Knight, Heir, Prince. Morgan Rice

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СКАЧАТЬ much danger will I be in if my husband kills the heir to the throne? No, Thanos. Stop this. Do it for me.”

      If anyone else had asked, Thanos might still have gone through with it. There was too much at stake. But he couldn’t risk Stephania. He thrust down into the dirt, missing Lucious’s head by an inch. Lucious was already rolling away, running for a horse.

      “You’ll regret this!” Lucious called back. “I promise you’ll regret this!”

      CHAPTER FIVE

      Thanos saw the guards awaiting him on the long run into the city gates, as he and Stephania returned home. He raised his chin and kept on riding. He had expected this. And he wouldn’t run from it.

      Stephania obviously saw them too. Thanos saw her stiffen in the saddle, going from relaxed to prim and formal in an instant. It was as though a mask had slid down in front of her features, and Thanos found himself reaching out automatically to slide a hand over hers as she held the reins.

      The guards crossed their halberds to bar the way as they approached, and Thanos drew his horse to a halt. He kept it between Stephania and the guards, just in case Lucious had somehow bribed men to attack him. He saw an officer step out from the knot of guards and salute.

      “Prince Thanos, welcome back to Delos. My men and I have been instructed to escort you to see the king.”

      “And if my husband does not wish to travel with you?” Stephania asked, in a tone that could have commanded the whole Empire.

      “Forgive me, my lady,” the officer said, “but the king has given us clear orders.”

      Thanos raised a hand before Stephania could argue.

      “I understand,” he said. “I’ll go with you.”

      The guards led the way, and to their credit, they managed to make it look like the escort they claimed it was. They led the way through Delos, and Thanos noted that the route they picked was one through the most beautiful parts of the city, sticking to the tree-lined avenues that held noble houses, avoiding the worst parts even when they formed a more direct route. Perhaps they were simply trying to stick to the safer areas. Perhaps, though, they thought that nobles like Thanos and Stephania wouldn’t want to see the misery elsewhere.

      Soon, the walls of the castle towered above. The guards led the way through its gates, and grooms took their horses. The walk through the castle felt more confined, with so many guards surrounding them in the narrow spaces of the castle corridors. Stephania took Thanos’s hand, and he squeezed it gently in reassurance.

      When they reached the royal apartments, members of the royal bodyguard blocked the way at the door.

      “The king wishes to speak to Prince Thanos alone,” one said.

      “I am his wife,” Stephania said in a tone so cold Thanos suspected most people would have stepped aside instantly.

      It didn’t seem to affect the royal bodyguard at all. “Nevertheless.”

      “It will be all right,” Thanos said.

      When he stepped inside, the king was waiting for him. King Claudius stood, leaning on a sword whose hilt formed the tentacles of a twisting kraken. It came almost to the level of his chest, and Thanos had no doubt that the edge would be razor sharp. Thanos heard the click of the door shutting behind him.

      “Lucious told me what you did,” the king said.

      “I’m sure he came running straight to you,” Thanos replied. “Did he also tell you what he was doing at the time?”

      “He was doing what he was commanded to,” the king snapped, “in order to deal with the rebellion. Yet you went out and attacked him. You killed his men. He says you defeated him through trickery, and would have killed him too if Stephania hadn’t intervened.”

      “How does butchering villagers stop the rebellion?” Thanos countered.

      “You’re more interested in peasants than in your own actions,” King Claudius said. He lifted the sword he held as though weighing it. “It is treason to attack the king’s son.”

      “I am the king’s son,” Thanos reminded him. “You didn’t execute Lucious when he tried to have me killed.”

      “Your birth is the only reason you are still alive,” King Claudius replied. “You are my son, but so is Lucious. You do not get to threaten him.”

      Anger rose up in Thanos then. “I don’t get anything that I can see. Not even the acknowledgment of who I am.”

      There were statues in one corner of the room, depicting famous ancestors of the royal line. They were out of the way, almost hidden away, as if the king didn’t want to be reminded of them. Even so, Thanos pointed to them.

      “Lucious can look at those and claim authority going back to the days when the Empire first rose,” he said. “He can claim the rights of all those who gained the throne when the Ancient Ones left Delos. What do I have? Vague rumors about my birth? Half-remembered images of parents that I’m not even sure are real?”

      King Claudius strode to the spot in his rooms where his great chair sat. He sat upon it, cradling the sword he held across his knees.

      “You have an honored place at court,” he said.

      “An honored place at court?” Thanos replied. “I have a place as a spare prince no one wants. Lucious might have tried to have me killed on Haylon, but you were the one who sent me there.”

      “Rebellion must be crushed, wherever it is found,” the king countered. Thanos saw him run his thumb along the edge of the sword he held. “You had to learn that.”

      “Oh, I’ve learned,” Thanos said, moving across to stand in front of his father. “I’ve learned that you would rather be rid of me than acknowledge me. I am your eldest son. By the laws of the kingdom, I ought to be your heir. The eldest son has been the heir since the first days of Delos.”

      “The eldest surviving son,” the king said quietly. “You think you would have lived if people knew?”

      “Don’t pretend you were protecting me,” Thanos replied. “You were protecting yourself.”

      “Better than spending my time fighting on behalf of people who don’t even deserve it,” the king said. “Do you know how it looks when you go around protecting peasants who should know their place?”

      “It looks as though someone cares about them!” Thanos shouted. He couldn’t keep from raising his voice then, because it seemed like the only way to get through to his father. Maybe if he could make him understand, then the Empire might finally change for the better. “It looks as though their rulers aren’t enemies out to kill them, but people to be respected. It looks as though their lives mean something to us, rather than just being something for us to throw aside while we have glittering parties!”

      The king was silent for a long time after that. Thanos could see the fury in his eyes. That was fine. It matched the anger Thanos felt almost perfectly.

      “Kneel,” King Claudius said at last.

      Thanos hesitated, only for a second, but it was apparently enough.

      “Kneel!” СКАЧАТЬ