Riley glanced down at himself with a frown. "Oh? Is that a good 'oh' or a you-look-like-a-dork 'oh'?"
Rayner smiled widely. "You appear every bit the prince." He bowed in front of Riley as Tura gasped. Rayner straightened and gave Tura a wink before placing his finger to his lips.
"What?" Riley asked, lost by the unspoken conversation Rayner and Tura seemed to be having.
"Come along. It's time to meet the others." Rayner ushered Riley toward the door, but not before Riley called out over his shoulder.
"Thank you for the clothes, Tura. They're awesome!"
Tura beamed at him. He gave them a nod as Riley was escorted out the door. It was weird what a little wardrobe change could do. In his T-shirt and jeans, he'd received curious looks. Now dressed in his new outfit, one dude ran into the wall because he was staring at Riley and not paying attention to where he was going. When it happened a second time, Riley became concerned.
"Do I have something on my face?" Riley whispered as they headed down a long stone corridor decorated in rich blues and black. "Why's everyone staring at me?"
Rayner seemed to find the whole thing amusing.
"Do I have something in my teeth?" He tongued his teeth but couldn't feel anything poking out anywhere. "Seriously, man, help me out here."
They reached what Riley assumed was the front gate. Khalon stood with his back to them, speaking to Adira and Ezra. There were several Soldati and servants around, all of whom started murmuring and whispering to each other. Why the hell was everyone looking at him? Was it because he was a human? Did he look like an ass?
Riley tugged at Rayner's sleeve. "You gotta put me out of my misery. What's going on?"
"You are a vision, Riley Murrough. They want to know who, and what, you are."
"They've never seen a human?" That didn't make sense. The Soldati protected humans from demons. Surely they'd seen thousands, maybe millions, of humans in their lifetime. Why was Riley different?
"Your golden hair marks you as rare."
"There are no blonds in your kingdom?"
"No."
Now that Rayner mentioned it, Riley looked around. No one had blond hair. The closest was a light brown on one of the foxlings. Weird.
"But they've seen blond humans."
Rayner nodded. "They have. However, they sense Khalon's mark on you but know you are not Soldati. They don't know what you are other than a rare flower that has yet to bloom."
Riley wasn't sure what to make of that.
"What the hell is going on?" Khalon grumbled. He turned, doing a double take when he saw Riley. It would have made Riley laugh were he not suddenly the center of attention.
He didn't know what to do with himself, so he stood there, back straight, chin lifted high. Well, if he was going to be gawked at, he might as well do his part, especially since Khalon's eyes had gone wide and his mouth dropped open as he swept his gaze over Riley. Way to be subtle. Riley tried telling himself he didn't care whether Khalon was pleased with him or not, but he was failing pretty spectacularly.
Riley felt good about himself. The guy obviously liked what he saw. Who's a whelp now? Rayner elbowed Khalon's side and cleared his throat, a smile tugging at his lips.
"You're gaping, Your Majesty."
Khalon snapped himself out of it and turned to glare at Rayner. "Shut up." He spun on his heels and stormed out, Adira and Ezra exchanging glances before following him. Riley stepped up beside Rayner and held back a smile.
"So do you think that means he approves?" He was pretty sure he knew the answer.
Rayner threw his head back and laughed before giving Riley a hearty clap on the back. This was going to be interesting.
Chapter Five
RILEY WAS surprised by the large crowd gathered outside the gates. He was even more surprised to find the crowd was there to wish Khalon and his warriors well on their trip. Everyone from Soldati to servant stood to one side. They appeared genuinely concerned for Khalon and Riley was stunned to see the affection in Khalon's eyes. The way everyone met his gaze or bowed their head when he touched their shoulder, assuring them he would return, spoke volumes of how they felt about him. It was clear they loved him. They certainly respected him. There was obviously a whole other side to Khalon Riley had yet to see. Why was Khalon so intent on keeping Riley at a distance?
While Khalon accepted the words of encouragement from his people, Riley took the opportunity to get a good look at the castle. Holy hell! It was huge! Which he supposed castles tended to be, but he'd never been inside a four-bedroom house, much less a castle. It was like one of those Scottish castles in the movies, but with plumbing.