WINDDREAMER

WINDDREAMER Read Free Page B

Book: WINDDREAMER Read Free
Author: Charlotte Boyett-Compo
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someone had punched him, but he willed his face not to show his emotions. He took a deep breath to calm his fury, then folded his arms across his chest, cocking his head. "He's wrong. You do know that, don't you?" His heart hammered as he watched his son trying to hold back tears.
    "Aye, I know it! My mama is a lady!" He viciously swiped at a renegade tear that dared creep down his cheek.
    "She certainly is. Regan said what he knew would hurt you. I'll talk to him, I assure you, and he will apologize to you as well as to the lady. I will have no one casting such remarks about your mother. Not even my own son."

    ----
    Corbin flinched. It hurt him as much to hear Regan named "son"by this man as it had been to hear his mother called "whore." The tears started down his cheeks in earnest. He lowered his head.
    "Corbi, look at me." When Corbin refused to do so, Conar took his chin, gently forcing up the stubborn head. "You will be King one day. One of the things a King must remember is to be courteous when asked to do something."
    Corbin looked at his father. He loved this man, even though he truly didn't know him. The love went deeper than just the love of a son for his father. The man was a national treasure, a hero to his people, and the love of his mother's life. He wanted to fling himself into this man's arms and beg for that love and affection to be returned. Beg to be acknowledged as Conar's son just as Regan had been acknowledged.
    "Are you afraid of me, Corbi?"
    "No, sir. I am not afraid of you." He saw moisture form in his father's eyes, and that puzzled him. He wanted to reach out to him, but dared not to. Never once had this man offered him anything but distance and detachment.
    "Once, a long time ago," Conar said, holding Corbin's look, "my father reminded me that a King must be many things to his people. He must have his people's love and trust and respect. You must also have their fear, but it is a healthy fear born of knowing that if they do wrong, you will have to punish them, fairly and justly, like a father must punish a child who has done wrong. The crown is a heavy responsibility. In order to wear it, a man must first deserve it."
    He took a long breath and exhaled, his eyes flickering.
    "If a King is corrupt, his people will be corrupt. If he is evil, his people will be the same. They will fear him, but they won't trust him. They won't respect him, and they certainly won't love him. His people won't follow him for long before they start looking for someone else to rule them. The same holds true if that King is a coward."
    A shimmer of something dark and painful glinted in his father's dark, blue eyes. His gaze swung to the far side of the room, where he stared at the rain outside the high windows.
    "If the King turns out to be a coward, his people will laugh him off the throne. Then the land would be thrown into calamity, chaos. Where, then, would be the kingdom?" He brought his gaze back to Corbin's. "The one thing a man can not be is a coward, Corbi, and still call himself a man."
    "Do you think you're a coward, sir?" The idea seemed absurd to Corbin, who held his father in absolute awe.
    Conar let out a ragged breath. "In some ways I am worse than a coward."
    The answer made Corbin's mouth go wide in disbelief. His fingers itched to touch his father's hand. "You are no coward! You are the bravest man in the Seven Kingdoms. Everybody knows that! You are the rightful King!"
    "My father took away my right to the throne, Corbi. He didn't believe me worthy to rule this land." He held up his hand as Corbin made to protest. "Your Uncle Brelan told me that my father recanted his decision before he died, but it was not so I could one day take the throne, but rather to have the way cleared for you to inherit as Firstborn. No one truly knows if he understood you were not Galen's, but..."
    Corbin stilled, the hesitation in his father's voice making him keenly aware of the tears held tightly at bay. His young heart

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