Norah’s heart beat wildly in her chest. The mare pranced underneath them, feeling her energy. Norah reached a hand down to calm her. She turned back toward Tahla, smiling sadly. “You don’t know how much your kindness means to me. And it’s true I don’t want to marry him. But this marriage will end ten years of war. My Northmen are marching as we speak. Battle is imminent; thousands will die. And Mercia needs help. The winter drags on, and my people are desperate. We have no food. This marriage seems to solve everything. I have to do it.”
“You’re a strong queen for your people.”
“I want to be.”
Tahla smiled and put a warm hand on her arm. “Then we’ll return. But always remember it’s your choice.”
Norah smiled and urged the mare back the way they had come. The sun had set, and the sky grew darker. “You spoke of the ruins of Choan,” she prompted. “The border kingdom the Shadowlands destroyed?”
Tahla snorted. “That sounds like a Northern way to describe it, but yes, I suppose.”
“How would you describe it?”
“It was a kingdom that almost wiped out the Uru. They wanted our land along the river. They attacked our villages, took our horses, slaughtered our people.”
A wave of horror washed through her. “What happened?”
“Salar came. He drove Choan back. But after the battle, after Salar returned to Kharav, they attacked again despite his warning not to. So, he did what he had to.”
He’d protected them. Norah swallowed. “He told me the Uru helped him after he fled Aviron, that you saved him.”
“Death was coming for him. We gave our best crops and furs to the spirits, and we prayed for six days. On the sixth day, his fever broke. Then we showed them through the canyons and home.”
Relief filled her. The king hadn’t destroyed Choan for fun. He’d been protecting them. He’d been protecting the people who’d helped him in his time of need—people who’d sacrificed for him, who cared for him.
How different everything was than what she’d thought she’d known. But still… all this death.
“Is your husband dead?” she asked. Then she chided herself. It was too personal a question, too prying.
“Publicly—who knows? Privately, in the most beautifully horrible way.”
Norah’s stomach twisted, but she couldn’t muster sympathy for such a man. “What happened?”
“Soren.”
Tahla didn’t need to say more. Norah could imagine. She noted that Tahla called the commander by his name. “You two are close?”
“I’ve known Soren since he was a boy. Now he’s all grown up and thinks he’s a fancy lord, but I never let him forget I can always get him with a blade.”
Norah smiled. Tahla was a beautiful spirit.
When Norah and Tahla arrived back at the village, a crowd of children surrounded them, cheering at Tahla, who grinned back at them. The woman slid down, and Norah returned the mare to the other horses beside the river.
The chief was waiting. “You rode Savantahla?” he asked Tahla incredulously.
“By Savan’s grace, and Salara’s,” she said, smiling back at Norah.
Tahla’s use of the Shadow title surprised Norah, but it felt… nice. She pushed the feeling down. She didn’t want to like it. She didn’t want to be salara, the Shadow Queen.
Norah’s eyes found Mikael’s. He looked shaken—he’d feared she’d left. She gave him a small reassuring smile before Tahla pulled her attention back.
“Come!” the chief’s daughter said. “I have something for you I think you’ll like.”
Norah glanced back at the king and then let Tahla pull her away again. She followed the Urun woman up a path, through the rock, and down a trail that curved around, revealing a large waterfall with a pool at the bottom. Torches circled the pool, chasing back the night.
“This place is amazing,” Norah said.
“Come on!” Tahla said excitedly as she pulled off her clothes.
Norah laughed in surprise, and she looked around shyly.
“Don’t worry. It’s private for us,” Tahla assured her.
Getting naked and jumping in a waterfall in the middle of winter after getting betrothed to the Shadow King was not what she’d expected herself to be doing right now. But Tahla’s spirit made her happy, so she pulled off her boots and wriggled out of her clothes.
Tahla dove into the pool, disappearing underneath and then rising back to the surface. She grinned at Norah, waiting.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
Norah took a deep breath and jumped, prepared for the sting of the cold. But to her surprise, the water was warm, and she let it carry away her burdens in its current. She came to the surface and breathed, finding Tahla. “It’s warm!” she exclaimed.
“It’s fed from a hot spring in the falls,” Tahla told her.
Like the cave. Norah paused, reliving the memory. She thought of Alexander. He was marching on Kharav right now, ready for war. He was coming for her.
“Are you all right?” Tahla asked.
“It just… reminds me… of a place back home. I was thinking of it.”
“Do you miss the North?”
Norah nodded. “Parts of it. Mainly the people.”
“You’ll see it again, though. Right?”
Norah forced a smile. Maybe.
“Come on,” Tahla called to her, swimming toward the falls. “Come over here.”
Norah followed and found herself under a shower of hot water. After the long days of riding, it felt incredible.
Tahla reached into a basket that had been placed by the falls. “Here,” she called, holding something out in her hand.
“What is it?”
“Corian. It’s a soap root. Smell it.”
Norah brought it to her nose and breathed in its sweet fragrance. “Smells incredible.”
“Wash your hair with it. You’ll breathe its scent all night.”
Norah grinned as she lathered the paste into her hair and rinsed it in the falls. She took a deep breath. She finally felt clean. Clean from the journey. From the fear. From the pressure. Clean from the sorrow and the heartbreak. She knew it was temporary, but for now, she would relish it.
A stack of folded garments lay by the pool as they made their way out of the water.
“Here,” Tahla said to Norah, handing the clothes to her. “Put these on.”
Norah shrugged into a long-sleeved dress, and Tahla tied it behind her. They laughed as they combed out their hair, and for a short while, the weight of the world felt a little lighter.
“Thank you for this,” Norah told her. “Your kindness—”
“Don’t.” Tahla smiled, grabbing her hands. “We’re sisters now.”
Norah smiled and then nodded, feeling a little emotional. In this moment, everything was perfect.
Tahla and Norah made their way back to the celebration and sat by the fire, enjoying cups of warm, sweet wine.
“He has his eye on you,” Tahla told her, “and I don’t think it’s for worry of your escape.”
Norah looked across the fire to see the Shadow King gazing back at her.
“Do you not like handsome, powerful men who change the fate of kingdoms for you?” Tahla asked.