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 pressconference, 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.”
Another glance passed between the pair, and then Ryu shifted restlessly in his seat. He was wearing a button-down shirt, but he’d eschewed a tie today, the weather hot, and there were no official duties scheduled for the rest of the day that required more formal attire. But as he turned his head to the side, Maro caught a glimpse of something he’d missed before. A split second of disbelief rushed through him, before all the pieces suddenly clicked into place.
“Oh, thank the Goddess!” he blurted out in relief, before he could think better of it. “Well, it’s about bloody time.”
Ryu stared at him in surprise. “What’s about time?”
Immediately, Maro felt himself turn red – something he hadn’t done in years. “I’m so sorry,” he apologised immediately. “I meant no offence. I just couldn’t help but notice…” He vaguely waved his hand in the direction of his own neck. Peeking out from beneath the collar of his shirt, Ryu’s scent gland was just about visible, and to Maro’s keen eyes, the colour of that discreet mark was significantly darker than it had been the last time he’d seen it.
Ryu slapped a hand over the mark. “Fucking hell, I…” He hastily adjusted his shirt collar. “Shit…”
“Oh, it’s quite all right,” Maro assured him, all too familiar with the automatic embarrassment of youth. “It’s not a huge drama. A littleimprudenton your part, perhaps, but I think we’re well past the days when everyone had to wait until they were married to start getting intimate with their soulmate.”
Before his eyes, Ryu’s face turned a couple of shades paler. “Yeah, but that’s the thing,” he muttered, once more a bashful youth, rather than a proud king. “I’m not going to marry my soulmate.”
Maro simply stared at him, his mind completely blank. “You’re what?” he asked dumbly.
“Kentario and I are getting married,” Ryu said, staring at the edge of Maro’s desk. “I love him. I have done for years.”
