The Rebel King

'The Duke of Perthegon-Lord Benton Vladimir,' Nikolas began in a voice that grated with poorly disguised impatience, 'was supposed to have succeeded Pritchett Dunford as king of Silvershire.' He acknowledged his father the king with a formal little nod. 'When Lord Henry Weston, Duke of Chamberlain, was chosen instead, this country was very nearly plunged into civil war.' He paused to take a gulp of tea. When he continued he seemed to have relaxed a little, as if finding some small refuge from his rampaging emotions in the familiar role of teacher.

'The trouble began when King Dunford and his wife, Queen Eloise, were unable to produce an heir to succeed him on the throne. You know, of course-'

'A male heir, I assume you mean?'

'Any heir…actually.' King Weston said, looking mildly amused at the interruption, as if Rhia had been a favorite child guilty of some minor misbehavior. 'King Dunford and Queen Eloise had no children. If they had had, perhaps the issue of female succession would not have had to wait until this past decade to be resolved.'

It was a moment before the meaning of that statement caught up with her. 'You mean, a woman can-'

'Oh, yes, a princess can succeed to the throne,' Lady Zara put in, glancing at the king with a smile of apology and sympathy. 'It hasn't happened yet, but it will. Someday.' She looked at Rhia…and winked.

'To return to our history lesson.' Nikolas said, tapping a finger on the arm of his chair and looking stern. 'In the Charter of Lodan, which was adopted in the thirteenth century following the Battle of Lodan-in the two centuries prior to that, you see, Silvershire's nobles had been trying their level best to annihilate one another-the rules of succession were set forth. One rather unique article states that the heir shall succeed to the throne on his thirtieth birthday, rather than waiting for the current ruler to kick off-thus, it was hoped, preventing the possibility of an interminable reign by a tyrannical or doddering monarch. And also, I imagine,' he added drily, 'reducing the temptation on the part of an impatient heir to hurry his predecessor's departure along.

'In any event, the system has worked quite well for a good many centuries-I will give it that.' Nikolas aimed a fierce glare at his father. 'But times do change. The world has changed. It's high time Silvershire entered the twenty-first-'

'That may be,' King Weston interrupted gently. 'However, my reign is at an end, and that, my boy…is an issue for my successor to decide. Now, if you will, please continue…'

Nikolas cleared his throat. 'Of course. Forgive me. Anyway, as I said. King Dunford had produced no heir. The Charter provides, in that event, for the king to chose a successor from among his nobles. In this case there were two candidates-cousins, very near in age-Lord Vladimir and Lord Weston. Vladimir, by virtue of being two months the elder of the two, and from a slightly more exalted lineage-' Nikolas's mouth tilted sardonically '-was the obvious choice to inherit the crown.'

King Weston nodded and picked up the narrative. 'I had always assumed that would be the case, even though King Dunford made it a point to include me in his royal tutorials with Benton-Lord Vladimir. He wanted us both to have as much knowledge as possible about the running of the kingdom, you see, assuming that I would serve the kingdom in some position or other.' He paused to rub his eyes, as if, perhaps, he had a headache, and Lady Zara gave him a look of concerned appraisal.

Ignoring her, the king went on. with a wave of his hand. 'Unfortunately, Vladimir felt threatened by King Dunford's insistence in involving me at every level. Perhaps he believed the king was considering me for the crown instead of him… who knows?' Again the king paused. To Rhia, he looked like a man carrying a heavy burden of sadness.

'The sad thing is,' King Weston said at last in a musing tone, 'the circumstance that finally pushed Benton into acting as he did had nothing whatsoever to do with the succession. My father was dying, you see. He didn't wish that fact to cast a shadow over the coming coronation ceremony and the attendant festivities, so he had asked that his illness be kept secret. Only my mother and I and the king and queen knew the truth. It was, naturally, a difficult time for me, and I often sought my king's counsel.

'But Benton-Lord Vladimir-misunderstood these private meetings, and incorrectly assumed King Dunford had changed his mind about whom he would choose to succeed him. Fearing he was about to lose his chance to become king, Lord Vladimir-' King Weston made a grimace of distaste and an abrupt dismissive gesture with his hand. 'I dislike speaking of it, even now. Suffice to say, Lord Vladimir made an attempt to discredit me by framing me for acts of high treason. Reprehensible acts. Thankfully, his plan was discovered before it could be carried out. I was chosen by His Majesty, King Dunford, to succeed him as King of Silvershire, and the Duke of Perthegon, just as he was about to be imprisoned and prosecuted for his crimes, vanished into thin air. He has neither been seen nor heard from in the thirty years since. It has always been assumed he fled the country. Now…I am not so sure.'

Rhia, who had been listening intently to the king's story, stiffened to attention. 'Are you suggesting he-the exiled Lord Vladimir-is behind these recent acts of violence and sabotage? And that it was he who switched the babies- replaced Nikolas-uh, the prince with an impostor?'

Again the king rubbed a hand over tired eyes. 'I can think of no one else who would do such a thing. And,' he added with a wry smile, 'he did vow to make me pay for robbing him of his 'birthright.''

The smile vanished and he brought his closed fist down hard on the arm of his chair. 'God help me, though-I am at a loss to see how he could have done it! If he did not leave this island, if in fact he's been living right here among us all this time, how in blazes has he managed to do it? How has he managed to come and go at will, even invade the heart of the palace itself, without being seen? Where is he? How has he hidden himself? Who is he now?'

King Weston clutched the chair's arms and pushed himself to his feet. Lady Zara went instantly to his side, but he shook off her help. Holding himself tall and erect, he lifted a hand that shook only slightly, and when he spoke his voice held the vibrant timbre Rhia remembered from his television appearances. 'This, Nikolas-and you, my dear- this is the task with which I now charge the two of you. Find that blackguard Vladimir. Wherever he is, whoever he is pretending to be, the wretch…must…be…found!'

Chapter 10

'Nikolas…' Rhia halted in the middle of the path and touched his arm. 'Hold up a minute.'

The two of them were alone, for the moment, making their way unescorted through the sun-dappled forest to the meadow where the helicopter waited. Lady Zara had stayed behind to see her exhausted patient to his chambers, and the security guard who had accompanied them on their arrival had returned to his regular post. The hunting lodge had been swallowed by the woods behind them and up ahead the meadow was still only glimpses of gold between dark trunks of trees.

Nikolas paused and turned his head toward her. His eyes were crinkled in a questioning frown, but their focus was on something only he could see.

'We have to talk.' She spoke in a low voice, though there was no one to hear her. Her heart had begun to beat hard and fast, and she didn't know why. only that something was dreadfully wrong. 'Now. Here-before we get back to the chopper.' She heard him exhale, and his gaze lifted and slid past her head. She could feel the tension vibrating through the muscles in his arm. radiating up through her fingers like a low-voltage current of electricity. She gripped his wrist harder, and the urgency she felt was in her voice, now. 'What the hell happened back there? Something about that box-that chest-hit you like a ton of bricks. I saw it, so don't try and deny it. And unless I misunderstood him completely, His Majesty just asked me to work with you to find this guy, this… Vladimir. Look-if I'm going to do that. I'm going to have to know what's going on. Everything, Donovan. I don't go into a job blindfolded.'

She was completely unprepared when he pulled her to him and wrapped her in a bone-crushing embrace. Unprepared…but her flesh responded to his like thirsty earth to a sudden shower of rain. She felt her blood rise beneath her skin, felt the heat of it and the pressure, and she thought she might burst from it. She gave a sharp gasp that turned into a whimper when his mouth covered hers.

His mouth was hard, the kiss deep, demanding; there was a kind of desperation in it. and an unfathomable hunger. Pressed tightly against his body, she could feel the rapid thud of his heart and the tension quivering in his muscles. Overwhelmed herself, she could only cling to him while her pulses rocketed into warp speed and the earth