Marauder Aegus Read Online Free Page B

to hate me with venomous anger, but I get the feeling that–beneath his anger–he is partially thankful to me for bringing his daughter back to him.
    I’ll need to use that to my advantage, and I’ll need to start working him fast. Time is almost up if I have less than two weeks.
    There’s a car waiting for us, and the royal guards form a line as we step inside.
    I’m so big that I barely fit in the seat and have to hunch down. Even then, my head is right up against the ceiling.
    I’m sitting next to Anya, who tentatively takes my hand. I love the feel of her hand in mine, but I realize this feeling is dangerous. If I truly develop feelings for her, she’ll be in greater danger than she already is. And feelings for her will distract me and make it much more difficult for me to complete my mission.
    “Aegus,” the Tsar says. “What do you think of our great city?”
    “It’s almost as beautiful as an orbital,” I start, but quickly correct myself. “I mean it’s more beautiful than the orbitals, it’s–”
    “No need to kiss my ass,” the Tsar says. “I know it’s not quite as striking as an orbital, but it’s the closest you can get without going full habby.”
    The car takes off, quickly climbing up into the domed sky. We’re soon level with the skyscrapers’ twentieth, thirtieth and then fortieth floors. Lanes of traffic are formed at ten-story intervals, but the cars seem automated, as they move in uniform precision like rivers of colored pebbles.
    “There’s the palace,” Anya says, pointing out the window.
    The palace appears next to the statue of Nikolai IV, and it’s taller than the palace itself. The palace has domed parapets that look almost like colorful balloons.
    “It’s styled after the old Kremlin in Moscow,” Anya says,
    I have the Tsar alone in a car, but it seems too early to dump my plans on him. If I do it now, it might seem as if I’m using Anya to get to him. I’ll need to gradually earn his trust, but there’s unfortunately so little time. I may need to start pushing my plan on him after dinner tonight.
    The car begins to descend as we near the palace. It parks on a docking ledge rather than landing on the surface.
    Royal guards are waiting for the car to come to a complete stop, and one of them opens the door for us to exit. Anya and I exit first, and we must wait at attention for the Tsar to stand and lead us into the palace.
    I stop and look out at the city again before we make our way inside the palace. We’re now in the center of the dome, and the city is all around us. There are massive, wide windows on the sides all around the city, through which the Venusian atmosphere and faint sunlight is visible. There are huge solar lamps hanging just below the forest that add to the dim light.
    I’d considered blasting some of the windows open as part of one of my earlier plans. The pressure at this altitude is similar to that on Earth, and the oxygen wouldn’t rush out. The Venusian atmosphere would slowly leak in and eventually cause a serious emergency, but in the meantime, it would act as a sufficient diversion to let me and a small squad sneak through the city’s defenses.
    “Aegus, come on,” Anya says, pulling at my wrist.
    I shake my head, as the beautiful daughter of the Tsar is now my fiancée and I’m being escorted right into the palace by the Tsar himself. Much easier than blowing out giant, half-meter-thick windows.

    * * *
    A s soon as we are inside the palace, the Tsar takes Anya by the hand.
    “Anya, go to your rooms. I need to speak to Aegus alone.”
    She gives me a worried look.
    “You will be safe in your own rooms, yes?” I ask.
    “Of course she will be safe under her father’s roof!” the Tsar snarls at me. “Go, Anya!”
    Anya mouths some words to me, and I understand them as, “I will be safe.”
    I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone, but seeing four royal guards following behind her puts me partially at ease.
    “Come with