Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
“It’s my hoard,” Konrad said.
Gold and jewels glittered in the firelight.
Konrad placed the torch into a sconce on the wall. “All these belonged to previous rulers of Draconia.” He scanned the cave, filled with crowns, jewels, sceptres, and other royal artefacts.
He walked to one of the many plinths in the cave. Wraith came up beside him.
“This was the first addition to my hoard. It belonged to the first queen of Draconia.” Konrad picked up the crown sitting on the plinth. “Ever since I was a boy, I knew I would one day be king. My father never let me forget it. Not for a single second.”
He tilted the crown from side to side. The gold and rubies sparkled. “‘The future of our kingdom will be in your hands one day, Konrad,’ Father would say. ‘You need to be ready. The kingdom is counting on you,’ and, ‘If you fail, so too will Draconia.’”
Konrad’s face reflected in the gold. “I don’t know how many times Father told me something like that.
But the words bore down into my soul and took root.
They consumed me. I had to be a good king.
A good ruler. I could not stand the idea of Draconia failing because of me.
That fear haunted my thoughts and dreams.” He ran his finger over the smooth, cool metal.
“Then, one day, as part of my training, one of my tutors took me to the monarch treasury. There are many treasuries in the Castle of the Dragons. But this one houses the artefacts belonging to past monarchs. My tutor would tell me about each of the rulers who owned them. Their successes. Their failures. Their legacies.”
Konrad stared down at the crown. “I remember lifting this. It felt so heavy back then that I almost dropped it.” He felt the crown’s weight in his hands. “But as I gazed at it, I wondered what my legacy would be.”
After his father’s death, Konrad had taken to wearing his father’s crown, as was the norm.
But when he returned to Draconia, he’d have a new crown made.
One for him to wear for the first time at his coronation.
Then he’d continue wearing it throughout his reign.
His father’s crown would retire. Konrad would keep it here amongst his hoard.
Technically, he should add it to the monarch treasury, but he’d been taking from there for years, and it was practically empty now.
“I want to be a good king. A good ruler, whose actions benefit the kingdom. But I fear I will fail, destroying the kingdom and its people.” Konrad placed the crown back on its plinth.
“As heir, I was allowed constant access to the monarch treasury. I’d walk through, thinking of past rulers, wondering if I would measure up or if I would be remembered as one of the worst rulers in Draconian history.
I took the first crown to my room and would stare at it, as if it could advise me on how to proceed as crown prince.
I hid it in a locked trunk under my bed. ” He huffed.
“Did anyone notice it missing?” Wraith asked.
“No. At least, I don’t think so. Only the current and future rulers have complete access to the monarch treasury. Everyone else needs special permission. And the war was raging, so no one paid much attention to such things.”
Konrad walked through the cave. Wraith followed, listening.
“Most of my childhood, I was in a study, learning to be king, or following my father and grandmother to endless, long meetings where I barely knew what was going on,” Konrad said.
“But I knew the war continued, and I could see how my grandmother’s and then, after her death, my father’s actions impacted the kingdom and its people. ”
Konrad stepped forward and lifted his grandmother’s sceptre from its plinth. It was made of silver with one massive pearl and lots of tiny diamonds.
“What my grandmother and father decided had such large impacts. One decision could mean the betterment of our people. Or it could mean suffering and death. I knew that would be my future, where every decision mattered.” He placed down his grandmother’s sceptre.
They continued walking. Wraith looked at each crown, necklace, medal, pendant, sword, and sceptre they passed.
“I’d walk through the monarch treasury, staring at the different items, wondering if past rulers felt as unprepared as I did for one day taking the crown,” Konrad said.
“I began to take more artefacts. I locked them in my cupboards. Then, in my teens, whilst flying around and exploring the kingdom in the few spare hours I had, I found this cave and decided this was where my hoard should live.”
Konrad paused and lifted a dragon brooch, gold with fire opals, that had belonged to his great-great-great-grandfather.
“I want to be a good king. I want to bring an age of prosperity to my people. One that lasts long beyond my death. I want to herald an era where there are no wars. Just a time of peace, happiness, and growth for the kingdom of Draconia. But what if I fail to achieve that?”
Konrad had thought these words, so many times. But this was the first time they spilled from his lips. It was like a damn breaking. The words just kept flowing. Konrad looked down the line of plinths and the artefacts they held.
“What if the peace treaty fails, war returns, and my bloodline grows weaker and weaker?” Konrad asked. “I do not want more bloodshed, pain, and suffering for Draconians. But I fear that is the legacy I will leave behind.”
Konrad bowed his head, as if all the crowns of the past Draconian monarchs sat on his head. “And right now, everything is so fragile. This peace treaty must succeed.” He balled his fingers into a fist. “If I fail at this, I feel like I am failing at being king before I’ve barely begun to rule.”
Konrad took a deep breath. “I never imagined my father would die so soon. I thought I’d have more time to prepare. I don’t even have a moment to grieve my father’s death because so much needs to be done and I can’t—” He shut his eyes, breath coming fast.
Wraith placed a hand on Konrad’s arm. Konrad opened his eyes and met his gaze.
“I do not know what makes a good king. I … that sort of thing is beyond me.” Wraith paused.
“But I think you’ll be a good king. You truly care about your people and about the future of Draconia.
You want peace and happiness for all.” He studied Konrad’s face.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great king. ”
Then Wraith lowered his gaze. His brow wrinkled. “I am sorry. I doubt I will be much help to you as king consort. I have never trained for such a role. But I will try and assist you as much as I can.”
Konrad placed his hand on Wraith’s and squeezed. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I have a lot of support from my siblings and my advisers. I trust them, and they have been trained and have experience with what needs to be done to run Draconia.”
“Oh.” Wraith gave a wobbly smile. “Well, then you won’t need me. That’s good because I would have been pretty terrible at helping.” He let out a weak laugh and began to pull his hand away.
But Konrad grabbed it, squeezing it tight.
“I have those who will help me rule the kingdom.” He stared into Wraith’s dark eyes.
“But what I need is someone to support me, without any of their own plans or thoughts on what is best for Draconia. And I think I would like to have someone who is just there for me. Someone separate from running the kingdom.”
Wraith smiled. “I can do that. I can be that for you.”
“Thank you, Wraith.” He took a deep breath. “I am glad you are my king consort.”
Wraith’s whole face lit up. And Konrad could not believe he’d said those words to an actual necromancer and meant them.
For a second, Konrad wondered if he was being daft. He’d been so judgemental of Wraith and necromancy. But was he now going too far in the other direction?