Norah gasped.
The Shadow King. His gaze pierced her, seeming to see everything of her. Did he see her anger, her disappointment at her failure? The shame of her defeat?
There was a sadness in his eyes, remorse in his triumph. And something more. She felt a wave of confusion. She expected him to be angry, but he wasn’t angry. He was afraid.
“North Queen,” he breathed.
He let go of her arm, but still clasped her wrist. She could feel the stickiness of blood as she clutched the shard of glass in her fist.
“Do you find me unbearable?” he asked.
“I find this entire situation unbearable,” she said coldly.
He brushed her closed fingers gently, and she found herself opening her hand, yielding her weapon. He carefully pulled the blood-covered glass from her palm and tossed it away from them.
“Perhaps you regret not leaving me to the Horseman’s poison.”
Frustration coursed through her. “Why would you say something like that? Why can’t you believe I don’t want you dead?”
“Because all my enemies want me dead, especially the North.”
“I’m not your enemy!”
His nostrils flared. “You were on your way to build an alliance with Aleon. For power, for their army—”
“For food!” she cried. “You want to know what makes Aleon worthy? What I need? It’s food! My people will starve without provisions for the winter!”
Mikael shifted in surprise, and then his face softened. She turned away to hide her emotion.
“And yes,” she continued, “Aleon brings the strength of unity—arms, soldiers, protection against a threatening kingdom, specifically you. I won’t pretend I don’t want that strength, because I do. I know the stories. I’ve seen the destruction you’ve caused. I want Mercia to stand tall against any foe.” She paused, and her voice came softer now. “But that doesn’t mean I want a foe to stand against. I want to protect my people. That’s why I accepted the marriage.”
The air settled between them.
“But you don’t want to marry the Aleon king,” he said.
She gave a defeated shrug. “What does it matter?”
“It matters if you would want to take my throne.”
Norah let out an exasperated breath. “I don’t want your throne!”
“As my queen,” he added.
Her head jerked up, and her eyes widened. “What?” she breathed.
“You want to save your people. You want to avoid war between our kingdoms.”
Norah shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand? You’re betrothed to the Aleon king. I offer my own hand instead.”
“Why would you do that?”
He shrugged. “I break your alliance with Aleon. There is no war; I change fate.”
Change fate. How much did he know of his fate?
“Not only do I double my army,” he added, “but I gain the best archers in the world, access to Mercian steel, and a renowned fleet of ships. Kharav becomes a force even Aleon won’t challenge. And”—his voice came softer—“I wed a queen worthy in her own right. You’d be my salara.”
Norah felt light-headed. She wasn’t sure if she was hearing him correctly. “Why would I marry you?”
“So long as you align yourself with an enemy of Kharav, you’ll also be an enemy. You want to avoid a war? Only I can give that to you. And…” he paused, waiting for her to look up at him, “you’ll still have whatever you require for the North—food, provisions, horses. My army, should you need it.”
“All this just so I won’t wed King Phillip? Why not just kill me to save yourself the trouble?”
He stepped closer. “Because I don’t want you dead either, North Queen.”
Her breaths came shallower now. “But I thought that was your plan.”
He pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around the cut on her palm, closing her fist inside his and holding it tightly. “That plan expired well before I even told you of it.”
She didn’t know why his saying that affected her so. She swallowed. “Is that all? We just marry, and all’s well with the world?”
“Yes. And…” He paused as her eyes found his. “The Bear is mine.”
Norah shifted uneasily as a weight grew in her stomach. “Beurnat the Bear has been dead a long time now.”
The king shook his head. “No. I saw the Bear just a year ago when I tried to retake Bahoul.” His eyes darkened. “And I saw him again, recently, in the vision of my fall.”
Norah’s heart beat faster. It was Alexander that defended Bahoul. And it was Alexander in the vision, striking down the Shadow King.
And the king had seen it. It’s why he wanted Alexander. Not just to change fate but to change his fate.
Then she froze. He’d said seen.
He had a traveler seer, someone who could show him the visions. How powerful was this seer?
“So, we’ll be wed,” the king said, “and the Bear will be mine.”
She forgot about the seer as a flash of anger ran through her, and she pulled away from him. “Alexander will never be yours.”
“Alexander,” he said thickly, letting the name roll over his tongue. “Is that his name? Alexander.” Then he snorted, frustrated by her answer. “He’s but one man.”
“Then he should mean nothing to you,” she cut back.
“I will have the Bear,” he said, his anger rising. “Think of it as the price of peace.”
“Then you’ll have nothing!”
His face hardened. “So will you,” he snarled.
In a single movement of fury, she wrenched away from his loose hold and grasped the hilt of his sword, pulling it free from its scabbard. He moved after her, but she brought the blade up, halting him. “So be it,” she said as she backed against the railing of the balcony. She already had nothing else to lose. She stepped back toward the rail.
He held up his hand. “No!”
She stopped.
“No,” he said, his breath coming quicker. “Don’t.”
Neither of them moved. His eyes held an intensity that unsettled her, but she stood firm. Then his face softened slightly. Still, she didn’t move.
“Those are your terms?” he asked finally.
Norah’s breath caught in her chest. Was she setting terms? Was she seriously considering marrying the Shadow King? She lowered the sword but took another step back. She didn’t feel herself standing before him. Perhaps it was all another dream, a terrifying dream. Suddenly, the image of her on the Shadow throne came crashing back. She swallowed. Was this what she had seen? Perhaps the vision hadn’t meant that she’d take the Shadowlands by force. Perhaps this had been her fate all along.
She took a deep breath and looked around. Fate or no, she couldn’t live like this, with death and destruction. She couldn’t marry a man who did these things for pleasure.
“Before I answer that—what is this place?” she asked him. “What happened here?”
The king paused, letting his eyes wander. He grimaced, as if there was pain for him here. “This is what’s left of Aviron.”