A Swithin Spin: A Princely Passion Read Free Page B

forward, bringing their heads together. Kilan glared at Ryanac as best he could from an awkward angle.
    “Were you about to tell me I can’t? Can’t what? Chastise an impudent child?”
    Just as Antal had done, Kilan protested. “I’m not a child.”
    “You’re a whelp!” Ryanac’s eyes gleamed. “I don’t care what age you are. I don’t care if you’re a prince. I don’t care that you’re Markis’s brother. In fact, that makes it worse in my eyes. And I don’t care about that stupid power or that Markis is teaching you control of it.”
    Kilan almost let loose with a curse. A swear word hovered on his lips, and he had to choke it back. It usually took many years to gain control of the comet, but something strange had happened in recent months. Markis had gained full control, and the abyss -- the strange place where the power seemed to take their consciousness at times -- had changed. Markis believed he could teach Kilan by a much simpler method than anyone had ever previously tried, by joining him in the abyss and showing Kilan the true depth of the power. That demonstration meant Kilan facing the source almost as if he turned his gaze on a physical being or object. Alas, Markis had decided that Kilan wasn’t quite ready, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Markis would have discussed the prospect with Ryanac. The least they could do was include him in such discussions. Kilan was an adult. Markis should let him grow up. Of all people, his brother should understand. He wanted to make his own mistakes. Kilan let all the frustration and anger of having to wait rise up in him. The moment his anger reached its peak, the rage dissipated. Mistakes made by someone in his position affected others. He understood that too well. He slumped in Ryanac’s grasp.
    A small frown creased the big man’s brow, and then Ryanac let go. Kilan practically fell onto a seat as with one hand he tried to massage some feeling back into his neck. Ryanac sat down beside him. Kilan, feeling churlish, wanted to shift along the bench away from him. He managed to sit still.
    “Why so angry?” Ryanac asked. When Kilan blinked at him in surprise, the big man laughed gently. “I saw it in your face. I also saw it pass. I’ve caught your transgressions before, but you’ve never responded in anger.”
    With Ryanac, there was no use lying. “I felt annoyed with you treating me as though I’m still a child. I know you must have something to do with Markis’s decision to slow down my training.”
    Silence made the atmosphere in the room feel oppressive. Finally, Ryanac spoke. “You’re no child. You’re a young man, old enough to wed, to have children, to rule if need be. Just be grateful you don’t have to do that. Be grateful Markis is king. Be thankful that Markis has decided not to rush things. I know only too well what Markis went through in training.”
    Kilan hesitated and then nodded. He knew some of it. What he didn’t know, he could deduce from the sorrow in Ryanac’s voice.
    “You’ll learn soon enough and through better methods than anyone in our history. Don’t be so eager. Do you truly want to control such a power so quickly?”
    Kilan grimaced. “When you say it like that, no.” He swallowed. “I’m no fool. I realize that having all that power thrust on me in one go, well, it could…” He stumbled over his words. It could quite conceivably destroy him, and it might not even be in a noticeable way. It didn’t have to happen like an eruption. It could happen slowly.
    “Power is disruptive. It’s contaminating.”
    “I understand that.” He looked at Ryanac, flinching when the man reached out with one of those large hands. Unexpectedly, this time the man’s grasp felt gentle, those large fingers rubbing the circulation back into Kilan’s neck. Feeling a need to explain, Kilan said, “I’ll do the best I can. I just get…frustrated. I want to be ready in case Markis needs me.”
    “And the