The Red King [Book II]

XIV

The king's bedroom was not in the same corridor as the noble guest chambers to prevent assassination.

ㅤAlex followed James down the unfamiliar route, the other man having fallen quiet since Llwyd's earlier interruption. It wasn't unusual for James to reserve his speech at times, but Alex wanted to be especially observant on this occasion.

ㅤEven though Alex hadn't been there before, he knew immediately which room it was. Modestly sized, the door was proudly carved and partly plated with gold. Not two—but four—guards stood by it: a mix of mercenary and Ankaid. This stretch of the corridor had been specially lit, facing tall windows looked over by the next block over, belonging to the Royal Guard.

ㅤSo they could see if something went wrong.

ㅤ'It's closer than I would've thought,' Alex said.

ㅤ'Probably to make the servants' lives easier.'

ㅤThe men bowed jerkily in shock but James didn't spare them a glance. The door closed behind them, locking with a click.

ㅤAlex couldn't comprehend why James favoured Alex's space instead of his own. Rather than a bed chamber, it was more akin to a house, with more rooms than any commoner's dwelling. They stood in a tiled vestibule, a boot room to remove shoes. An open door showed a walk-in wardrobe, and another closed one suggested a private bathroom.

ㅤBefore doing anything else, James unclipped his beautiful red and gold cloak and let it fall to the floor. He did scoop it up, after a beat, and took it through to the dressing room to hang.

ㅤ'It'll be creased if you do that enough,' Alex warned, watching James naturally select a place on the pole to put it.

ㅤ'Who would dare point out if it was?'.

ㅤ'Me.'

ㅤ'And that's why I hate you the most.'

ㅤAlex didn't speak because he was scared it was partly true.

ㅤPast the entryway threshold, James continued to shed his clothes. He did the graceless task with controlled fluidity. More notably, even if he untied Eris from his hip, stripped down to nothing but a base tunic, the knives on his calves, wrists and waist remained.

ㅤJames listened to his irrational instincts more than anyone. Alex's suspicion deepened.

ㅤ'It's a nice place,' he commented.

ㅤJames huffed. 'It's excessive. Granted, it stays cool with these high ceilings, but do I need a space big enough that birds would migrate from one side to the other come Autumn? Give the maids another common room instead.'

ㅤAn unusual complaint that wouldn't have arrived to any normal noble; the idea of being less excessive and ostentatious was uniquely James.

ㅤ'You haven't changed much.'