The Red Heart (The Krystal Knights 1)

Chapter Nineteen

The Krystal Knights and I stood to the right of the whole royal family at the bottom of the grand staircase towards the entrance of the palace. To the left is the royal council and the king's personal guard are scattered around and hidden among the normal guards and staff who have gathered with us to welcome Prince Kade.

The prince is set to arrive any minute now and Killian looks like a young boy ready for his first date. He seems so nervous; I make a mental reminder to make fun of him later on for that.

It makes sense though. I mean they've been super close friends who write to each other at least once a week for over a decade but they haven't seen one another face to face since they were nine or ten.

I know what it's like to be away from the people that you are closest to for a really long time, it's horrible so I sympathise with them and am happy for them.

The trumpets and fanfare outside erupt and everyone in the hall seems to stand up straighter.

No one really knows what to expect of the prince.

I won't lie, I am nervous to be in the prince's presence. It's intimidating for me to be around the only son and child of King Darvyn.

I don't know much about the prince except that he is supposedly quite cruel, I just hope that his father's hatred for the people of Xelya isn't hereditary.

The grand double doors open and four guards dressed in black, gold and white enter. An array of people follow behind with nearly a dozen more guards and finally the one person that I can only assume must be Prince Kade.

The prince is just as handsome as people say he is, I'll give him that. With stunning dark skin and eyes just as black as his hair and skin. And don't get me started on his height. He might even be slightly taller than Alistar and that's hard to achieve.

He scans his eyes over us all until they settle on Killian. He smirks and walks slightly faster than he previously was to get closer to his friend.

They hug each other and turn to face the king and queen.

Prince Kade bows in front of them and kisses Queen Angelinia's hand. "Your Majesty, thank you for inviting me to your home. It is a great pleasure to be here."

The queen bows her head to him, "The pleasure is all our Kade, you know you have always been welcome here."

Prince Kade barely even registers the king's presence which I can tell is bothering King Leroy. He only speaks with the queen and I suspect that is because he is aware of the king's behaviour towards his friend.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. My father sends his regards that he couldn't accompany me, but he sends his best wishes and hopes that the competition goes well."

I would scoff at the fact that King Darvy wants to send 'best wishes' or for things to 'go well' if only I didn't hear the bite in the prince's voice when he said it. As if he is having a similar thought about his father.

King Leroy shakes Prince Kade's hand, "Yes, thank you for bothering to show up, Kade." He claps his hands at the staff. "Back to work!" They all scatter off and the king and Angelina also leave and go back upstairs.

Killian turns to his friend and smiles as they both once again hug. "Gods, Kade. I think you forgot to mention how giant you've gotten!"

The prince chuckles, "Yes, well I couldn't have been getting you all upset and fragile, now could I?"

Killian grins and turns to face us, "Okay, Kade, this is Alistar, Phoenix, Aaliyah and Kali. You know Nailah already."

Prince Kade nods at us, "Yes, hello. I've heard a lot about you all."