Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon Read Free Book Online Page A

Dorrin said. “If the Verrakai boy is actually no child, he might take over the prince.”
    “Could you tell if the boy is one of those—or guilty of anything?”
    “If he is someone else, yes. But I’m not sure I could tell if he was part of the conspiracy.”
    Duke Marrakai stirred; the king shot a glance his way. “I know, my lord, what you said about the lad’s attitude toward your son Aris.”
    “It’s not just that,” Marrakai said. “It’s what the prince has told Aris since.”
    The king’s brows raised. “Do we need to call Aris to testify?”
    “If you wish. But haven’t you noticed the difference yourself in the prince’s demeanor and attention since he’s no longer close with Egan Verrakai?”
    “Yes.” The king shook his head as if to clear it. “It’s a bad, bad business. I cannot take chances with the realm, or with my brother’s life. Duke Verrakai, you will visit the prisoners and determine if any are harboring ancients of your family. Do we all agree that such is evidence of treason and punishable by death?” Every hand smacked the table. “Then I will appoint witnesses to go with Duke Verrakai, including at least one Marshal and one judicar. But we must finish the other tasks of this meeting as well.” He cleared his throat. “I have received reports from Lord Arcolin warning that Aarenis continues unsettled. Though he was hired to put down brigands, thought to be vagrants from Siniava’s War, he has found instead organized bands willing to give battle and clearly supported from without, he thinks by the new Duke Alured of Immer. Duke Verrakai, you know of this Alured, do you not?”
    “Our ally against Siniava,” Dorrin said, nodding. “Younger than the other captains, said to be a former pirate, very ambitious. He supplied a company of woods-wise fighters, and we used his network of spies.”
    “Spies! In Aarenis only? Or beyond?”
    “The ones we used were all in Aarenis, but now that he has a title, I expect he will have spies everywhere, including here.”
    “Arcolin says he is ruthless.”
    “Indeed. We were with him during the capture of the Immer ports, after Siniava’s death—that was the price of his earlier aid. Kieri—the king—regretted he ever made that bargain when we saw how cruel Alured could be. Alured wanted to hire him—us—through the winter and another season, but Kieri refused.”
    “Does he pose any present threat to us?”
    “Not unless he gains control of the Guild League,” Dorrin said. “I’m sure he now controls river trade down the Immer to the sea, but taking over the Guild League will not be easy or quick.”
    “That much should be enough for anyone,” Count Halar said.
    “It wasn’t for Siniava,” Dorrin pointed out. “And if he hadn’t been stopped, he might well have cast his eyes northward.”
    “If this Alured heard about what you found,” Duke Mahieran said, “would that influence him?”
    Dorrin felt a cold chill down her back; she had not thought of that. “Alured? Certainly. He would want that crown as proof of his claim that he was descended from the old royal family of Aare. Impossible, of course, but a lost crown rediscovered would, in his mind, be his family’s.”
    “No chance it could be his?” Serrostin asked. “I mean—your family’s had it, and perhaps they were related. Could this fellow be a distant relative of yours?”
    “I suppose,” Dorrin said. She hated the thought, but Alured’s cruelty and even his slight magery fit her family’s pattern. “But our family records are so unreliable, with the transfer of personalities, that I cannot possibly tell. What I do know is that he had a vast network of spies in Aarenis during Siniava’s War, and it would be folly to think he had none here.”
    “And if he had them here,” Duke Marrakai said, “he will have heard the rumors that were going around the markets.”
    “And are now going through the court,” Dorrin said, nodding. “How many