Haydn of Mars Read Online Free

with us.   We are well prepared.”
    â€œIt’s time you told me everything, Jamie.”
    â€œSoon,” he said.   “There are others you must see.”
    As if on cue, the camp we found ourselves in came alive.   I noticed that the tents had been pitched on a high, flat bluff, surrounded on all sides by miles of semi-desert.   There was one road in, a gentle slope with no cover to either side.   In the distance the rim of a crater glowed like a wall against the early sun.   The sky was pink and clear and cold.
    I thought immediately how vulnerable this place would be from the airships.
    â€œWe have spotters in the distant hills, and anti-air batteries at the four horizons,” a strong, clear voice said behind me.
    I turned to see someone I knew – someone I had known –
    â€œKerl...”
    â€œYou shouldn’t whisper,” he said, smiling.   “Your whisper makes me feel as if I am still far away from you.”
    â€œKerl...”
    I felt suddenly lightheaded, and had the horrible, distinct impression that I would collapse into my own vomit–
    There were strong hands on me as I fainted, and I heard Kerl order, “Take her to my tent.”
    Then, again, I slept.
    Â 
    I awoke with the image of the sun burning through the tent overhead.
    Late afternoon, I judged by its height.
    I felt rested, and refreshed.   The cushions beneath me were as soft as the bottom of the wine cask had been hard.   Scented petals floated in a water bowl on the floor nearby.   An overhead fan, its blades made of red junto wood, turned lazy and slow in one corner, moving the dusty air.
    The tent flap was thrown aside, and Kerl was there.  
    He had not been a dream after all...
    â€œI waited for you to rouse,” he said.
    He entered, and let the flap fall behind him.
    He was taller than his brother, and broader.   Where Kaylan had been elegant and slim, his younger brother was solid as stone.   His mane was thick and luxurious, his features chiseled but saved from hardness by a soft mouth.   I had been in love with him nearly my whole life.
    â€œIt was cruel, the way you left,” I said simply, holding his gaze.
    â€œWhen my brother was picked–”
    â€œOver your mother’s objections, and your brother’s own,” I reminded him.
    â€œTrue.   But my father, as usual, got his way...”   His gaze drifted off for a moment.
    â€œYes.   And he paid for it with his life, along with many other senators.”
    â€œTrue again.   But he led me to understand that there were reasons why I must leave when I did.”
    Some of my evident hardness melted.   “Then it wasn’t your idea?”
    He looked at me levelly.   “No.   But there was more going on than you ever knew, Haydn.   This usurpation by Frane was coming for a long time.   The republic was doomed the day your father was assassinated.”
    â€œAnd I was naive enough to think I could help keep the republic together.”
    I noticed that he had not taken a step closer to me.
    I could contain my anger no longer.   “And you left without saying a word to me!”
    â€œIt had to be done.   Already there were plots within plots.   When you married my brother, it was already evident the republic would fail, and the monarchy would return.   Our goal was to make sure you became Queen, not Frane.   You are the legitimate heir to the throne.   We needed time to ensure that.”
    â€œThen my happiness was sacrificed to buy you time ?” My voice rose to a near hysterical pitch.
    He took the verbal blows and stood unbowed.   “Yes,” he said. “Your marriage to my brother was a bandage to keep the republic together for another year.”   He looked away.   “But it still wasn’t long enough.”
    â€œAnd you and I–”
    His voice dropped to a whisper, and he took a