The Marus Manuscripts Read Online Free

and said, “But Darien wouldn’t do that. Darien has no interest in being king. His allegiance is to you, Father. He knows you are the man selected by the Unseen One to be king of this country. He honors that. He honors you. Why else would he win so many victories against the Palatians in your name?”
    “Your friendship with him has made you blind. He will betray me—and you—and our entire succession.”
    “Why worry about our family? With his impending marriage to Princess Michelle, we’ll all rule as a family anyway.” Prince George drifted toward a large bookcase and looked as if he were going to choose a book from the shelf.
    The king laughed without humor. “He’ll marry Michelle if he fulfills his vow.”
    Prince George turned to him. “That was a ridiculous vow, and I’m sorry you let him go through with it. Imagine letting your best general risk his life to retrieve a few medals—”
    “One hundred medals is not ‘a few.’ It will be quite impressive if he can get them without dying in the process.”
    “But to dare him like you did! What could he do but accept your dare?”
    The king spread his arms. “Darien is a peasant at heart. To marry the daughter of royalty would have seemed above his station. He had to do something to prove himself to us. Asking him to retrieve 100 Palatian medals seemed reasonable.”
    “Are you sure you weren’t hoping he’d get killed along the way?”
    The king looked deliberately at his son and said, “Whatever happens will be Darien’s doing, not mine.”
    “But to go through all that for Michelle,” Prince George said, exasperated. “She’s beneath him!”
    “Be careful what you say about your own sister. She’ll keep Darien in his place.”
    “Mary was the one for Darien, and you know it.”
    “I needed Mary to wed the prince of Albany. It was good politics and good for our nation’s security. With Albany as an ally, we’ll be much safer in the Northern Territories.”
    “It was unconscionable to promise Mary to Darien, then give her to Albany,” Prince George persisted.
    The king shrugged. “You’ll learn one day that the king must make many hard decisions for the sake of his people.”
    “It’s interesting to me that you make these ‘hard decisions,’ and they all seem designed to hurt Darien.”
    The king smiled wryly. “Is Darien not man enough to handle it?”
    “Darien is a great man!” Prince George exclaimed sharply. “And he will be loyal to you no matter what you do to him.”
    “We’ll see about that,” the king replied.
    Prince George faced his father and said softly, “You continually wrong a man who has done you no harm. There are others in your army who need closer watching.”
    “Like whom?”
    Just then the phone on the desk rang, the bell loud and shrill. Prince George picked up the receiver. “Yes?” He paused, listened, then frowned. “Send him in.”
    A few seconds later, a uniformed man with short-cropped hair, handlebar mustache, and a scar on his cheek entered. “Sire,” he said with a quick bow.
    “General Liddell,” the king said. “What news do you bring?”
    “I’ve received word from the Palatian border that General Darien has successfully returned from his mission and is on his way home to the capital by train. He’ll arrive here tomorrow.”
    The king’s face turned red. “What?” he roared.
    “That is good news!” Prince George said with an eye to his father. “Did he capture the 100 medals?”
    “I don’t know,” General Liddell said as he moved toward the closet. Anna shrank back, afraid he would see her through the crack.
    “I’m sure he did!” Prince George clapped his hands happily. “If you’ll excuse me, Father, I’d like to make arrangements for a feast to celebrate Darien’s return.”
    The king waved a dismissive hand at him. Prince George strode out, laughing as he went.
    The king slammed his fist on the desk again furiously. “What will it take to get rid of this