Chapter 17

Sol wasn’t satisfied with his nap but considering how his day had gone, he could have slept for days and it still wouldn’t be enough.

He couldn’t keep sleeping though, it was almost time for dinner and worse still, Ethrond’s presence.

He let himself be dressed up, yawning occasionally as a servant ran a comb through his pale blonde locks, wanting nothing more than to curl up on his lavish bed for a couple more hours.

That was exactly what he would do after dinner, he would hurry to his bed and when the next day came, he would be on his best behavior so that the King didn’t change his mind about letting him come along for the Ceremony of the Warrior Maidens.

He went down for dinner and settled down at the table, the table already laid with steaming, delicious foods.

He waited patiently because it was polite when you had a guest coming over but after a while, it seemed like Ethrond wouldn’t show up.

Now that was a surprising turn of events because the archangel was always on time, sometimes showing up before Sol could even make it down to the dining room but now he wasn’t here and it didn’t seem like he would be coming at all.

Jade scurried over to Sol’s side to whisper in his ear. “I can’t stand you waiting for that tardy creep to show up before you eat.” He muttered spitefully.

Sol bit his lip. “What if he shows up eventually?” He asked nervously.

“I’ll turn him away at the door for sure.” His red haired, personal servant muttered darkly.

“Jade!” Sol exclaimed in a scolding hush.

His response was cut off by the main door swinging open, a commotion starting up as the servants around immediately dropped to their knees.

He started to his feet from his kneeling position, shock evident on his face as he caught sight of who had shown up instead.

Jade immediately dropped to his knees beside him leaving only Sol standing and staring at the new addition to the dining room.

“Prince Finis?” He spluttered in disbelief, unsure if he was supposed to bow or not.

Finis just strode forward, an expressionless mask on his face as he looked around. “Why haven’t you started eating? The table is set to eat is it not?” He asked cryptically, settling on the cushion that had been set out for Ethrond.

Sol blinked, taken aback by this. “I was expecting someone actually.” He said hesitantly, at a loss.

It was far easier to talk to Calas than Finis, as a matter of fact, it was much easier to hold a conversation with the King than the Crown Prince.

“Rise.” Finis said to the servants who had bowed to him, to which they rose to their feet and retreated to the edges of the room, their wings being released.

To Sol, he rested an arm on his knee and said bluntly. ``Let me make a guess, this someone is Ethrond?”

Sol’s reaction gave everything away. “How do you know that?”

Finis shrugged, making to move to eat even though he had sat down like he planned to do just that. “You don’t need to worry about that but don’t hesitate to tell your brothers or father.” He said in a serious tone, pushing himself to his feet. “No one comes here without permission.” He added coldly.

Before Sol could even get a word in Finis offered him a strained smile, the first Sol had ever since. “My apologies for interrupting your meal, eat up now, I’ll be on my way.” He added stiffly, bowing politely and turning around to take his leave.

Sol just stared open mouthed as Finis disappeared through the same door he came through, realizing for the first time since his older brother came in that he had his sword unsheathed the whole time.

What had that been about? What did he mean by no one came here without permission?

Jade hurried over when the Crown Prince was gone. “Were you aware that Crown Prince Finis was coming over?” He asked with wide eyes, looking a little out of breath, his wings still out.

“And you think I wouldn’t say?!” He fired back.

“Then why?” He mused more to himself, subconsciously straightening his disarranged hair. “And why did he look like he just finished sparring?”

Sol narrowed his eyes at all the questions Jade kept throwing his way. “He looked like that?” He asked in surprise.

“Of course you wouldn’t notice.” Jade scoffed. “I bet he smacked Ethrond around.” He said proudly.

“Archangel Ethrond.” Sol immediately corrected him. “Why am I the only one that cares about your safety?”

Jade wasn’t even listening. “I would like to see that.” He sighed blissfully without thinking.

“And I will pretend to not hear that, go do something useful and let me eat.” He shooed his personal servant who immediately caught himself and retracted his wings before hurrying up to his feet and out the dining room, telltale red color on his cheeks.

Well, that was interesting, he had found a perfect weapon against Jade.

But that was not even among the top five things occupying his thoughts at the moment.

Slowly, he started on his meal, going through all the events that had just occurred.

What was going on? His brothers had never come to see him in his castle, whenever they met, it was always at their father’s castle.

And if Jade was right about Finis' appearance when he came in, it could only mean that he had somehow gotten wind of the fact that Ethrond was coming over for dinner and was the reason why the archangel hadn’t shown up.

He was relieved but also slightly worried about the angel because other than being a creep, he hadn’t done anything grevious, Sol would feel bad if he came to find out that the archangel ended up with a sword in his side because of him.

Honestly, it didn’t surprise him much that the King had put out a decree that no one came to his castle without permission, it seemed exactly like what his father would do.

He would never understand the King treating him differently but he was thankful enough that the King had chosen to adopt him and make him a part of the Royal Family, he knew when to accept defeat and just go with the flow of things.

Besides he was looking forward to the Ceremony of the Warrior Maidens, it would take a catastrophe to ruin his excitement for the ceremony which was coming up in a week.

Hopefully, this would spell the end of Ethrond’s strange actions and maybe, if the ceremony procession went well enough, he could manage to convince his father to let him leave the Royal Mount.