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I hesitated, considering if I should interrupt, but soon cracked the door, unsettled and intrigued in the same breath.
The Northern queen was struggling to keep a thick fur cloak on her shoulders as she reached for one of the cupboards. She rummaged through a few jars, sniffing the contents. Clearly, the woman was searching for something and failing.
“Queen? Do you need help finding something?”
She whipped around, hand to her chest, the other on her thigh—no doubt, a knife was hidden under her nightdress—and gaped at me in a wash of horror.
When recognition crossed her face, she let out a shuddering breath. “You startled me.”
“Apologies. I’m too accustomed to sneaking around.”
Elise dragged a hand through her hair, then hugged the cloak around her slender middle. “Please tell me I didn’t wake you.”
“You didn’t wake me. Food did. The need for it, that is, and who am I to deny myself some of Nik’s food?”
I’d meant it as a jest, but the queen wrinkled her nose, blanching. “Well, I won’t stand in your way.”
She made a move to leave, but I held out a hand. “Wait. I can help you find something. I’ve spent a great deal of time digging through Niklas’s hidden cupboards.”
She snorted, looking at the cupboards with a touch of longing. “No.” She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
Something had the queen unsettled. I did not know the woman but couldn’t shake the desire to. She’d stood in my very place once. She’d loved a dangerous man, a man destined to bring change to his kingdom. She’d survived, and I wanted to know we would do the same.
“Queen Elise,” I said gently. “We do not know each other, but despite his scowl, Kase admires you and your husband greatly. I may not be able to thank you enough for coming to our aid, but I might be able to help you find something if you are in need. Forgive me, but . . . you seem unwell.”
“We admire your bleeding husband too,” she said forcefully, a crack in her voice.
A tear dropped onto her cheek. Damn. I’d made the woman cry. A wonderful impression. I did not think it was such a declaration that would bring tears. Then again, I did not know her.
“I’m sorry.” Elise waved a hand in front of her face. She took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. “I’m fine.”
Perhaps she was simply eccentric like Eryka.
“My mind isn’t slipping either,” she said as if reading my thoughts. “Junius told me I’d find what I needed in here, and it was hard enough getting into the damn place. It is a personal matter, and I didn’t want to intrude on Herja. Frankly, I don’t think anyone should disturb her and your brother for a month. And I have nobleedingidea where Junius sleeps in this den.”
Her voice was rife in new emotion, but she also wore a look of such frustration I fought hard not to snicker.
“Well, if it is another woman you need, you found me,” I said. “I know where Junie keeps female herbs and—”
“Can you keep a secret, Queen Malin?” Elise interrupted. “Junius only knows because the woman can taste lies. I don’t know why I even tried to tell her differently.”
Gods. I hoped she wasn’t gravely ill. “I’m trustworthy to a select few. To everyone else, I suspect they would say I’m rather dishonest.”
She laughed.
“You are my favorite sort of person. Loyal to those you love, but dangerous to those who’d be a threat. Since we are family now, I hope you can be trustworthy to me. I am rather desperate.” Elise let out a long breath. “You must know this about me, I do not keep secrets from my husband, but . . . you must also know the man would chain me to a longship and send me home if he were to find out. I will not leave the battlefield, Malin. I will not. Valen and I fight together. Surely you understand this.”
“The gods could not tear me from Kase. They’ve tried.”
“Exactly. I learned of this the day we set sail for the East. I . . . I’m . . .”
“With child?” I whispered. The way she fidgeted, the touch of green to her complexion, it wasn’t hard to deduce.
Elise’s chin quivered, and she nodded. “I’m truly overjoyed, but I know Valen will insist I stay back like a piece of glass.”
“You can understand why, though, yes?”
“I can,” she said. “But after what we have survived, I can’t let my family do this alone. It is a feeling I have deep inside. A connection between me and Valen that strengthens us. I can’t explain it, but it is strong. He empowers me, and even if I do not have fury, I strengthen him.”
