Page 141 of Courting the Dragon King

“It will be my pleasure.”

Chapter

Sixty-Nine

Konrad stood in the courtyard with his siblings, their spouses, and Wraith.

King Alaric had remained after the battle, mainly just flying through the sky and striking fear into the hearts of everyone at the White Monastery and on the Island of the Way of the Dove.

But now that Wraith was doing better, it was time for him to move on. Wraith stepped up next to the bone dragon. “You just need to fly through the Bone Door, King Alaric.” He pointed to a spot in the sky.

A cold wind stirred, and Konrad pulled his coat tighter around himself. His father stretched his skeletal wings wide. Fog and flame swirled amongst the bones.

King Alaric looked at his children, his gaze finally resting on Konrad. “Farewell. Our family’s bloodline and Draconia is in your hands now.”

Then, with a flap of his wings, King Alaric rose. He flew, and then he reached the spot Wraith had pointed to and simply disappeared. The wind died away. The warmth of the air returned.

“Goodbye, Father,” Konrad murmured.

Everyone continued to stare at the spot where the dead king had passed on.

Wraith reached out and took Konrad’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

They turned back towards the monastery. Umbra walked beside them. They entered and walked along the corridor, the others following.

“A mix of things.” Konrad paused. “He was not a perfect father. But I think a large part of that was because he wanted to raise strong future leaders of Draconia. That was his goal, and he was ruthless, determined, and unfeeling in achieving it.”

Konrad sighed. “He was a king before he was my father. And he was a king raising the future king. There was no softness or closeness to our relationship.”

Wraith squeezed Konrad’s hand.

Perhaps it would have been nice to have had a father who showed him affection and saw him as more than just the future ruler of Draconia. But he could not complain.

“My father was a strong king, but I wish he’d not continued the war Grandmother started. He always cared more about the power and prestige of Draconia than the suffering of civilians and innocents. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for the common person. They were just less important than his other goals.”

Konrad took a breath. “I hope to be a better king. I want to prioritise Draconia’s people and create a time of peace and prosperity,” Konrad said. “I think the grand monk was right to criticise us. But unlike the monks, I won’t enforce peace.”

He gave Wraith a small smile. “I just hope I can be a good king.”

Wraith leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I think you’ll be a wonderful king.”

They continued walking down the corridor, then Gerard called out. “Are you up to dealing with the dread knights, Wraith?”

“What dread knights?” Konrad asked.

“We’ve cleared the Necros quarters, taking prisoners and so forth. But we came across two dread knights,” Gerard said. “We’ve locked them in a dungeon for now. But we think it will be best if Wraith deals with them and sends them on their way.”

Konrad sneered. “Just lock them up, throw away the key, and leave them there for all eternity. It’ll serve those vile monsters right. In fact, brick up the door and all the windows too. Block out all sunlight. Let them suffer for eternity.”

Wraith dropped his hand and stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?” Konrad asked.

“They aren’t evil,” Wraith said.

“Who aren’t?”

“The dread knights.”