Page 129 of Between Despair and Hope

“Well, is your father a blissful man? Unburdened by a decisive, excitable woman?”

All three heads snapped toward mine when I spoke, and Elora jumped to her feet.

“Were you eavesdropping?” she asked, hands fisted at her sides.

“Just for a moment. Don’t worry, I didn’t hear anything else about a man’s duty. I’m not sure how appropriate that book is for a child once you get to the more instructive parts.”

“I skipped those,” Nor said, arms folded. She wore a dark brown dress, simple, which contrasted and complimented her freckled fawn skin. Long dark hair lay in loose waves down her chest, and she looked significantly healthier than the last time I’d seen her.

When she’d seen my dick.

Gods, had that been truly necessary? Judging by the pinched look on her face as she glared at me, I didn’t think it had affected her too much.

“I’m almost sixteen. It’s not like I don’t know,” Elora blurted out.

Nor’s eyes widened, and I stifled my laugh.

“And that is something that none of us here will be talking about to you, Princess. That is conversation for your mother,” Thyra said, chuckling as she stood. “Come, bedtime. Miss Nor will need to get back to dormitory soon.”

“You’re a lot less fun when Mama is gone, you know that?”

They both headed to the stairs as Nor gathered her cloak and shoved the book into her bag. I watched her for a moment, still suspicious of her presence.

“So, why are you here? What could you possibly have in common with a child and a soldier?”

“Skies above. The queen has questioned me thoroughly, and I’ve answered all of them satisfactorily. I don’t answer to you.”

“I suppose that may be true, but I don’t trust you.”

“Good thing I don’t care.”

She started toward the door, and I blocked the archway, not allowing her to pass.

“They’ve been through enough,we’veall been through enough, at the hands of zealots. If you’re here for some sort of scheme—”

“I’m the only woman in the dormitory who wasn’t raped by Declan. And they all make sure I know they hate me for it. That’s why I’m here. Thyra and Elora don’t look at me like I’m less than dirt. Her Majesty knows and trusts me enough. Does that make you feel better? Can I go now? It’s late, and I need to get back.” Shocked into silence, I didn’t move. “Oh, and I haven’t seen my father since I was a child after he poured boiling oil all over me. So, no, he is not a blissful man. Satisfied?”

She buttoned her cloak under her chin and tossed her hood up before shoving past me.

“You don’t have family to stay with?” I blurted, not sure what the fuck I was even saying. I remembered she was from Astana, and that was why she’d been eager to come back.

“I did. But my mother died while I was in Folterra.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’d have thought you would know better than to toss meaningless platitudes at me.” I blinked at her. “Yes, I know all about your dead first love. Everyone likes to make excuses for you. Did you know that?”

“Excuse me?”

“Some of us don’t let the bad things consume us. You might consider it.”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Maybe not. But maybe I do. Goodnight, Captain.”

She shoved past me and marched out the front door into the snowy night. I stood there for a few moments, not sure what to do with myself. On one hand, I thought Emma allowing Nor to be around her child meant she’d made absolutely certain the woman could be trusted. But on the other, Emma had trusted Cyran, and we saw where that got us. But wouldn’t it give her all the more reason to ensure Nor was safe? To be completely positive? The women we’d rescued from Folterra were novices, part of the gods damned Myriad, but they all seemed to be victims. Except for Nor. I wondered why.

Wondering why someone wasn’t raped by an evil man was a strange train of thought, so I dismissed it. I supposed it was time for me to go back to the palace and get some rest, but that would take me on the same path as the woman who had just lambasted me. The woman who left on foot to trudge through the snow late at night. A woman who Elora and Thyra liked and Emma seemed to trust.

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