CHAPTER TWELVE
Ryu felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the knock at the apartment door.
Then, an instant later, he reminded himself that he was being ridiculous.
It was just Kentario, for goodness sake.
They’d eaten dinner together countless times in the past – albeit with the rest of their families present at the same time – and there was absolutely nothing unusual about having his bodyguard over to share some food.
Regardless of the fact that they’d be firstly in Ryu’s apartment, and secondly alone together for the meal, for the first time ever.
And no, he scolded himself, as he opened the door, those two facts put together did not make it at all like a date.
“Okay, so what gives?” Kentario asked, as the door opened.
He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, wearing nothing more fancy than a singlet t-shirt and jeans.
He pushed himself up, unfurling thick, muscled forearms and hands that were surprisingly artistic, given the strength of them.
“Has the world ended, or something, ‘cos I’m never allowed to hang out with you when you’re home alone. ”
“Dunno,” Ryu said, with a forced casualness, still inexplicably nervous about being here alone with Kentario.
He led the way through the living room into the kitchen.
“Maybe Dad’s lost his mind. There’s some big meeting with the Arctesian ambassador, and normally, there would be a formal dinner for him and all his advisors.
Apparently, we’re not doing that this time around.
Dad was spouting some rubbish about the ambassador being intimidated if the whole royal family was there at once. ”
“Tell me you don’t believe that,” Kentario said.
“Of course I don’t. International ambassadors are used to rubbing shoulders with presidents, royalty, nobility, commoners, you name it.
You should be able to put a whole bucket load of any of those in a room and he should still know how to keep his cool.
I think Dad was just looking for an excuse to get rid of me.
But at this point, I figure I got to sit in on half the meeting, which is half more than I got to do last time, so I’ll take that as a win and not push my luck. ”
“Well, it’s nice to see they’ve decided at least one of us is capable of doing our job,” his bodyguard said.
Ryu winced at his bitter tone. “Yeah, I noticed they hadn’t invited you to come,” he said, not sure what he could say that wouldn’t make things worse.
For something to do with his hands, he set about taking plates and cutlery out of the kitchen draws and setting them on the table.
It was better than just standing there awkwardly, trying not to stare at Kentario.
“Maybe they just figured that with Danag and a handful of guards, we were pretty much covered,” he suggested, trying to find a positive side.
“Yeah, or maybe Maro just hates me,” Kentario said. He fetched two glasses from the cupboard and filled both with water, setting them on the table beside the plates.
“Maybe it’s not Maro,” Ryu said, taking the dinner tray out of the oven. The kitchen staff had brought dinner up about ten minutes ago, and he’d put it in the oven to keep warm. “He was spouting plenty of praise about you during the festival. He said he wished more of the Guard were like you.”
“Well, who the hell else would want me sidelined?” Kentario asked. “Because if it’s not Maro, then-”
“Maybe it’s my dad.”
That pulled Kentario up. He stared at Ryu across the table, disbelief in his eyes. “He thinks I’m not good enough to protect you, or what?”
“I don’t know. I’m just saying, Maro’s not necessarily the one with the final say on it.
Honestly, I don’t know why either of them would have a problem with you.
And if it is Dad, then why is he suddenly insisting I invite you over for dinner?
Serious, nothing that’s happened in the last month makes the slightest bit of sense.
” Ryu sat down with a huff, taking the lid off the tray of food.
But despite his deteriorating mood, he couldn’t help but moan in delight.
“Finally! Praise Selene. For once in my life, we get to eat fish and rice, like a normal bloody Galandane.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to distract you from the fact that he kicked you out of a diplomatic meeting,” Kentario said, serving himself some of the fish. It was salmon, Ryu noted with satisfaction – his all-time favourite meal.
“That just means he’s going to play hardball,” Ryu said.
“I don’t know what Mum’s got to do with it, but Dad wants to cut a deal that’s probably going to undermine some other group of people or give unfair privilege to Arctesians living in Galandeen, and he doesn’t want me around to see it.
Which is fine,” he added with a sigh. “Sooner or later he’ll figure out that I’m not that breakable, but it’ll probably take a good year or two after I turn eighteen.
More likely, he’s trying to hide the fact that he didn’t let you be there in the first place.
Has Maro said anything, by the way? About the kidnapping, or your training, or anything else?
Any reason why Dad wouldn’t be happy with you? ”
“Nothing,” Kentario said. “And part of me keeps telling myself to just settle down and ignore it. Maro’s a straight up kind of guy.
If he had a problem with me, he’d say so.
So maybe it’s just… I don’t know… too many things going on at once?
Your eighteenth birthday, your high school graduation, and the Festival, and Sou’s probably having kittens about you finding your soulmate.
Maybe he’s just being the overprotective dad, and the way he’s expressing that has gone sideways a bit? ”
“You know, that would actually make sense,” Ryu said.
“And that would be a huge relief. Because if they seriously wanted to replace you, I would have a heart attack. I couldn’t stand the idea of having anyone else as my bodyguard.
I mean, just look at this.” He gestured vaguely to the table in front of him.
“According to formal tradition, I’m supposed to serve myself first, and you’re not supposed to start eating before I do, and there’s probably a whole pile of rules about me not being allowed to put the plates on the table because I’m doing menial work, but neither of us gives a shit.
We both just sat down and started eating.
” Swearing was not generally a part of Ryu’s vocabulary, but with only Kentario here, he was able to let his guard down in a way he never did, even with just his parents around.
“How on earth would I ever find anyone else who just gets me.”
An odd look came over Kentario’s face. He studiously concentrated on his rice for a few moments. “What about your soulmate?” he asked finally. “What are the chances of them ‘getting’ you?”
“I don’t know. I used to think not at all, but Jasmine was pretty cool, right?”
The look of horror on Kentario’s face was comical. “You want to marry Jasmine?”
“No!” Ryu said with a laugh. “She was fun, but she’s just a bit too high energy in the end.
I’d want someone a bit more low key. But my point is that she’s a princess, and an omega, but at the same time, she was cool.
Like, good friend cool. So maybe if my soulmate was kind of like her, then it wouldn’t be totally awful? ”
“Could you set that bar any lower?” Kentario said. “If your marital aspirations don’t get any better than ‘not totally awful’, I can’t see the point of having a soulmate in the first place.”
“Maybe I should just marry you. It would make things a lot simpler.” Goddess alive, what on earth had possessed him to say that?
It was like his mouth was just running away with the first thought that came into his head, without any kind of filtering whatsoever.
Ryu stared at his plate, willing his face not to go bright red, scrambling for some witty follow-up to show he’d only been joking…
But then a warm, earthy scent filled the room, making Ryu feel disoriented. Why would his bodyguard be…? “I’d rather marry you than whatever vain dimwit is likely waiting in the wings as my soulmate,” Kentario said.
Ryu’s eyes snapped up, meeting Kentario’s darker ones in wide-eyed shock, before hastily looking away again.
He toyed with his rice as he floundered for something to say.
They were both bound by duty, but the idea that Kentario wasn’t entirely on board with his own supposed destiny was unsettling in ways that he didn’t dare examine too closely.
The bald statement was exactly what he thought he’d wanted to hear, for months now, but actually hearing it – regardless of the fact that Kentario very likely wasn’t serious – just drove home all the reasons why it could never happen.
“Probably a good thing my parents aren’t around to hear this conversation,” he said finally, trying to break the tension. “They’d never let us eat dinner together again.”
“Not sure they’d let us do it again anyway,” Kentario said. “Once every eighteen years seems to be our limit at the moment.”
That managed to make Ryu smile. “Maybe if I’m really good, they’ll cut it down to sixteen years. Gotta get something for good behaviour, right?”
Kentario snorted. “You mean you’re going to stop climbing out the spare bedroom window? I somehow have trouble believing that. Now, finish your dinner,” he told him gruffly, helping himself to more rice. “Then we might have time for a movie before your parents get back.”
? ? ?
Later that night, Kentario sat on the floor at the foot of his bed, legs crossed, eyes closed.
His legs were covered with a pair of sweatpants, but his torso was bare.
Deliberately, he relaxed his shoulders, then his abdomen, letting the sensation flow right down his legs. Relax, he coached himself silently.
If he could relax, then maybe he could get some damned sleep.
But after that conversation with Ryu, sleep seemed an elusive idea.
Had he done something wrong in his duty to protect the prince?
Was Maro ever going to actually tell him why he kept being sidelined, or just sack him one day out of the blue?
Sou was blowing hot and cold as well, inviting Ryu to meetings, then kicking him out, barring Kentario from spending any time in the royal apartment, then blatantly telling Ryu to invite him over for dinner.
And on top of all that, Ryu himself was…
Relax, Kentario reminded himself, once more making an effort to release the tension in his muscles.
Normally, meditation came easily to him, a peaceful ritual at the end of each day that made falling asleep the work of less than two minutes.
Today, though, he just couldn’t get his mind to let go.
Maybe he should head down to the gym, and –
A thundering boom rang out through the walls of the palace, and in a split second, Kentario was on his feet, eyes open, hand reaching for the gun at his side.
But the gun wasn’t there, already stowed in the bedside draw for the night. What the fuck had that sound been?
On the heels of that thought came another sound, and another, and this time, Kentario recognised the faint, sharp cracks as easily as he recognised Ryu’s voice.
Gunfire.
Moving as silently as a ghost, he shoved his feet into boots, pulled on a t-shirt, and then his black leather jacket.
It wouldn’t do much to stop a bullet, but there was a spare clip in the pocket, and his Swiss army knife, and a tiny flashlight…
a veritable boy-scout’s treasure trove. Then he retrieved the gun from the nightstand, pressing the code into the small safe where it was stored.
The Amagarda apartment was on the lower level of the residential wing, and he took a right as he came out the door, heading for the main wing of the palace. The gunfire had stopped for the moment. Most likely the Royal Guard had taken care of –
A volley of gunshots echoed through the hallway.
Kentario dived for cover in a doorway, heart pounding.
What the fuck? Gunshots inside the palace?
The Royal Guard should have stopped any would-be attackers out in the courtyard, or in the gardens.
How the hell had anyone managed to get right inside the palace itself?
His pulse racing, his guts churning, Kentario slid along the hallway, his gun at the ready. His booted feet made no more than the slightest tap against the wooden boards, though even with his extensive abilities, he still stuck to treading on the rugs when possible.
At the end of the hall, he plastered himself against the wall, listening carefully before he dared even the slightest glimpse around the corner. Heavy breathing met his ears, followed by a frail moan, then a faint curse.
He knew that voice! It was Felix, Ryu’s tutor. The man hadn’t yet moved out of the palace, waiting until Ryu’s exam results came through lest there be some unfortunate mishap requiring his services for a little longer.
A dull thud sounded a moment later, followed by silence.
Kentario dared a glimpse around the corner, and what he saw made his gut lurch. Felix lay on the floor, hand pressed over a bloody wound on his abdomen. His own blood had soaked down over his hip, then further, his trousers stained red all the way to his knee.
Kentario spared a glance up the hallway. No sense rushing out into the path of danger… but when the coast was clear, he gave in to his first instinct and dashed over to the elderly man.
“Felix? What in the Goddess’s name?”
Felix didn’t waste his breath invoking the Goddess, or even acknowledging who had found him. “The king and… queen are… dead,” he gasped out. “Find Ryu. Get him out.” He coughed then, a thick, gurgling sound, and blood spurted from his mouth.
Though some might have viewed his next action as cruel, Kentario waited for no more of an explanation.
He simply leapt to his feet and headed for the royal apartment at a sprint.
Felix would be dead soon, regardless of any assistance Kentario tried to offer, and as he’d pointed out to more than one person in the last few weeks, he had exactly one job here; protect Ryu. At any cost.