CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Hey, Kinto? You ready to go?” Ryu stuck his head into Kentario’s bedroom, feeling both anxious and eager to get this over with.
“I swear, I’m going to kill Emica,” Kentario grumbled. “She’s an adult now. She should have grown out of that stupid nickname.”
“I think it suits you,” Ryu said, tracing a finger down the tail of Kentario’s panther, the tattoo just peeking out the collar of his jacket. “My very own ‘little cat’.”
Kentario rolled his eyes, but deep down, Ryu knew he liked the name – so long as it was only spoken in private. Let that one slip in public and he’d have a very angry panther on his hands.
It was two days since Ryu’s coronation, the past week having passed in a blur of activity.
He’d managed to keep it together through his parents’ funeral, and for once the media had shown a shred of decency.
There had been copious praise for the king, eloquent approval of the queen’s efforts to improve social conditions for the people of Galandeen, and a few politely phrased remarks about how well the prince had handled the difficult day, though it had been clear he was feeling very emotional about it all.
On Ryu’s part, he’d largely ignored the media, just grateful that he hadn’t turned into a bawling mess in the middle of a room full of nobles and journalists.
Perhaps ironically, his coronation a few days later had seemed the more daunting task.
In theory, it was a far simpler role; walk down the aisle in the temple, stand still while the High Priestess placed a crown on his head, and then recite the traditional vow of devotion to the people of Galandeen.
The rest of the ceremony had been taken up with prayers to the Goddess, a performance by the palace orchestra, and a banquet to celebrate the occasion.
But as the weight of the gold crown settled on Ryu’s head, he’d felt a deep dread settle into his bones.
So much of the future was unknown, and he’d seen first hand how the best laid plans could be turned on their heads at a moment’s notice.
He’d had to force himself to walk through the door into the banquet hall, dressed in his full regal raiment.
He’d forced himself to smile as the packed room had applauded for a solid five minutes and forced himself not to dash from the room the instant the meal was over.
A king, as he had long been taught, displayed poise and control in public.
Emotion and even the faintest hint of distress were reserved for when he was behind closed doors.
He’d also had a phone call from Princess Jasmine.
It was one of the few calls he’d been grateful to receive, amid the bevy of foreign diplomats calling to offer their condolences.
By virtue of her unique position, Jasmine had understood his fears about his new role in a way few others could, and though there was little she could do to help, it had been a huge relief to have a sympathetic ear from someone who wouldn’t judge him for his failings.
But now that all the official business was over, there was one other thing he and Kentario needed to do.
For the past week, they’d both managed to keep the newly-marked scent glands on their necks covered, suits and ties working in Ryu’s favour, while Kentario’s guard uniform had kept his under wraps.
But fairly soon, they’d both have to return to something more akin to their normal schedules.
Ryu was not normally in the habit of wearing a suit when meeting with internal palace staff or contracted diplomats, and with the formalities of the week concluded, people were going to start asking questions.
Kentario, on the other hand, would have to resume his usual training sessions, and it would be hard to keep his neck covered when he was dashing around a gym in only a singlet.
So they’d both decided that it was time to make a formal announcement.
The problem with being a king, of course, was that once the palace knew, it would take exactly three-and-a-half minutes for the news to leak outside the walls, and Ryu hated the idea of the rest of Galandeen finding out that their king had abandoned tradition and was marrying his alpha bodyguard through rumours and gossip.
Far better to make the announcement himself and deal with any fallout head-on.
But one could not simply announce such a thing without a certain amount of preparation, and so their next port of call was Maro’s office in the guard house.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Kentario said, his voice little more than a growl. “Maro’s going to throw a fit, you realise.”
“Worried he’s going to talk us out of it?” It was said lightly, though Ryu’s gut was churning at the thought of facing the stern Captain. With both his father and Danag gone from their lives, Maro was the closest thing to an authority figure left for either of them.
He expected a quick denial from Kentario. Though they hadn’t made love again since the night at Oris’s house, they’d spent every night curled up in each others’ arms, and as far as he was concerned, the decision was all but written in stone.
But Kentario said nothing, and the forced optimism vanished from Ryu’s face, “Hey. I love you,” he said sternly, turning Kentario around to face him. “Nothing Maro can say is going to change that.”
“We’re facing hundreds of years of tradition and a devout belief in the sovereignty of the Goddess,” Kentario pointed out. “I’ll just be glad when this damn meeting is over.”
? ? ?
Maro looked up as he heard the knock at his office door, and he automatically checked the clock on the corner of his desk.
Right on time. Ryu had booked an appointment with him early yesterday, and that by itself was enough to tell him that whatever the new king needed to discuss was important.
If it had been a trivial detail about a member of the guard or a change to one of the patrols, he’d have just walked in the door and said what he wanted to say.
“Come in.” It was no surprise to see Kentario entering the room behind Ryu.
The two of them were rarely apart these days, and given the threat to Ryu’s life, Maro couldn’t blame his bodyguard for being a little over-cautious.
That intense protectiveness would wear off after a month or two, but for now, it was more or less a given that wherever Ryu went, Kentario would be right there beside him.
“Your Majesty,” Maro greeted Ryu formally, rising out of his seat.
“Please, sit down. How may I be of service?” Ryu’s refusal to accept his resignation had come as quite a shock.
No matter how pure his intentions had been, Maro was well aware that he had let the royal family down badly, and the open forgiveness had been both unsettling and a huge relief.
Ryu glanced quickly at Kentario, then, as had happened so often in the last few days, he squared his shoulders and sat up straight.
He knew Ryu well enough to know that the physical change was likely accompanied by an internal repositioning as well, the young man once more shouldering responsibilities that were more appropriately left to more experienced men.
But he’d been impressed at how well Ryu had handled all the goings on around the palace, and he was rapidly coming to believe that he’d make an exemplary king.
“We have some news for you,” Ryu began. “And that news is going to involve a public announcement of certain changes to the palace – which is an issue we’ll come to shortly – but the part that involves you is that this particular announcement is likely to cause a certain degree of public unrest. So we wanted to give you the heads up that whenever we schedule the press conference, you’re going to need to make special arrangements for the Royal Guard.
I don’t want them to know the news before I announce it – the rumour mill tends to have a mind of its own around here – but they’ll need to be aware that they, themselves, might find the news shocking, at the same time as needing to control an unruly crowd. ”
“Hm. Shouldn’t be too difficult,” Maro said, immediately running through a list of his most trusted guards in his head.
“If I brief them appropriately beforehand, I have plenty of senior guards who should have no problem with putting aside personal feelings until their duty is taken care of. There may be a few surly personalities to deal with afterwards, depending on exactly what the announcement is, but I’m sure I’ll be able to pull people into line. ”
As he spoke, he watched both young men carefully.
He was curious, of course, about what this enigmatic announcement would be, but currently of far more interest was the look on Kentario’s face.
His lips were pressed into a thin, tight line.
His shoulders were tense. His hands were just a fraction more restless than usual.
To an outsider, or one unfamiliar with the dedicated soldier, Kentario would have simply looked tense. A touch angry, perhaps.
But Maro had watched both these boys grow up, from happy toddlers, to mischievous children, and then through their tumultuous teenage years. He could read Kentario like a book, and it came as quite a surprise to realise that the stern and serious bodyguard was currently feeling… nervous.
A public announcement? An issue that left the infamous Kentario Amagarda feeling off balance? And the odd way the pair of them kept glancing at each other…
An idea occurred to Maro, but it seemed too unlikely, after all this time…
“So may I ask what this announcement is going to be?” he said, quirking an eyebrow upwards. “I assure you, I will not be telling a soul about it until it’s made official, but if I’m to prepare my guards adequately, I should probably know what you’re going to say.”