Chapter 38
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
Konrad held out Wraith’s chair, and he sat. Then Konrad took the seat beside him. Their guards took up positions by the wall, keeping an eye on Konrad and Wraith whilst also looking out for any danger.
They’d protect Konrad and Wraith. But Wraith’s guards would also spy on him.
The closer Konrad got to Wraith, the less well the spying sat. But at least Konrad had very little to do with all that. The guards reported to Gerard and Senta, who’d inform Konrad if there was anything he needed to know. But so far, they had not.
It’s not like I am spying on him myself. Konrad just knew about it and had ordered it to be done.
And the guards were there to protect Wraith too! It wasn’t like their only job was to spy on him. Which made the whole thing less bad. Or at least that was what Konrad kept telling himself.
In his gut, Konrad did not believe that Wraith was involved in the plotting. Perhaps the necromancers were, but not Wraith. Still, it would be foolish to trust him so completely and so soon. And so the spying on Wraith would continue. At least for now.
Gerard, Elias, Luther, Onyx, and Leon all sat near the top of the table.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your time slacking today.” Gerard’s lips tugged into a smile. “But don’t worry, Konrad. Senta and I covered for you and your lazy arse whilst you and Wraith enjoyed your little picnic.”
Konrad laughed.
But Wraith leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Gerard.”
Gerard’s good eye widened.
“That’s entirely my fault,” Wraith said. “I didn’t mean to keep him from his duties.”
“It’s all right.” Konrad placed a hand on Wraith’s arm. “He’s teasing.”
But Wraith glanced between the two, as if not quite sure.
“I apologise, Wraith,” Gerard said. “I did not mean to make you feel bad. It’s good to see Konrad taking a little time to enjoy himself. I’m glad you had a nice afternoon together.”
Wraith’s shoulders relaxed.
“Yeah, just ignore Gerard. He’s often a giant dick.” Luther stabbed a piece of fish with his fork.
Gerard stared blankly at Luther. Luther smiled at him as he chewed. Onyx chuckled. Meanwhile, Leon ate silently.
Elias smirked at Konrad. “It’s nice to see that you two are getting along so well.”
Konrad wished he could be annoyed with Elias and his smugness, but he had been right to push Konrad to treat Wraith better. If not for Elias, Konrad and Wraith might still not be getting along.
“I’ve never been on a picnic before today,” Wraith said, voice soft.
There were exclamations of surprise, which seemed to startle Wraith. Konrad wrapped an arm around him and squeezed.
“Oh. I almost forgot.” Elias reached into his pocket. “This came for you earlier.” He handed a letter to Wraith.
“Thank you.” Wraith stared at his name scrawled on the front of the letter. He broke the seal and opened it. His eyebrows pinched together as he scanned the text. “It’s from my mother. She wanted me to come see her before this dinner in her quarters.”
Wraith looked up. “We were having our picnic. Why would she want to see me?” Then he looked at the head Necros table whilst chewing on his lower lip.
“Perhaps talk to her after dinner and see,” Konrad said.
Wraith folded the letter. “Yes. That’s a good idea. But I wonder what she wants?” His shoulders hunched.
Servants placed plates of food before Wraith and Konrad. Konrad delved straight in. Wraith picked up his fork and ate peas one by one.
Luther cleared his throat. He leaned across the table, practically lying on it as he tried to get closer to Wraith. “So what’s this I hear about you having sex with ghosts?” he asked in a whisper that was far too loud.
Wraith’s eyes widened, his fork with a pea on it frozen mid-air. “I …” His pale cheeks flushed red.
“Sorry, Wraith!” Elias said. “This is my fault. I mentioned it to Gerard, and I hadn’t realised Luther could overhear me.” He shot Luther a look. “He was sneaking around and hiding in doorways.”
Luther waved a hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter how I found out. I just want to know what sex with ghosts is like.”
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” Konrad said to Wraith.
But after a second, Wraith said, “Well, it’s … ah … pleasant.”
“Pleasant? That’s all?” Luther slapped his hand on the table.
“Luther!” Konrad barked. “He does not owe you details!”
“Fine.” Luther held up his hands in submission. But then he leaned back in his chair and sulked. Like a fucking toddler.
Konrad rolled his eyes. Fire and flames, he’d thought Luther had grown up since his marriage to Onyx.
But it seemed like Luther was not quite done. “So, Wraith, have you had sex with lots of ghosts? Have you had sex with more than one at once?”
All eyes fixed on Wraith. Leon stopped mid-chew. Everyone seemed curious about Wraith and his ghosts. Wraith looked at everyone staring straight at him.
“You don’t have to answer,” Konrad reminded him. “You are completely in the right to ignore any question Luther ever asks you, today and in the future.”
Luther threw a pea at him.
But Wraith did answer, “I have had sex with a few ghosts over the years. One time I had sex with two ghosts at once. It was nice.”
No one spoke, as if hoping Wraith would elaborate further. But Wraith did not seem to want to.
“You should try the fish,” Konrad said to Wraith. “It’s delicious.”
Wraith resumed eating. But it seemed like talks of ghosts had not yet finished.
“I’d like to have sex with a ghost,” Luther said.
“You are not allowed to fuck a ghost, Luther!” Onyx wrapped his fingers around the back of Luther’s neck.
Luther pouted. “But what if I want to!”
Then Elias said something. But Konrad was no longer listening.
Three warrior doves sprinted to the table where the high-ranking monks sat. The grand monk and the grand shield rose and approached the out-of-breath monks.
“Something is going on,” Konrad said.
Everyone turned towards the monks. For several moments no one spoke. They just watched the monks speaking together.
“The conversation appears rather intense,” Elias said.
“Is it a monk emergency?” Luther laughed. “Perhaps some monks forgot their vows of chastity and had an orgy and now the grand monk has to tell them all off. Or maybe he will just join in!” He waggled his eyebrows.
But Konrad could not make light of the current situation. The monks were hosting the assembly. They were facilitating the creation of the peace treaty. It was their binding magic that would finalise it once and for all. And by the looks on their faces, something had gone terribly wrong.
“If something is happening to them, there is a good chance it will affect us, the treaty, and the future of Draconia,” Konrad said.
More monks had run in. One of them was his cousin Clara. Others in the hall had stopped speaking to watch. They’d also realised something was going on.
Grand Shield Dahlia stalked through the banquet hall. About ten of her warrior monks followed her out. Unlike the other monks, the warrior doves wore armour with a beige surcoat hanging over it. On the surcoat, a dove had been sewn.
Konrad stood and strode towards the grand monk.
Footsteps followed him. He glanced back to see Gerard, Elias, and Onyx coming with him, as well as several of their guards.
Senta seemed to have had the same idea, as she, too, approached the monks from the head Botanial table, where she’d been eating with Juniper.
The grand monk shook his head. “How could such a thing happen? How? I don’t understand.” He took a step back and collapsed into a chair.
“Grand Monk, what has happened?” Konrad asked.
His watery grey eyes met Konrad’s. “Your Majesty, Grand Healer Eveline is dead!”