“Goddess, I love the way you think,” Kentario said, and even Ryu had to be impressed. No doubt this was one of the reasons why Kentario had chosen to come here in the first place. “So that’s the plan,” Kentario said. “I go back, have it out with Maro, figure out what’s really going on, and then, if it’s all clear, I’ll call Oris and let you know it’s safe. If you don’t hear from me, or if the news is bad, I want you to get the hell out of Galandeen. Head for Iderheil. They’re close allies, and the queen will grant you asylum.
Ryu snarled. “So I’m supposed to just run away and leave Galandeen to burn?”
“No. You’re supposed to gather support from overseas and then come back and crush that lying son-of-a-bitch, as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”
“Sounds like the best option we’ve got,” Oris said. “Not without its risks, but it’s a good step up from where we were last night. When are you planning on leaving?”
“In about an hour,” Kentario said. “There’s just a couple of things I need from you first.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Clad in a large black sweater, a hood over his head, Kentario made his way through the throng of civilians gathered in front of the palace. The hoodie was a loan from Oris, the largest thing in his closet, and an item that would allow Kentario to get as close to the gates as possible before revealing his identity.
The crowd had only grown in the last hour, if the reports on the news were anything to go by. He’d come here on foot, jogging the three miles back to the palace and then circling around to the south, so that even if he was spotted, people would have a harder time working out exactly where he’d come from.
Closer to the gates, he had to work hard to get through the crowd, people pressing in against the line of police near the palace steps, shouting for news, demanding to know where the prince was, and worrying over the line of succession to the throne.
There were also voices calling for a change to democracy, citing the death of the king as proof that the current political situation was unstable. But Kentario ignored them all. A part of him longed to defend Ryu, to curse at these ignorant people and announce that the rightful king would soon be back on the throne, but he kept his mouth shut. He had a far more important task to attend to today.
Once he got within about five metres of the police line, he paused, taking a moment to assess the situation. The palace gates were shut, but it was possible to see through the bars to get a glimpse of what was going on inside. A row of bodies lay on the ground, covered in sheets, with police loitering about and making various scribbles in notebooks as they went.
Various members of the Royal Guard were stationed outside the gate, no doubt to quell troublemakers if anyone decided to try getting inside. Andright up against the line of police, trying to get photos and snippets of the chaos on video, were a pool of reporters.
Maro was nowhere to be seen, but it was an easy bet that he’d be inside the main guard house, issuing orders and questioning staff. Though he’d stated who was responsible for the attack, the question remained of just how the attackers had got inside the palace, and if Kentario had been in his place, he’d have left no stone unturned until he found the answer to that particular question.
Assuming, of course, that Maro hadn’t been the one to let them in.
What about the rest of the Guard? Would they stand by Maro, if Kentario challenged him head on? How many of them might have potentially agreed to betray the king? Should he pretend to work with Maro to solve the origins of this crime, or let it be known right away that he didn’t trust the man? As tempting as the first option was, he didn’t think he had the acting skills to pull it off, and his temper was flaring far too much to let him even take a plausible stab at that kind of deception.
And even if he did, he’d have to face far too many questions about where exactly Ryu was.
Fine, then. He’d have to tackle Maro head on and hope the rest of the Guard weren’t stupid enough to get in his way.
He chose his position carefully for his next move, edging closer to a reporter who was currently making a heartfelt speech to a camera. As much as he hated the idea of making a scene, Oris was right; his own safety was far more assured by alerting the public to the fact that he was alive. As ready as he was going to get, he threw back the hood on his sweater and stood up tall, staring directly at one of the guards at the gate. He knew the man – Reo was his name – as he’d sparred with him during training on a regular basis. Reo was a diligent soldier, attentive to his duties, and it took him less than ten seconds to notice the unexpected visitor in the crowd.
Around him, Kentario was aware of a sudden silence, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw people stepping back, mouths agape, as they realised just who had wandered into their presence. Given the death of his father, Kentario had just inherited the title of Lord Amagarda, effectively making him the most senior noble in the country, aside from the royal family’s gaggle of princes and princesses. And aside from that, there wasn’t a person in the whole of Azrahn who didn’t know he was assigned to protecting Ryu.
Up at the gate, Reo wasted no time in alerting his companions to Kentario’s presence. After making sure there were sufficient personnel to maintain control of the gate, he and another guard came forward, heading down the steps towards the police line. Kentario walked forward, the police parting to let him through without question.
“Kentario!” Reo greeting him, both eagerness and relief in his voice. “Thank the Goddess you’re alive-”
“Where’s Maro?” Kentario interrupted him, venom dripping from his voice.
Reo’s optimism vanished, replaced by a mix of fear and sorrow. From the look on Kentario’s face, perhaps he’d jumped to the worst possible conclusion, that Ryu was dead. Kentario made no attempt to correct him. “Interviewing staff in the palace,” Reo told him. “This way.”
The palace gate opened as they approached, and it took less than a minute to get inside. Everyone knew who Kentario was, and moreover, they knew that Ryu’s life was entirely in his hands.
Reo led the way into one of the downstairs meeting rooms, knocking on the door, then opening it without waiting for a reply.
The scene inside was much as Kentario had expected. Maro sat behind a desk, a frazzled-looking housekeeper seated opposite him, evidently in the midst of a thorough grilling on her exact whereabouts during the raid. There were two other guards in the room, standing quietly by the back wall, and they both tensed at the interruption. Maro looked up as Reo stepped into the room, a dark scowl on his face. “I told you not to interrupt unless… Kentario!” He cut himself off mid-protest, as he saw exactly who had just entered the room. “Thank the Goddess. By Odin’s Flame, I thought you were dead!” He got up quickly, taking two steps towards Kentario… and then pulled up sharply as he saw the expression on his face; cold disdain, combined with a fiery hatred that would have had a lesser man shaking in his boots.
“You come one step closer and I’ll garrotte you where you stand,” Kentario said.
Wisely, Maro didn’t move. Instead, he turned to the housekeeper, the poor woman looking even more terrified in the face of Kentario’s rage. “We’ll continue this later,” he told her. “Lee, please escort the lady back to the staff quarters.”
One of the guards by the back wall stepped forward, offering Maro a short bow before leading the woman away. She quickly scurried off ahead of him, no doubt relieved to be out of Maro’s way for the time being.
“Kentario, what’s going on?” Maro asked gently, as if trying to placate an angry tiger. “Is Ryu… Is he alive? Is he safe?”
