Rebel's Honor(45)

"I was inspired to utter three names in my cursing: yours, Lynx's, and Nicholas's."

Lukan's first thought was that he was talking about the constellation  known as Nicholas the Light-Bearer. Then another thought struck. Could  Nicholas be the name of his and Lynx's son-if they ever got so far as to  have him? So tantalized by that tidbit, his fingers itched to snatch  the book away so he could read it himself.

Dmitri pulled the tome closer to his chest.

This impasse wasn't helping, so Lukan asked, "Why me?"

"Your love of learning-not for power's sake, but for the thrill of  knowing-sets you apart from every Avanov ever born, myself included."  Dmitri shook his head ruefully. "I was a terrible scholar in my day.  Playing truant with Thurban was far more appealing than attending my  lessons."

As impossible as it was to imagine this man of legend as a naughty boy  following his brother into mischief, Dmitri suddenly seemed more  relatable.

It prompted Lukan to say, "That's why I didn't go into the military. I  thought it a waste of time when I wanted to do more productive things."

He didn't add the other reason-the major one-was that he refused to  train next to Axel. He didn't need the public confirmation that his  cousin was a better soldier than he. Now it was just a matter of  speculation. Not that it mattered to his father. In the old man's mind,  Axel would always be the hero and Lukan the failure.

"How did you know about me-and Lynx-four hundred years before my birth?"

"Like mine, your spirit is immortal. It existed before your birth and  will exist after you die." Face expressionless, Dmitri added, "We knew  each other before either of our births."

Lukan snorted his disbelief even as the truth in the seer's words resonated in his chest.

"Regardless of your father's view, you're no failure, Lukan. But now  it's time to take your rebellious streak to its logical conclusion."

Sweat prickled on the back of Lukan's neck. "That sounds-seditious."

"Aye."





Chapter 28





Lukan waited for something more, an explanation perhaps of what Dmitri  meant by ‘sedition.' Dmitri merely eyed him with a penetrating gaze.

Finally, Lukan said, "I've just told you, I'm not a soldier."

"It is not a soldier the world needs. This conflict started with a war for knowledge. Let knowledge end it."

"Riddles were never my thing." Lukan pointed at the book in Dmitri's  arms. "Why don't you leave that with me? Once I've read it, I'll know  what I need to do."

"Crown Prince, this book cannot be stolen or taken by force." Dmitri  patted the leather the way a mother would soothe a baby's back. "You  have to earn the right to read about your part in the history waiting to  unfold."

"And how would I do that?" Lukan asked warily.

Dmitri raised his hand and gestured to the shelves of tomes around them.  "You have a great library here in your observatory and in the palace  archive, filled with thousands of books that belong to the world. But  only you, your immediate family, and your handpicked scientists are able  to read them."

Lukan shrugged dismissively, wishing he knew where Dmitri was going with  all this. "Most people have no interest in reading. You said it  yourself-even you, the great Dmitri, chose fun over lessons."

Dmitri looked at Lukan through hooded eyes. "Hidden in the far reaches  of your empire are scholars and scientists, held against their will and  forced to work on nightmarish projects designed to entrench your rule  for another four hundred years."                       
       
           



       

Lukan tried for another dismissive shrug, but this one was harder to  justify. "How else can one be expected to keep an empire this size from  falling apart?"

"So you admit it is not through choice that your subjects wear the Avanov yoke?"

Lukan shifted in his seat, not wanting to think about the thousands of  people imprisoned in Zakar satrapy -scientists, miners, factory  hands-who created the empire's technological marvels. "What has any of  this got to do with me reading a book?"

"Everything." Dmitri tapped the book again. "If you wish to discover the  truths about yourself contained herein, then you must first share the  knowledge in your archives and in your secret laboratories with the rest  of mankind."

Lukan's eyes bulged as if Dmitri were insane. "If I did that, everyone  would have the weapons and advantages we have. It would be like before  the Burning. We'd lose the empire."

"And would that be so bad?"

Lukan snorted his derision. "You're as crazy as my father. Why should I listen to you? I don't even know what you are."

Dmitri continued as if Lukan hadn't spoken. "Since your earliest  childhood, you have lived in fear of your father's fists and ridicule,  but even amid all your anguish and hate, you have always had hope-hope  that one day he will die, and you will be free."

Dmitri would speak openly of that humiliation? Lukan's whole body  burned. He lashed out a wild punch, catching Dmitri on his solid chest.

Without shifting an inch, Dmitri grabbed Lukan's hand and pressed it to  his heart. "Enough with the violence, Crown Prince. It is not in your  nature, and it does not serve you."

Feeling like a complete idiot, Lukan pulled his hand away. "I don't discuss my father's abuse with strangers."

"I am afraid that, tonight, there is no subject we will not discuss."

Lukan eyed the door, considering leaving. But there was too much that he  didn't understand about this apparition to flee just yet.

"What hope is there for your countrymen?" Dmitri asked. "For four  hundred years, Chenayans have lived with the cruelest abuse, without  recourse to mercy or justice. When your father dies, what then, Lukan?  Must they endure another four hundred years of despair?"

Lukan squirmed, hating that Dmitri made perfect sense. But all the  suffering in the world was not enough to outweigh Lukan's longing to  rule, to prove that he was not the weakling his father always claimed  him to be. He hedged. "What's in it for me, if I throw open my archives  and give away the empire?"

"The chance to go down in history, not just as one more Avanov dictator  but as the man who brought freedom to the world. The man Dmitri the Seer  prophesied about."

Lukan could be the man prophesied about? Was it possible? Was that how  the curse worked? Lukan had no answers, but to be known as a hero, not a  failure, carried an enormous appeal. He licked his lips, wishing it  could be true. He had to know more. "Then what about Lynx? How does she  fit into all this?"

Dmitri took a moment to steeple his fingers. "Lynx stands at a  crossroads. The direction she takes depends entirely on you. If you do  as I ask and share your precious books, she will be free of the  imperative of my curse. It will enable her to follow a path of her own  choosing, unfettered by duty-and oaths. If her father knew her true  circumstances here, he, too, would release her from all other  obligations."

Lukan had no idea what Dmitri was talking about with his mention of  oaths. Still, as much as it grated, he was wise enough to surmise that  Lynx would never willingly give herself to him, no matter how much he  wooed her. He wondered if her path would take her back to Norin, or  would the allure of his cousin be enough to keep her in Cian?

To forever taunt me.

Dmitri's voice pulled him back to the present.

"Crown Prince, if, on the other hand, you choose to continue as an  Avanov emperor, you will force Lynx onto the path of destruction I  prophesied of, in which your life is forfeit." Dmitri's voice firmed. "I  know it seems unfair, but either way, Chenaya and the empire will be  free. How that happens is up to you. Will you go down in history as the  hero who changed the world, or will that honor belong to your son?"

Any doubts Lukan had about Dmitri being real vanished. Not even Felix  would create a scene so horrifying or so seditious. Was this why  generations of crown princes and emperors had suffered the Norin to  live? Dmitri haunting them with guilt and ruinous consequences?

"You bastard. This is perfect blackmail!" Lukan stood and began to pace.  "Either way, I lose. How can you say you support human choice when  you've painted me into this corner?"                       
       
           



       

"What did you want, Lukan? A smorgasbord of options? You still have  choice, with consequences. Be thankful. It is more than most of your  subjects can claim."

Lukan took a deep breath. "Okay, if I believe you, then let's look at this logically-"