CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Ryu? Dinner’s nearly ready.” Oris’s voice drifted up the stairs, filling Ryu with an odd sort of dread. He was in the bedroom, staring in the mirror after taking a shower and trying to come to terms with the monumental mistake he’d just made.
Kentario’s going to kill me, he thought blackly.
It had started innocently enough. Oris had offered to wash his clothes and to loan him a spare set while they dried.
Ryu had still been wearing the set he’d fled the palace in, now both muddy and sweaty, after a night of running and a day of sitting around in those same clothes.
So, of course, he’d eagerly agreed to having them cleaned.
And Oris, with every good intention, had left a replacement set of clothes in his room while he’d showered. He’d warned Ryu that the t-shirt and shorts would probably be too big, but given that they weren’t planning on leaving the house, the poor fashion statement shouldn’t cause any problems.
And Ryu had agreed. Until he’d put on the t-shirt, taken one look in the mirror, and damn near had a heart attack.
Unlike his sweater, with its high neck and thick collar, the t-shirt hung low against his collarbone, leaving the newly reddened bite mark at the base of his neck sorely exposed.
He could try covering it up, he supposed, but there was no make-up in the bathroom cabinet – the fact that he’d actually checked was a sign of his own desperation – and the only likely item of clothing in the closet was a scarf.
Wearing it to cover the mark would look just as odd as leaving it exposed and do nothing to maintain the secret.
So he was left with two choices; hide in the bedroom for the rest of the evening, or go downstairs and face the music.
And given that he’d been feeling perfectly fine not half an hour ago, suddenly pleading a headache or some other phantom illness would only make Oris suspicious.
He was a rather observant sort of man, after all, and lame excuses were not going to wash.
“Ryu?” Oris called again, and Ryu winced, knowing he was out of options. But Kentario had insisted that Oris was trustworthy, so maybe, just maybe, his bodyguard wouldn’t be too pissed off that their secret was about to be let out?
“Coming,” Ryu called back, taking one last look in the mirror.
Maybe he should just go down there and hold his head high.
There were going to be plenty of objections to his marrying Kentario further down the track, so perhaps this was just good practice for facing the flood of questions that would come once he was back at the palace?
Either way, he didn’t have a lot of choice.
Downstairs, Oris was stirring something in a saucepan, his back to Ryu as he came into the kitchen. “I’ve made rice and dumplings with plum sauce. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s great,” Ryu said, taking a seat at the table.
“Kentario called while you were in the shower,” Oris went on, focusing on the stove. “No news at this stage. He said he’s still sorting through the mess, so it looks like you’ll be staying here again tonight.”
Ryu breathed a sigh of relief at the news.
They’d kept an eye on the television throughout the day, both relieved and apprehensive when they’d seen the report that Kentario had made it into the palace.
As planned, he’d managed to get himself in front of a camera on the way in, though they’d heard no further news after that.
Speculation had been rampant as a result of Kentario’s reappearance on whether Ryu himself was safe and when the crown prince might be returning to the palace, but none of the journalists had had any firm facts to report, however much they might have tried to pretend they did.
It was reassuring, in a way, to find out that Kentario was still working on the issues inside the palace, even if it was disappointing to know that he wouldn’t be coming back tonight.
Oris finished heating the sauce and poured it into a jug, turning around to ferry the food to the table… but the instant he got a look at Ryu, he stopped, hesitating almost comically in the centre of the kitchen before finishing the trip to the table.
“Ah,” he said, obviously looking for something diplomatic to say. “I um… I suppose congratulations are in order?” he said, his eyes on Ryu’s neck. “Though, um… I wasn’t aware you’d announced your soulmate.”
“I haven’t,” Ryu mumbled, keeping his eyes on the table. He felt like a child again, rather than a man who was about to be king. “This is, um… This is kind of a recent development.”
“I see. So, if I may ask, who’s the lucky…” Oris stopped, realisation dawning before he’d quite finished the sentence. “How recent?”
Ryu didn’t reply.
“Kentario?” The single word came out more as a statement than a question.
Ryu forced himself to look up at Oris, though he couldn’t work out anything sensible to say.
“Is he your soulmate?”
“No. But I love him,” Ryu said. “And I fail to see how I could love anyone else better just because they’ve got the right mark stamped on their body.”
“Oh, stop looking at me like that,” Oris scolded him, and Ryu realised he was all but glowering at the man.
“I’m not judging you. I’m just surprised, that’s all.
” Blithely, Oris picked up the bowl of rice and passed it to Ryu.
“Help yourself, or it’s going to get cold.
” He set about spooning dumplings and some sliced vegetables onto his own plate.
“You’re not upset?” Ryu asked, automatically serving himself some rice. “Most people would insist I’m supposed to marry my soulmate.”
“Well, I have an interesting theory on that count,” Oris said. “And I realise this might be a sore spot, given the attack on the palace, but that theory actually originates with the Nalmagians.”
Ryu’s ears pricked up at the name. “What do they have to do with it?”
“According to Galandanish traditions, the Goddess chooses our soulmate to be our husband or wife. But the Nalmagians have slightly different beliefs. I’ve had to study various different cultures in my role as diplomat, you see.
And they believe that while two people with matching marks are indeed special to each other, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they’re supposed to get married.
In many cases, they may choose to do so, but it’s not a requirement, and that’s one of the reasons why there’s so much resentment between the two cultures.
“In modern times, for example, one person might be a talented musician, and their soulmate is destined to be their agent, or publicist, ensuring that the musician’s career is a success and as many people as possible can hear their music.
Or perhaps Selene might pair up a journalist and a photographer, with the intention they travel the world together, reporting on important news and complimenting each other’s work in the process.
The possibilities are endless, but in Galandeen, we’ve chosen to interpret her blessing in only one specific way.
Now, I’m no priestess, and I can’t say for sure which interpretation is correct, but I’ve learned to keep an open mind on such things over the years.
So on that basis, I’m certainly not going to stand around looking down on you for choosing a different path. ”
“But… we’re both alphas,” Ryu said. “Most people would think that’s weird.”
To his surprise, Oris laughed, and Ryu couldn’t quite work out whether or not to be offended.
“If you want to know what’s weird,” Oris said, “then I’d be a prime example.
Now that I’m in my fifties, most people have stopped making a fuss about it, but when I was your age, I was quite the misfit.
You see…” He lowered his face, smirking at Ryu conspiratorially. “I don’t have a soul mark at all.”
Ryu felt his eyebrows rise, and he gamely tried to get his mouth to shut. Gawping at the poor man was not at all polite.
Fortunately, Oris took no offence to his surprise.
“It bothered me for a while. Not so much because I wanted a soulmate, but because I wondered why I was different. But as I got older, it started to make perfect sense. I like my privacy. I like plenty of peace and quiet to work. By the time I reached thirty years old, I’d worked out that I had no desire for children.
That plan went a little astray, of course, when my brother passed away and I ended up looking after my nephew during his teenage years.
Valentin is a true delight – he turned twenty a few months back – but at the time, I was ill-equipped to be dealing with a newly-orphaned twelve-year-old.
“But the point is, I’ve never truly felt like I was lacking anything. I love my work, I have a beautiful house, and I have the independence to make decisions as and when they suit me, without worrying about what my partner thinks.”
“That’s a pretty cool philosophy,” Ryu said. “But people tend to expect royalty to be a little more traditional.”
“Not that I’m trying to change your mind,” Oris said carefully, “but are you absolutely set on marrying Kentario? Don’t you want to even meet your soulmate?”
“Yes. I mean, yes, I’m going to marry him.
But I don’t think it would have actually made a difference either way.
I think…” Should he actually say the next part?
Oris was a relative stranger, after all, despite his willing assistance to them today.
“I think my parents already knew who my soulmate is,” he admitted, feeling an odd surge of unease.
Talking about his parents, especially in past tense, was unsettling.
“And I don’t think they were going to let me marry them anyway.
I think they thought that whoever it is was unsuitable. ”
“What led you to believe that?” Oris asked. There was no censure in his tone, just curiosity.