Page 89 of The Queen and the Half-blood
Watching her companions interact, Lara frowned. Cailean and Bree’s suspicion of Alar was palpable. She’d thought they might have softened toward the prince consort, especially after recent events.Herrelationship with him had been strained of late—if she were honest, his harshness with her that night back at Duncrag still stung—but that was personal. She still valued his opinion and respected his skills. He’d saved her life at Gateway, publicly defended her honor, and come up with a disguise that would hopefully continue to hide her identity when she wielded fire. Did it matter where he’d been at dusk?
The chief-enforcer obviously thought so. His jaw bunched, his dark brows drawing together over the sharp blade of his nose. “I’m watching you, Half-blood.”
32: FAR GREATER THINGS
“CAILEAN STILL DOESN’T like you much.”
Alar looked up from where he’d been unlacing the leather bracers on his forearms. His lips then lifted at the corners. “I’d noticed.”
“Bree doesn’t either.”
Her husband shrugged. “They’re both just doing their jobs.” He paused then. “And they’re loyal to you.”
Lara smiled. “They are.”
His gaze met hers then. “True friendship is rare, Lara. Guard it. Treasure it. Never take it for granted.”
Something in his tone made her still. She’d just gotten up from kneeling before the shrine where her four rosewood figurines sat. It was time to retire to the furs, yet she hesitated. Things had been frosty between them for days now, yet tonight, curiosity made her thaw a little.
“Lyall and Dolph are loyal to you too,” she pointed out.
“Aye.” He cut his gaze away as he removed both bracers and set them down on a stool next to the furs. He then started to loosen the ties on his vest. “We’re as close as brothers.”
“You don’t have any siblings, do you?”
“No man would go near my mother once they learned she had a Half-blood son.” His voice was quiet, yet there was a slight edge to it. “She didn’t seem to care though.”
Silence followed this admission before Lara cleared her throat. “I had an elder brother.”
“I know.” Warmth flushed across her chest. Of course, he did. “Were you close?”
“Aye … you remind me of him sometimes.”
His eyebrows raised as he cut his attention back to her. “Aye?”
“Calm, clever … with a wry sense of humor. There was an edge to him too. Anger that often simmered just beneath the surface.”
“And why was that?”
Lara’s chest constricted, as it often did when she thought of her brother. “His relationship with our father was … strained. Nothing he did was good enough.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Father used to tell him he didn’t have the stomach to rule … but he was wrong.”
“Maybe … maybe not.” Alar’s voice had veiled now. “But he wasn’t destined to take the throne.Youwere.”
Lara’s pulse quickened then. How had they ended up talking about this? It was her fault for engaging him in conversation in the first place. However, he was looking at her intently now—in that way of his that made her feelseen.
“Do you think it was fated then?” she whispered.
He smiled. “You were never meant to remain by the hearth while your husband went off to battle. Look at what you did today.” He paused then, his grey eyes darkening. “No, you were meant for far greater things.”
Her breathing grew shallow.Be careful, she warned herself. The Half-blood could speak in a way that made her unfurl like a flower with one breath and bleed with the next.
An ache rose under her breastbone then.
No, she’d be a fool to let her shields down again with him. All the same, there was no denying that he believed in her. They’d crossed swords about what the future held for Albia; but whenhe looked at her as he was doing now, she felt capable and strong, as if there was nothing she couldn’t achieve if she put her mind to it.
