Page 125 of Courting the Dragon King

Wraith wondered if he should feel bad for her. But as he watched his mother howling over the loss of her husband and children, all Wraith felt was empty. A second ago his family had believed the age of the necromancers was here. They thought they’d rule the world with their unstoppable, undead army.

How quickly everything fell apart.

“Now let us progress. And just to be clear, if anyone else tries to harm us, you too will face the same fate.” The grand monk looked over the necromancers and then Wraith and Konrad. “You will suffer death, a painful and horrible death. Now I want all of you over there on your knees.” He pointed to the wall to the left of the crypt.

No one moved. Everyone held completely still, gaze fixed on the grand monk’s face.

Suddenly pain tore through Wraith, ripping apart his nerves. He rocked forward, eyes shut, as his mouth fell open on a silent scream.

“You signed a contract stating that you would obey our will.” The grand monk’s voice only just reached Wraith through the pain.

“Luckily for you, breaking this vow only results in pain. At first anyway,” the grand monk said. “But death will follow, if you do not hurry up and do as you’re told.”

Konrad stumbled to his feet. He tugged at Wraith. “Come on.” They staggered to the wall and fell to their knees. The pain immediately subsided. Wraith leaned against Konrad, breathing heavily.

Gods of the beyond. They’d have to obey the monks. There was no way out. And all the others who’d signed these blood contracts would be bound too.

Wraith closed his eyes as he tried to think over all who’d signed. All the leaders had when they arrived at the monastery. All those who had been married for the peace treaty. The Draconian guards had signed too.

Wraith exhaled. So many at this monastery had signed.

He opened his eyes and stared at the dread knights who knelt beside the wall. Apparently, they’d signed also. Although, disobedience could not kill the dread knights, since they were already dead. But perhaps disobedience would destroy them.

The shadow queen, dread knights, and all the other necromancers came over to the wall with Wraith and Konrad, but they kept their distance.

“See. Doing as we tell you is far easier.” Then the grand monk walked to the window. “Return, King Alaric.”

The bone dragon immediately flew towards them. He landed on the ledge and stepped forward. A warrior monk closed the window. King Alaric did not speak. No doubt because he was completely under the grand monk’s control.

Unlike them, it seemed King Alaric had no choice but to completely obey the grand monk. That made sense, since the necromancers had created the bone dragon, binding his will. And that had only been possible because of the contract King Alaric had signed.

“The undead army, including the bone dragon, belongs to us now.” The grand monk looked at the shadow queen and then to Konrad. “All you rulers thought yourselves so clever. So superior. You never even considered that we, the Monks of the Way of the Dove, might have our own plan for the future of the kingdoms.”

“What plan?” Konrad asked, voice hoarse.

Chapter

Sixty-One

“And how is this achieving peace?” Konrad demanded. “That’s what you said you dedicated your lives to. To peace! And instead you’ve done this!”

With his shackled hands, he gestured to the room filled with the undead army and the dead bodies of the shadow king and his two children.

Konrad could not bear to look at his own father standing by the window.

“Why would you turn against your own goals?” Konrad’s voice rang out. “What made you abandon everything you believed in?”

“But I am still about peace, King Konrad. That has not changed. All of us monks, we all care about peace.” The grand monk walked steadily towards him. “However, as I prepared for this peace assembly, I kept thinking about this twenty-year war.”

He stopped in front of Konrad. “Your grandmother started it. Her greed and lust for power caused her to invade the neighbouring kingdoms. So many innocent suffered and died because of her decision.”

The grand monk’s eyes narrowed. “And even after your grandmother’s death, your father continued the war. Her greed and lust for power became his. He continued her sins. There was no concern or care for the people who should have been protected by their monarch.”

The grand monk’s milky grey eyes studied Konrad. “And what of you, Dragon King Konrad? Did you ever question the war caused by your grandmother and continued by your father? Or did you just follow blindly?”

Konrad could not deny the truth of the grand monk’s words. How many times had he wondered if he was doing right by obeying the orders given to him? And even when he had his doubts about Draconia’s role in the war, he’d never raised them with anyone. He’d just obeyed.

The grand monk clasped his hands behind his back. He walked in front of them, looking over each of them. “As we prepared for this peace assembly, I just kept asking myself the same question, over and over. How can warmongers bring about a time of peace?”