The Miscreant by Brock Deskins Read Free Book Online

Perhaps it would be enough to redeem him in their eyes, but if it did not, he would sacrifice his legacy for the people.
    A valet held the elegant coach door open for the king to enter. Remiel sat across from Agent Ward, his chief of security, who was awaiting his arrival.
    “I thought you equated yourself well, Highness,” Gregor said as the king sat down.
    “It was a bloody farce designed to make me look like a fool. Are we still no closer to proving The Guild is behind the attacks?”
    “No, Highness, I am afraid not. We are trying to trace the money back to them, but all the mercenary contracts we know of have been paid through intermediaries and dead drops. Those handling the money have no knowledge as to the identity of the people who hired them to make the payment and secure the contract. It is the same for the few mercenaries we have captured. We can occasionally trace the contract back to the intermediary but not beyond that.”
    “They mean to bankrupt and humiliate me. I might be king, but I am one man where they are a small nation unto themselves.”
    “Forgive me for even suggesting this, but is it really worth all this to destroy them? Most of the kingdom has done well enough with the status quo. This covert war between the throne and The Guild will surely ripple out to the people no matter how hard you try to shoulder the burden.”
    “Gregor, we are a free nation, but at present, it is The Guild which is steering its course and not the people. Most of the underclass could rise to the middle and higher were it not for the weight of The Guild’s boot upon their necks. This cannot continue. I will not allow it.”
    “I hope you understand the risk you are taking. The Guild has so far been content to be an expensive nuisance. There may come a time when they become much more dangerous, and the closer you come to completing the road, the closer that time draws near.”
    Remiel’s face grew long, and he stared out of the coach’s curtained window. “It is time to send Adam away.”
    “It has been confirmed then?”
    Remiel nodded. “The abbey will take care of him and teach him what he needs to know. I hope it is enough to keep him safe in the years to come.”
    “Thankfully, we have Marcus to continue your family’s reign.”
    “He’s so young. It is difficult for me to imagine him succeeding me.”
    “I’m sure he will be of age long before it becomes necessary.”
    Remiel snorted. “You are more of an optimist than I am. I just need to live a few more years, and my road will be finished. Damodara can sit as regent until Marcus comes of age. There is also Evelyn. She’ll be a woman before I know it.”
    “Girls always seem to grow up too fast in a father’s eyes,” Gregor said.
    “What would a lifelong bachelor know about that?”
    “Just because I never married doesn’t mean I don’t have children.”
    “Do you have children?”
    Gregor shrugged and smiled. “I visited a lot of ports in my tenure as a diplomat. Who knows what I left behind?”
    Remiel and Gregor shared a laugh and made the rest of the trip in silence.
    ***
    There was no fanfare or needless displays of obeisance as the king strode the halls of the palace in search of his wife Damodara. He found her in the parlor where she was enjoying the afternoon sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
    “How did the assembly go with parliament?” she asked.
    Damodara was a woman of regal beauty. She stood tall, proud, and always composed. A silk net adorned with glittering gems cradled her flowing, golden hair between her shoulder blades.
    Remiel wrapped his arms around her from behind, not the least bit put off that she stood a good three inches taller than he did. “Dreadfully of course. They feign ignorance and deny the reality that The Guild is responsible for the attacks.”
    “Of course they do. That is what The Guild pays them to do.”
    “Gregor fears for our safety if I do not abandon my cause.”
    “Yet