everything they wished to have done differently, everything they wished to have said. There’s much to say, Norah.
I pray this letter finds you safe, but safety is not enough. I need to see your face, my child, to see you well. And Mercia needs her queen.
Come home, if only for a short time. Return to Mercia. Urgently.
You have my love,
Catherine
Norah’s mind raced. At first glance, the letter seemed a heartfelt realization by her grandmother that she’d almost died, with a plea to return home. Understandable. Except, Catherine had said urgently.
The letter had arrived with Alexander’s order to visit Aleon. Surely the two were related. He’d told her he didn’t know what the letter said. Did he know Catherine wanted her to return home? What was really going on?
Norah found Mikael in his study, with the lord commander and Captain Artem. Of course. They turned as she entered. The cold of the room made her skin prickle. Her stomach knotted, but she forced herself steady.
Mikael’s eyes followed her in. “Do you know what the North is planning?” he asked her.
Now didn’t seem the right time to air her grievance about the captain’s intrusion in her sanctuary. Mikael obviously knew about the letter; he had to know how it had been found. Did he care? She tried to pull her mind from it—she needed to focus on settling things down. “You don’t know if anyone is planning anything. It’s purely speculation at this point.”
“The Bear rides for Aleon,” the brute snarled at her. “And the regent calls for your immediate return.”
Yes, it was damning, but she needed to keep things from escalating until she could figure out what was going on. “I was attacked,” she countered. “My grandmother is worried. She wants me to return home.”
“Urgently,” he added.
Norah glared at him. “She fears for my safety. Can you blame her?”
The brute snorted. “You’re not in urgent danger.” But his stormy glare swore otherwise.
Her eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t know that, and frankly, neither do I.”
“She sends the Bear to Aleon.”
“The council sends him,” she argued back.
“It’s the same,” Mikael said, stepping into the argument. His face was calm, but his voice brimmed with anger. And something else… Sadness? “As regent, your grandmother would be involved, even if she didn’t order it herself.”
No, her grandmother wouldn’t do that. Would she?
His eyes were still on her, seeking answers. “Do you know what the North plans?”
“Mikael. Just give me some time to understand what’s happening.”
He stepped closer and cupped her face in his hands, quieting her. “Do you really not know?” he whispered. “Salara.”
Again, she shook her head, but she could see his doubt.
“Salara,” he said again, more faint this time.
She realized it wasn’t Mercia he focused on—it was her, and what she knew. He was more concerned with her than Mercia. And his eyes were filled with more than doubt. All she could do was look back at him. She had no words. She didn’t know how else to assure him.
Slowly, he bent his head and brought his lips to hers. It wasn’t a kiss of passion, or of longing. It was a confession of fear. It said what his words couldn’t. He was begging her not to betray him. He pulled back slowly, his eyes searching her.
“Do you still wish to escape me?” he whispered.
Not escape… but she did wish to go back to Mercia, to the people who loved her, to the only people who could help her find herself. “Would you let me leave?”
His brow dipped, and pain flashed in his eyes. “Would you not stay with me of your own free will?”
If she had the choice to leave… “Mikael.” Her voice cracked.
His nostrils flared, and his brow dipped lower. He saw her hesitation. Her truth.
“Mikael,” she said again. Yes, she wanted to leave. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t return. Did it?
He straightened and looked to the lord commander. “We leave now.” The commander handed him a belted sword.
Norah’s pulse quickened as he fastened it around his waist. “What are you doing? Where are you going?” she asked. Fear flashed through her. After Alexander. She caught his arm. “Mikael, wait.”
“I have to go to the seer,” he said. “I’ll be back in three days’ time.”
Her heart steadied a little with the relief he wasn’t riding after Alexander, but she didn’t understand. “The seer?”
“I have to see if the Bear plans to bring Aleon against me.” His voice was cold now, and he backed just out of the reach of her touch.
The knot in her stomach twisted until it ached. “What about me?”
He paused. “I can’t let you go.” To the seer or to Mercia? A dark storm eddied in his eyes, and her heart dropped. Neither. “I’ll return in three days,” he said.