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He led us to a flight of stairs to the second floor of the palace, where a long, high-ceilinged hallway greeted us. Chandeliers hung from above, doors on both sides leading into fancy lounges. The walls were decorated with pictures of stern-looking men and women who I guessed were members of the royal family. As I took in the sight of them, I noted that they all seemed to have one of two looks – either dark hair and dark eyes, with regal, grave expressions on their faces, or fair skin with blonde hair and blue eyes, almost elfin-like in appearance.
“You know,” Ajax said with a grin, “we do this job, and we’ll end up with enough cash to buy a place like this of our own.”
“That’s impossible,” Kid quickly retorted. “They’re not going to give us more money than their own palace is worth.”
“It was a figure of speech, dumbass,” Ajax said.
Pyke shot them both a hard look. “Both of you, quiet down. You want to miss out on one of the best gigs of our careers because you couldn’t stop talking?”
I chuckled to myself as we made our way down the hall, the footfalls of our combat boots echoing down the length of it. We soon reached another set of double doors that were opened revealing a stunning throne room, the colors the same white and gold as the rest of the palace decor, a tall, golden throne on a platform at the far end. Behind the throne was a wide balcony, and from where we stood at the entrance, I could see that the view was stunning, looking out over the city of Rouge Bois, the skyscrapers gleaming in the distance and the mountains grand and snow-capped.
“Is he meeting us here in the throne room?” Ajax asked. “Is this going to involve where he’s sitting up there issuing royal decrees and all that crap?”
“This way,” the lead guard said, leading us through the throne room and toward a small door on the right side of the space. Once there, he knocked. “Your majesty, the security team is here.”
“Come in.”
The voice was deep enough that I could almost feel it in my bones.
The guard gave us one more stern look, as if silently warning us to be on our best behavior, then opened the door.
On the other side was a small room. The balcony offered the same stunning view as the throne room, and the space was furnished with a big oak desk and a seating area of leather couches and chairs on the other side. Classical music played softly on a nearby stereo. There was no doubt that this was the king’s private office and meeting room.
Seated at the desk was the man himself.
“There you are,” he said. “Please, do come in.”
He rose, and right away I could see that he had a noble bearing. Clearly, he was the man in charge.
King Finn had that intangible quality that exuded no-nonsense. It was something about the way he looked at us, the way he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, or maybe even the cut of his dark suit. He was the kind of man you could’ve put in a pair of pajama pants and a short-sleeved shirt, and you’d still be able to tell there was something special about him.
“The mercenaries, your grace,” the guard spoke. “Shall we take guard in the room?”
King Finn looked us up and down, one by one.
“No, that won’t be necessary. Wait outside the room in case we have need of you, Georges.”
The man nodded, departing with the rest of the guards, shutting the door behind him.
Once we were alone, the king continued to regard us, as if he could see something inside of us that we were unaware of.
When he was good and ready, and not a moment before, he took a deep, slow breath, and began.
“First of all, welcome to Candara. I’m well aware that arriving in the middle of the night under orders of the king isn’t the way most people come to my fair kingdom but welcome all the same.”
One of us needed to say something. I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Thank you, your majesty. It’s a pleasure to be here.”
“Yeah,” Ajax said. “You’ve got, uh, a beautiful country.”
I winced internally at Ajax’s words. None of us were pros at speaking to royalty. Some of us worse than others.
“That’s kind of you to say.”
“You’ll have to forgive us, your grace,” Pyke interjected. “We’re better at protecting kings and queens than engaging them in pleasant conversation.”
King Finn nodded as if that were just what he’d hoped to hear.
