Read Online Shadow War by Deborah Chester - Free Book Online Page B

“And
what is the worth of a promise made to a slave?” he snarled. “Nothing! Nothing
at all.” He gave Caelan a shake and released him. “He doesn’t see you as a man.
You belong to him as his dog belongs to him. As that chair over there belongs
to him. He owes you nothing, do you hear? No matter what you do for him, there
is no obligation from him in return.”
    Caelan sighed and
stopped listening. Orlo held some ancient grudge against Tirhin that he never
discussed. For Caelan’s sake, he had returned to the prince’s employ, but he
was never comfortable in Tirhin’s presence. And when the prince was out of
earshot, Orlo could be full of venom and paranoia, just as he was now. Caelan
felt too tired to pay attention to any of it.
    “Let me relay this
to you, although Gault knows why I bother,” Orlo said. “Since yesterday, has
the prince been a man happy and carefree? You won a tremendous victory on his
behalf. He has every reason to celebrate, yet beneath the smiles and the charm
there is anger. All the anger that was present before the contest. Did you not
see it?”
    “Yes,” Caelan said
reluctantly. “Angry, but hiding it.”
    “Do you know why
he’s so angry? Why he’s ridden three horses into the ground and broken their
wind in the last week? Why he’s taken to staying out all hours of the night?
Why he’s so often in the company of that creature Sien?”
    Caelan thought of
the bizarre meeting he’d had with the prince and Lord Sien. Hiding a shiver, he
said nothing.
    “It is the
coronation,” Orlo said, looking at Caelan as though he had just failed an
examination. “His temper gets more foul with every passing day of the
festivities. The empress threatens his position, and if you’re wise you’ll
avoid getting caught up the middle of this family’s conflicts. No matter what
he promises you.”
    Caelan hated
politics. He hated court intrigue. He hated all the gossip conducted by people
who weren’t directly involved.
    “The imperial
family’s problems are none of your business,” he said coldly.
    Orlo flushed, and
he glared at Caelan with his eyes narrowed. “Let me tell you something. Years
ago, when Tirhin was much younger, and much more impetuous, he tried to rally
the imperial army around him. He intended to bring off a coup d’etat. And I was
at his side.”
    Caelan rolled his
eyes and turned away. “I don’t want to hear this.”
    Orlo gripped his
arm and pulled him back. “You will listen,” he said angrily. “You must!”
    Caelan shook him
off, and found himself swaying weakly with the effort. “Why?” he shouted. “Why
should I listen to this parable of yours? I have no need of lessons—”
    “I committed
treason for his highness,” Orlo said bleakly, his eyes pinpoints of cold.
    “What?” Caelan
said in disbelief. “When?”
    “Years ago. I was
young and hotheaded. I was impatient for change. I had just been passed over
for promotion into the Imperial Guard for the second time.” His mouth twisted
with old bitterness. “My family wasn’t good enough. Simple country farmers,
with the stink of manure on their shoes. It didn’t matter how good a soldier I
was or how ably I served. I wasn’t the right sort for the elite Crimson.”
    Caelan looked at
him, at his stocky shoulders and bullish neck and square face, and knew all
about class and status. He thought of his own birth and how he had been raised
in Trau. He had resented being the son of a famous and esteemed father. How
spoiled he had been. How disdainfully he had taken so much for granted.
    For the first
time, Orlo was baring his soul. Caelan glanced at the door, wishing he could
escape this. He had no desire to hear Orlo’s secrets, not now, not like this.
But when he met Orlo’s eyes, he knew there was no leaving.
    “What treason did
you commit?” Caelan asked.
    Orlo’s eyes were
on fire. His face contorted with old memories and his hand groped instinctively
for the dagger in his belt. “I