But the medium-priced bottle of wine wasn’t good enough for the king to drink. It was probably too mediocre for the king’s advisor, who looked like he’d been born and bred to a life mingling with royalty. Maybe he should have gone with a nice whiskey or vodka.
Well, it was too late to be having such thoughts now. It was already seven and there was no way he was going to be late for this dinner.
Dragging in a deep breath, Adrian fisted his slightly shaking fingers and knocked on the door. How in the world had he gotten himself into this position in the first place? It was a wonder he’d been accepted into the program for the Royal Guard with his background. Yes, he was good at his job, but he was certain there were dozens of other guards who were better than him, more experienced. He’d never expected to be noticed by the king or his advisor.
And then there was Eno. The man was a fucking legend. Eno Bevyn was a sort of prodigy when it came to handling a sword or even hand-to-hand combat. No one had been surprised when he’d been selected to be the prince’s personal bodyguard.
When Adrian had learned about Eno, he’d studied everything the guard had done, hoping to achieve a small amount of his success and maybe make up for some past mistakes. Never in a million years had Adrian expected to find himself in the position he was in now.
From within the apartment, Eno called out something, but his words were too muffled for Adrian to understand. There was an answer and what sounded like a laugh before the door was pulled open by the bodyguard in question. The formal Royal Guard uniform was gone and he was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt that was pushed up to his elbows. His feet were even bare as if he were in his own apartment.
But if he and Rayne were dating, maybe he was living in this apartment with the advisor. Or at least spending enough time here to make it feel like his own home.
“Right on time,” Eno murmured, motioning for Adrian to enter.
“It didn’t seem like a good idea to keep the king waiting,” Adrian replied with a wry smile.
Eno clapped him on the shoulder as he shut the door. “Tonight, he’s just Caelan. And you should be more worried about keeping Rayne’s meal waiting. He doesn’t cook often, and he doesn’t like when things aren’t done on time.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
They crossed through a beautiful living room filled with elegant furniture and so many books all set against a wall of windows looking out onto the city. The sun had set hours ago and Stormbreak shone brightly with thousands of lights like sparkling diamonds in black velvet. The dark clouds that had blanketed the city finally broke in the afternoon, and he’d overheard a few people rejoicing to see blue sky again.
Next to the living room was a small dining room and a breakfast bar that was open to the kitchen. The king was perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, wearing jeans and a baggy sweat shirt, appearing every inch the painfully young twentysomething he was. He turned at their approach, his black hair mussed and the new purple locks hanging in front of his right eye. A weak smile lifted his mouth, but it didn’t come close to touching the sadness in his pale-blue eyes. Pinched lines of pain crept across his forehead and lined his mouth. Was this fatigue from ruling or pain brought on by the gods?
“Adrian, I’m glad you could join us,” Caelan greeted, waving him over.
Out of reflex, Adrian halted and bowed deeply to Caelan. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I am honored to have received the invitation.”
Caelan shook his head and Eno chuckled, his hand tightening on Adrian’s shoulder for a second before releasing him. “Go easy on him. He hasn’t known you as long as we have. He has no idea what a brat you can be.”
“I’m sure he’s already well aware of what a know-it-all pain in the ass you are,” Caelan quipped.
“Hey! The know-it-all is Rayne, not me.”
The man in question stepped into view wearing a charcoal-gray apron over his white button-down shirt. He pointed the wooden spoon in his hand at Eno. “It’s my job to be a know-it-all. And right now, you should be thanking the newbie for saving your ass.”
Eno looked where Rayne pointed at the bottle of wine Adrian still clenched in one fist. He groaned and held out his hand for it.
“I was taught to never show up to a dinner party without a gift,” Adrian said as he gave up the wine.
“At least we have someone in our group who is somewhat civilized,” Rayne bemoaned. “Eno, could you open that so it has a chance to breathe prior to dinner? I need to check the noodles.” The advisor disappeared deeper into the kitchen and Eno left his side, likely to search out a corkscrew.