Page 30 of Courting the Dragon King

Konrad froze. “Are you scared of me?”

Wraith was a necromancer. He could raise and control skeletons and corpses. How could he be scared of Konrad?

In his fights against the necromancers, Konrad had seen the most harrowing of sights. He’d never seen anything so terrifying before or since. Visions from those battlefields continued to haunt his waking and dreaming nightmares. There was nothing more frightening than the necromancers and what they were capable of.

And yet here was this necromancer … and he was scared of Konrad.

It made no sense.

“Are you scared of me?” Konrad repeated.

Wraith stared blankly back at him, dark eyes wide with obvious and very clear fear.

“You are scared of me. Why?” Konrad could not keep the incredulity from his voice.

Wraith did not speak for a minute. Konrad waited.

Finally, Wraith whispered, “You are the dragon king. You are renowned for your skill as a warrior. I am bound to you and will live with you and yours in your castle. How I live will be completely dependent on you. And you hate me. Your people hate me.”

Wraith lowered his head. “Of course I am scared of you. My life, my future, is in your hands.”

Konrad stared at Wraith, unable to speak. He had never considered that a necromancer might be capable of fear. They seemed … too inhuman for such base and honest emotions.

Konrad dropped his gaze to the floor, trying to collect himself and process this new information. He didn’t speak as he tried to order his thoughts.

“You are a necromancer, and I will admit that I am not fond of necromancers. I saw what was done in the war by your kind. The—” He cut himself off as his anger rose swiftly as images flickered in his mind’s eye.

Konrad took a breath. “I hold no affection for the necromancers. That is true. Honestly, I fought against marrying one. But I will do my duty.”

He met Wraith’s gaze. “We have been enemies, Draconia and Necros. Now we are trying to find peace. As a result, we have both entered into this marriage.” He paused. “I have put my own personal feelings aside in order to do right by my kingdom and to help it achieve peace.” Konrad hesitated. “I understand that you will have done the same.

“But I pledge to you, I give you my word, that you have nothing to fear from me. You are my husband, the king consort of Draconia.” The words tasted bitter on his tongue. “I will treat you with the respect that the title deserves, and I will ensure others in my kingdom do the same.”

He could promise that, at least. Konrad could not like Wraith, or any necromancer, but he could ensure that Wraith was respected and remained unharmed and disabused within his kingdom.

Wraith remained still for several heartbeats. Then he said, “Thank you.”

Konrad walked to a side table and poured two goblets of wine, uncertain how to proceed. They were meant to have sex. Until they did that, the marriage contract would not be completed. But Konrad had never taken a lover he did not like.

He turned back to Wraith, who had not moved. Konrad held out one of the goblets. After a second’s hesitation, Wraith stepped forward and took it. Konrad gestured to the sitting area. They sat. Konrad sipped his wine. Wraith stared into his but did not drink.

It seemed Wraith rarely ate or drank. Maybe the blood of the dead sustained him. Perhaps he had taken energy from that dead woman in the village. Konrad thought of stone altars and the Draconian soldier sacrifices.

Suddenly, he wanted to ask about those sacrifices. Why had the necromancers done that to them? And for what purpose? But if he started down that path, he’d end up shouting and cursing all the necromancers for what they had done. And he needed to stay calm. He needed to not frighten Wraith.

“I hope, despite our differences, we can have an amicable and respectful marriage,” Konrad said. “And as I have given you my word to not harm you, I ask you to promise that you will not attempt to harm me or any Draconians.”

“I promise,” Wraith said without any hesitation.

Which surprised Konrad.

Of course, he would never trust the word of a necromancer. But he felt obtaining that promise was still somewhat important. Konrad took another sip of the wine. At least they only had to have sex the one time to seal the marriage contract.

He leaned forward in his chair, trying to think of how to approach this. Perhaps direct and brutal honesty would have to do.

“This is clearly a less-than-ideal situation,” Konrad said. “We do not know each other and have until recently been literal enemies. But I am hoping that we can both act like ambassadors of our kingdoms and get through the sexual act we must perform tonight and thus complete the marriage.”

Wraith gave a jerky nod of his head.