Sourcethief (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Kyrus drifted off to sleep that night, Celia's
head pillowed on his chest, all he could think was that his ruse was still effective.
It crossed his sleep-heavy mind briefly, just before he lost consciousness.

Chapter 2 - A Step Down a Wayward Path
    "Better you than me," Lord Harwick said.
He picked up Brannis's bishop and set his knight down in its place, accepting
the trade Brannis had left open to him. "The emperor bothers me enough
with that nonsense. I would teach him the game, but I fear he does not have the
wits for it."
    "I would not be so certain of that,"
Brannis replied. He took Lord Harwick's knight with one of his pawns. The move
required no thought; Brannis had his response planned out well in advance of
his opponent's play. "He used it as a pretense to talk to me in private
about his choice for empress."
    "Ah, so that explains what your little
disagreement was about," Lord Harwick said, not looking up from the board.
Brannis could tell by the movement of the lord's pipe that he smiled beneath
the contemplative hand that obscured his mouth.
    "What do you mean? Who says we disagreed?"
Brannis asked. His eyes sprang wider for a moment and his breath caught in his
throat. He had counted on the throne room's wards to keep his conversation with
Sommick private.
    "Oh, someone just happened to mention to me
that the emperor's collar seemed to be a bit ripped after his talk with your
twin. How many else took note of it, I know not. But I keep good eyes in my
pay. They are well rewarded for noticing such details." Lord Harwick's
hand moved for a pawn, but he withdrew it, choosing another in its place.
    "It was a misunderstanding,” Brannis explained.
“There were no hard feelings by the end of our conversation."
    "Oh, on your side perhaps, but if the emperor
is any sort of nobleman, he will hold a grudge. They've all got little ledgers
tucked away in their heads of who crossed them," Lord Harwick warned.
"Puppet or not, Rashan is propping him up. Sommick's father was too infirm
to make a trip to Kadris, or he might have been crowned instead. I do not
relish the thought of a crusty old thing like him being next in line for
succession."
    "He is eight winters younger than you,
uncle," Brannis said, smiling.
    "Sorcerer years, my boy. My body is half the
age of his," Lord Harwick replied, bristling. He looked somewhat older
than his twin Caladris, but nothing close to his seventy-two years. His own
unnatural youth he could at least attribute to clean living and good pedigree,
but Caladris looked little more than half his winters, clearly not a work of
nature.
    "Anyway, I suppose I might as well tell you, he
has designs on marrying into the family."
    "What?" Lord Harwick asked, incredulous.
His attention was now fully removed from the chessboard. "You cannot mean our family. Setting aside for a moment the fool notion that he could arrange his
way into having aether-strong heirs, there is no one to be had. You have a ...
second cousin I believe, on your mother's side. Cannot recall the girl's name,
but I think she is at the Academy right—"
    "He means Aloisha."
    Lord Harwick burst out laughing. He had to take the
pipe from his mouth before it fell out.
    "It may be ill-conceived, but I fail to find it
funny," Brannis said, confused by his uncle's mirth.
    "That is because you still have damned fool
romantic notions about love. You got betrothed to your little sweetheart and it
all seemed roses and honey—later complications aside," Lord Harwick added
to forestall Brannis's objections about how well his betrothal had gone.
"Not Aloisha. She and Juran Destrier hated each other when they were
children. You were probably a bit too young to recall the tantrum she had when
she discovered they were arranged to be married. We made them go through with
it. They got past the point of staring daggers at one another, but never warmed
to married life together."
    "It almost sounds as if she might welcome a
change," Brannis said, trying to