CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Goddess above, what happened?” Oris slowly took in the sight of them.
They were both wet, from sweat and the water from the marsh.
Kentario was aware that he probably looked feral, eyes fierce, a snarl on his lips.
Ryu, on the other hand, looked half dead, face pale, his eyes bearing dark rings beneath them.
“Can’t say I know,” Kentario told him. “Some mob broke into the palace. I saw Felix. He’d been shot, but he said the king and queen were dead, and frankly, I didn’t stick around to ask questions.
So the first thing I want to know is this; do you know anything about a revolution?
Stray rumours inside the palace? Anything on social media? ”
Oris shook his head. “Come into the kitchen,” he said, switching off the hallway light. “It’s at the back of the house. We’ll be safer there.”
This was one of the reasons Kentario had chosen to come here. Oris was a diplomat, but he’d always had a good head for strategy, and it was a relief to know that he wasn’t going to have to explain everything in minute detail to the man. He was connecting the dots plenty quick enough on his own.
In the kitchen, Oris switched on the light and pulled out a chair, silently offering the seat to Ryu.
As an afterthought, he switched on the kettle.
“I’ve heard nothing,” he said, answering Kentario’s question.
“You seriously think this is a revolution? There’s been no civil unrest, no protests, no riots.
Usually things get a lot more heated before people start talking revolution. ”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t even confirm that Ryu’s parents are…
” He stopped himself, seeing the cold despair in Ryu’s eyes.
Damn it, he really should just stop talking about that one.
“What I do know is that the palace was attacked, the attackers had every intention of killing Ryu, and Felix is dead. Beyond that… I don’t know. ”
Oris made a humming noise, then grabbed the television remote from the counter.
There was a TV on the far wall, set up for easy viewing over breakfast. The screen came to life, and Oris flicked through the channels until he came to a twenty-four-hour news channel.
The report was unremarkable; a recap of the day’s share trading, a riot in one of Galandeen’s prisons, and an update on the civil war in Biermarg.
Giving up on the televised news, Oris instead pulled out his phone.
He flicked through a couple of social media accounts.
“Nothing,” he reported, handing the phone over to show Kentario.
“Which makes the thought of revolution a little less likely. Assassination, on the other hand…”
“Someone tried to kidnap me a couple of weeks ago,” Ryu muttered, sitting hunched at the table.
He was shivering, and Oris hopped up, quickly filling two mugs with hot water, then dropping two teabags into the cups.
Kentario could tell from the scent that it was peppermint tea, and he gratefully accepted the cup.
Ryu didn’t move, so Oris simply set his on the table in front of him.
“Is that what that was?” Oris said. “I heard there was quite a kerfuffle from the Royal Guard. Nobody would say what had been going on, but it was clearly something serious. Did they find out who it was?”
“Some pro-democracy group,” Kentario said. “According to Maro, they arrested everyone involved.”
“Yet you don’t sound convinced.”
“Maro’s not on my list of favourite people at the moment,” Kentario told him. “Long story.”
It didn’t take Oris long to connect the next few dots. “You think he’s involved in this?”
“His behaviour in the last few weeks has been a bit odd. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, but…”
“But better safe than sorry.” The pronouncement was grim, and Kentario was once again grateful that he didn’t have to waste time convincing Oris that his concerns were genuine.
“Well… I dare say there’s not much more we can do tonight.
Probably the best thing for you to do is stay here and try and get some rest. You both look exhausted.
In the morning, we can regroup and work out what our next move is. ”
“Thank you,” Ryu said, lifting his head tiredly. “This means a lot to us.”
Oris fixed him with a firm stare. “You are the Crown Prince of Galandeen. Your parents are not just royalty. They’re also good friends.
They’ve done right by me, over a good many years.
This is the least I can do to repay that debt.
Now, come upstairs,” he said, standing up. “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
? ? ?
Ryu followed Oris up the stairs, his entire body feeling numb. The only thing he was really aware of was Kentario’s hard body behind his, warmth radiating off him as he kept the distance between them short.
“Ryu, you can sleep in here,” Oris said, opening the door to a double bedroom.
“There’s an ensuite bathroom to the left.
Kentario, you can…” He stopped, seeing the look on Kentario’s face and needing no more of an explanation.
“I take it you’ll be staying with Ryu, then?
” There was no hint of objection in his voice, and Kentario nodded.
“As you wish. There are towels in the dresser, if you’d like a hot shower, and if you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Not to sound ungrateful about any of this,” Kentario said before Oris left, his voice almost a growl. “But if you betray us, I swear to Odin himself, I will bargain my way out of the underworld, hunt you down and kill you slowly.”
Oris was completely unfazed. “I have no intention of betraying you, now or ever. But the warning has been noted.” With a hint of a smile on his lips, almost as if he was amused by the threat, he left them alone, closing the door after himself.
Ryu turned to eye the bed, but he didn’t lie down. His clothes were wet and muddy, and aside from getting the sheets filthy, sleeping in wet clothes would only make him sick. But he also found himself entirely unable to summon the energy to undress.
“You need a shower,” Kentario said from behind him, gentle hands turning him around and helping to remove his sweater, and then his t-shirt.
With a staggering lack of pride, Kentario knelt down and unlaced Ryu’s boots, tugging them off, and Ryu had to hang onto his shoulders to keep his balance.
Kentario had already removed his jacket, he noticed belatedly, and the body beneath his hand was warm, where Ryu’s own body felt like a block of ice.
He leaned closer, pressing not just his hands, but his forearms across Kentario’s back.
Beneath him, the larger man froze for a moment and made a noise of disquiet.
“Sorry,” Ryu apologised immediately, standing up again. “You’re warm.”
“Let’s get you in the shower,” Kentario said. He steered Ryu into the bathroom. “I’ll be right outside. Yell if you need anything.” Ryu managed a nod, then Kentario left, leaving the door just a fraction open.
Ryu summoned what strength he could, removing his pants and starting the shower, but it was more because Kentario also needed to get clean and dry than because he actually had the motivation to shower himself.
Warm water did nothing to disperse the cold rock sitting in the middle of his chest. Were his parents really dead?
Half the palace could be reduced to rubble by the morning, Ryu’s entire life lying in the ruins along with the gold-plated chandeliers and the portraits of kings of ages past. He bowed his head under the spray, letting the water flow over his face.
What about all the other people in the palace?
The housekeepers and kitchen staff? What about the guards?
How many of them had been killed? And what about… ?
“Mother-fucking dog-shit!” he swore suddenly. Kentario was by the door in an instant.
“You okay?” he called, though he stopped short of actually coming into the bathroom. Rules of royal protocol had been instilled into him from an early age, and copping an eyeful of the crown prince bathing was certainly not on the list of good behaviours.
“I’m fine,” Ryu assured him quickly. “Just thinking about shit that I shouldn’t be thinking about. I’m fine,” he repeated. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
Kentario made an unconvinced noise, but retreated back into the bedroom.
Ryu leaned unsteadily against the shower wall, feeling a wave of despair at the detail that had occurred to him moments before.
Danag, Kentario’s father, would have been in the meeting room with King Sou.
There was no way the king would have been allowed to meet with a foreign diplomat without his bodyguard at his side, and particularly not when relations between Arctesia and Galandeen were so strained at the moment.
But Danag’s job was to protect the king with his very life, and if the king was dead…
Kentario’s father was almost certainly dead along with him.
He wondered if the thought had occurred to Kentario? Should he mention it? He was in a poor state to be comforting his closest friend, and from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it was better for Kentario to keep his mind on the job.
Or maybe Kentario already knew and would prefer to not have Ryu reminding him about it.
But what about Emica? And Saki, in the kitchens, and Helbert, his steward. What if they were all dead? Was he just a monumental coward, running away while he left everyone else to die?
“Ryu? How are you doing?”
Kentario’s deep voice had a grounding effect, bringing him back to the present. Deciding he was clean enough, Ryu turned off the water and got out of the shower, wrapping a thick, fluffy towel around his waist.
“I’m good. Your turn.”