Page 3 of Courting the Dragon King

Anton’s face grew slack. His eyes remained open, but they grew unfocused.

Konrad kept staring, body tense, perhaps waiting for Anton to rise again. Finally, he let the sword fall from his fingers. Konrad dropped to his knees.

For several moments, he didn’t move. Then he let out a scream that went on and on. It came from the very deepest, darkest part of his soul. Then, when he was too hoarse to shout, he wept.

No one deserved a death like Anton’s. No one should ever be brought back to fight those who had been their comrades and friends in life.

And no one should have to hack their friend to bloody pieces.

Konrad leaned forward. He dug his fingers into the soil soaked with blood. His tears fell to the dirt as he wept on and on.

Fuck the necromancers! They pervert the ways of death. They have no morals. No code. They are evil. Fucking. Vile. Monsters.

When his grandmother, the dragon queen, started the war, it had never been about wiping the necromancers from the earth. But if Konrad had one goal for the war, it would be to destroy and kill the necromancers. Every last fucking one of them.

Chapter

Two

Years later

“As your king, I command you to marry Shadow Prince Wraith and seal the peace treaty. Give me your word, as my heir, as my son, that you will marry him.” His father’s voice echoed in Konrad’s soul.

“I promise. I give you my word. I swear to you. I vow that I will marry Shadow Prince Wraith. I will obey you in this,” Konrad had begrudgingly said.

So Konrad would marry a necromancer. That was what he’d promised his father after having argued against it for so long.

And now Konrad’s father, Dragon King Alaric Drachen, lay on the funeral pyre. Stiff arms crossed over his chest. Black robes woven with bright gold-and-red thread, embroidered to look like flames, covered his unmoving body.

His father, the man who had been king of Draconia, was dead. And now Konrad was the dragon king, ruler of all Draconia.

How the fuck am I meant to be king?

He’d been training for this his entire life; still, he did not feel in any way prepared to lead his kingdom. What if he fucked up? What if he made a decision that harmed his people?

His whole life, he’d hoped to be a righteous king, one who would look after the people and lead them into a glorious and prosperous future. But the crown weighed so heavily on his head. And he had only been wearing it for a handful of days.

“It is with a saddened heart that we are gathered to mourn the loss of Dragon King Alaric Drachen.” The grand monk of the Way of the Dove stood in front of the funeral pyre. He wore robes of beige with a dove sewn on them. Copper chains hung around his neck.

The funeral was held out in a field, as was common for dragon funerals. Two large green dragons stood behind the funeral pyre, Senta and Gerard, Konrad’s siblings.

“Dragon King Alaric Drachen was a great and noble king,” Grand Monk Ferdinand said. “He took his responsibilities seriously.”

And now all those responsibilities are mine.

“King Alaric Drachen believed in the peace treaty, the reason for which we have gathered together at the White Monastery. He yearned for harmony between Draconia and the five kingdoms with whom they had recently been at war. He wanted a prosperous future for his kingdom.” The grand monk steepled his thin fingers together. “A peaceful future.”

But could the peace treaty really succeed? At present, everything was in shambles. After many attempts to undermine the treaty, as well as plots from many individuals against one another, Konrad worried it would fail.

The warring kingdoms had come together at the White Monastery to achieve peace. But these attacks had torn them apart. How could they manage a treaty when people kept trying to kill one another? After all, his father had been the victim of one of these plots.

As the new king of Draconia, Konrad needed to ensure a peace treaty was secured. This was his first duty as king. But could he really manage it? Did he know what he was doing? Or would Konrad fail and return them to war as soon as his kingship began?

They’d needed eight marriages to seal the peace treaty. Eight royal dragons of Draconia would marry those from the other kingdoms with whom they had been at war. But one couple had died the same night as his father. Now they had to rush one more marriage through, fitting it in before Konrad married the necromancer, Shadow Prince Wraith.

And still, others worked in the shadows, plotting and threatening to destroy the treaty. Would they succeed? How could Konrad stop them, especially since he did not know who they were?

Grand Monk Ferdinand lowered his head. “King Alaric Drachen’s death was a tragedy. But we must not allow it to distract us from reaching our goal. The dragon king would not have wanted that. We must persevere, now more than ever.”