Catherine’s tone quashed Norah’s restful satisfaction. Why quickly? “What’s going on?”
“The council has called a state now that James and Elias have returned. I thought we’d have more time, both James and I pushed, but no. It’s today.”
Today. Her pulse picked up. Today—no. “I can’t meet with the council today.” She wasn’t anywhere near ready for the state. She still didn’t entirely know what that meant, only that they would ask questions—questions that she had no answers for. They’d want to know where she’d been, and while Catherine had come up with a response that she’d rehearsed a hundred times, it still didn’t sound true. Because it wasn’t. And then when they discovered her…
She didn’t want to think about that. She couldn’t think about that and keep control of her nerves.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” her grandmother said, seeming to read her mind. “I’m still queen regent. I’ll lead us through. Everything will be fine.”
But she didn’t believe that. Even James wasn’t confident she’d fool the council—he’d told her so directly.
Catherine practically ripped Norah’s nightgown from her just as Rebecca swept around with a corset, tying it and pulling it tight before Norah could adjust for her breath. The gown came over her head, from her maid or her grandmother, she wasn’t sure. Not that it mattered. She just needed it on. Panic flowed through her veins, and being rushed didn’t help. She forced her mind back to the question the council would ask her first—where she’d been…
“Remember, you’ll say you’ve been kept well by a secret ally, one that wishes to remain secret,” Catherine said, as if reading her mind. “Instead of focusing on the past, I’ll drive our conversation to the present and the future. We’ll talk about your marriage to Phillip.”
Norah stiffened. She’d rather tell the council about her memory loss.
Catherine tugged the fitted gown straight, then pushed Norah to the vanity and pressed her abruptly down in the chair. She pulled the brush from Rebecca’s hand and raked it swiftly through Norah’s hair. “By now, Phillip will know of your return.”
Norah winced, more from his name than the speedy, aggressive hair brushing. This man she didn’t know—the man she was expected to wed.
Her grandmother swept back the sides of Norah’s hair with floral pins. “We’ll hear from him soon, and it shouldn’t be hard to occupy their attention with that—it’s what’s most important, anyway.”
Norah’s mind reeled. With every fiber of her being, she rejected the notion of this marriage. Her soul clawed against the obligations that chained her and against the path she couldn’t choose for herself. Or perhaps she could choose, but there was the weight of so many looking to her—of so many lives depending on her. Turning her back to them would break her. And she found herself feeling the same as she had with James—there was nothing she could do but agree. Nothing she could do but follow. At least for now.
Catherine swept a cloak over Norah’s shoulders and pulled her toward the chamber door, and she went. Her guard picked up behind them as they started down the hall, as if herding her toward her future. She swallowed even though her tongue sat dryly in her mouth. Pretend. Pretend to be the person she was before. Look the part. Play the part. Pretend the best she could.
They exited the castle through the double doors to the outside and walked along the courtyard toward the judisaept. The winter air was cold, and Norah shuddered, but she welcomed it. Anything to distract her spiraling mind.
Beside her, Catherine slowed, and Norah followed her gaze to something on the other side of the courtyard. She squinted against the icy air but couldn’t make out what or who it was through the throngs of people gathering.
“What is it?” Norah asked her.
“I don’t know,” Catherine said, but she’d stopped. Castle guards broke from their posts and hurried toward the crowd.
Suddenly, a scream ripped through the growing masses. Norah’s guard swept around her. Another scream sounded, but not one of fear—one of anguish. Norah started toward it.
Catherine caught her hand. “What are you doing?”
“Something’s happened—I have to see!” And she pulled her arm from her grandmother’s grasp.
“Your Highness,” Titus called from behind her, but she ignored him and strode toward the crowd. He followed after with his sword in hand.
She drew closer. The crowd surrounded a large wagon, pulled by four horses caked with dried mud and dirt. The animals stood still, weary and spent from their journey. No one drove the wagon, but it was stacked high with what appeared to be grain sacks in the back, stained in browning crimson. One sat open on the ground, but she couldn’t see what was inside. A woman was crying with her arms outstretched toward the wagon as a man pulled her away.
Suddenly, Alexander was in front of her. She jerked in surprise as his arm came out, halting her. “Norah,” he said, low, “go back to the castle. I’ll be there in a moment.”
But she didn’t want to go back. “What’s in the sacks?”
“Norah.” He clasped her arm, gently but firmly, and tried to move her back toward the castle.
“What’s in the sacks?” she pressed again.
“Just go back. I’ll be there in a moment, and I’ll tell you then.”
“You’ll tell me now,” she demanded. Her patience was waning, and she wouldn’t leave until she knew what was going on.
His mouth tightened. “We expected the Shadow King to attempt to retake the mountains of Bahoul again, especially if he learned of your return. It’s a critical stronghold that used to belong to the Shadowlands. I sent another thousand men for reinforcement.”
That still didn’t answer her question. “What’s in the sacks?”
His lips thinned. “The men I sent. Their heads.”
Nausea swept through her as she glanced back at the wagon and its horror-filled cargo. The heads of a thousand men. She wavered. His hand tightened around her arm.
“Go back inside,” he said. “I’ll come after I’ve dealt with this.”
Titus stepped forward, offering his own arm, but she pulled away from both of them and turned back toward the castle, numb with shock.
Catherine stood just behind her with Edward, James, and two other members of the council.
“Lord Justice!” Edward called out, and hurried after Alexander. The other two councilmen bowed to Norah and followed after.
Catherine reached out and clasped Norah’s hand. “It’s all right. Everything will be all right.”
Norah shook her head, her mouth hanging open. “No, it’s not. None of this is all right.” She felt James’s eyes on her and cast him a desperate gaze. “Are we to discuss this today too?” As if the myriad of other topics weren’t enough. As if she wasn’t already near breaking. And still she had to face the council. In a matter of moments. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t do this.
He shook his head. “No. The state’s been postponed.”