Marauder Aegus Read Online Free PDF Page B

further.”
    “I’ll be just a moment,” I say, and begin to close the door.
    Donovan stops me from shutting the door with his forearm, and Aegus grabs Donovan’s arm.
    “Aegus, no!” I shout.
    Aegus still clutches Donovan’s arm, and I wonder how many microseconds away he was from breaking it.
    “Tell us at once what is going on,” Aegus rasps.
    “I wasn’t told anything, I swear,” Donovan says, hesitantly. “But...no, I shouldn’t say anything.”
    I take Donovan’s hand in mine, looking up at him with an earnest expression. “Donovan, if you know anything , you should tell me. I’ll personally see to it that you don’t get in trouble.”
    Donovan looks down, afraid to face me.
    I put my hand on Aegus’s chest plate and say, “And I promise this huge jerk won’t hurt you either.”
    “Okay, Tsarevna,” Donovan says. “Your father, His Excellency, he seemed...the Tsar cannot be scared of anything, of course, but, he…”
    “He was scared?” I ask.
    Donovan gives an imperceptible nod of his head, then says, “Please come with me now, or I will be in trouble. You’re to come at once. Alone.”
    I look back at Aegus, who is already taking a protective step toward me.
    “The Tsar greatly looks forward to his meeting with you, Aegus,” Donovan says.
    It seems to placate Aegus, though I know Donovan well enough to see he doesn’t believe the meeting will even happen.
    I consider telling this to Aegus straight away, but I need to try to defuse this situation on my own before I pull him into it. Aegus is a blunt instrument, and some situations need a fine touch.
    “Aegus,” I say. “You can wear your armor to dinner, if you’d like…”
    He scowls at me. “That means I should not wear it.”
    “And if you’d like to wear something else, I can send a tailor to you.”
    Aegus waves a hand. “I’ll wear the armor underneath any ridiculous thing they put on me.”
    “Fine,” I say, and I flash him a genuine smile.
    I was angry at him before–and I still am–but I realize he’s just trying to do his best in a difficult situation.
    I shut the door and begin to follow Donovan. I don’t dare ask him any more questions, as he’s already told me much more than he should have.
    My father would never be scared to meet with me alone, which means this meeting must involve someone else.
    We reach his throne room, and Donovan opens the heavy door.
    Who could scare my father, other than…?
    General Bahamut is standing tall next to my father, a smug and self-satisfied expression plastered to his face. He has jet-black hair pulled back into a bun, and he’s wearing a big bucket hat at a stupidly deep angle, the same way that all imperial officers wear their big dumb hats. He’s young for a general, but twice my age.
    I notice an ornate scroll with real ink on it laying on my father’s desk. It’s weighted down on either end. They never use parchment and ink like that, except for the most official of agreements.
    “Anya,” father says.
    “Tsarevna,” General Bahamut says. “Thank you for joining us on such short notice.”
    “I didn’t know you were in the palace tonight, general,” I say, trying to keep the disgust off my face and out of my voice.
    “Yes, well,” he says, “I didn’t know there was a Marauder in the palace. No one thought to tell me.”
    “But you found out anyway,” I say.
    “I’m a general. I should be well informed, otherwise I’d not be good at my job.”
    “So you’ve come to congratulate me on my engagement–”
    “Anya!” my father shouts. “Please…”
    “No,” Bahamut says. “It’s okay. I have come to congratulate you, Tsarevna…”
    Before I can register what’s happening, Bahamut pulls something out of his belt and raises his arm to my father’s head.
    My brain catches up just in time to register that he’s holding a gun, but Bahamut fires it before I can even open my mouth to scream.
    My father’s body collapses onto the ground in a