Chapter 56
Chapter
Fifty-Six
“How can you bring King Alaric back?” Wraith stared at the dead dragon king’s skeleton. King Alaric’s spirit had not turned up yet. But if they planned to resurrect him, he’d appear soon.
The dragon king’s bones would hold power over him. But not enough.
How would they control him? How would they force him to shift and make use of his powers? They could bring the dragon king back as a skeleton, but they’d just have a normal human skeleton. Which wouldn’t be particularly useful. And how long would they even be able to hold his spirit?
“There has never been a successful attempt to create a bone dragon.” As far as Wraith knew. “And how did you get his bones?” Surely they should have been sent to Draconia for burial.
The shadow queen smiled, a tight, thin smile. “You don’t need to worry about any of that.”
The necromancers’ chanting continued. Still, the dead king did not appear.
“And that is not all,” she said. “We will have another bone dragon soon.”
“What? Who?”
Her grey eyes glinted. “King Konrad.”
Wraith froze. “But Konrad isn’t dead.”
“Not yet,” she said.
No. Wraith’s body turned cold. Even after everything, Wraith did not want Konrad dead. Or to be a bone dragon.
He looked between the shadow queen and king. How long had they been plotting against Draconia? Because this was not a new plan. After all, they had the dead dragon king’s bones.
Had Wraith considered they might do something like this? Honestly, it did not seem out of character. They hated the dragons and looked down upon the kingdoms who had been their allies during the war. But they had talked about the importance of this treaty, and he’d believed they’d wanted it.
And to think I thought I could make my family proud by marrying Konrad and helping to solidify the treaty. But they’ve been working against it. Maybe even from the start.
His mother lifted her hands to his neck. A second later, she pulled her hands away, Wraith’s locket in her fingers. Wraith had not even felt her take it off.
The shadow queen pocketed the locket. “Your husband will soon be here. He will be killed and controlled with your assistance. Your marriage to him will help with the bind. And the feelings you and he held for each other will also assist. Love has such power.”
Wraith’s stomach knotted.
So that was how they were going to control Konrad, through him, his marriage contract, and his feelings. It could work. Connection between individuals held power, although necromancers rarely utilised it. But Wraith did not want Konrad killed, and he did not want to control him as a bone dragon.
Does she really think I’d go along with this?
“We will tear down the dragons, once and for all.” His mother stared at the dragon king’s bones. “We will create a new world. Necros will rule the kingdoms with our undead army, which will spread far and wide. Any dragons who remain will serve us. Or their bones will.”
His siblings, who stood a few steps away with the shadow king, chuckled.
Wraith dropped his gaze. “I’m not so sure if I can do that.”
His mother gripped his wrist. Wraith winced and tried to pull away. But her grip just tightened. Nails dug into his skin.
“I know you have developed feelings for the dragon king. We thought you might, and we knew it would help with controlling him.” His mother leaned towards him.
“But we hoped that you would still remember who you are and where your loyalties lie,” she said.
“You are a shadow prince of Necros. You are one of us. You are blood of my blood. I grew you inside my womb. I birthed you screaming into the world. Now you will listen to what I say,” his mother hissed.
“King Konrad is not your friend, your ally, or a man you can or should love. Did you not see how quickly he turned against you? How quickly he believed the lies about you?” she asked, her words like daggers plunging into Wraith’s gut.
But how did his mother know so much about what had occurred between himself and Konrad? Wraith had not filled her in on everything.
The shadow king approached. His mother released his arm. Wraith rubbed his wrist.
Shadow King Lament stared at Wraith. “Your very existence has always been a direct threat to the Royal House of Necros and thus to the kingdom.”
Wraith lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“Are you? Because if you are, now is your chance to make up for what you have inflicted on us. Today, you can prove your loyalty to Necros once and for all.” He paused. “And when you show your allegiance to Necros, things will change for you.”
“What do you mean?”
The shadow king paused. “This will be a new start. For Necros. But also for you. You will have the bone dragon, King Konrad, in your thrall. You will use him for our kingdom, and together we will build a strong world, ruled by necromancers.”
The shadow king placed a hand on Wraith’s shoulder. “You will be seen by all as an integral part of this new world we create. You will be respected and valued as a true shadow prince of Necros.”
All his life, he’d wanted the shadow king and queen’s acceptance. Finally, they were offering it to him. And it would be a fresh start. Which was what he’d wanted. All he had to do was stand by whilst Konrad was murdered. Then Wraith would compel and control him.
“No one in Draconia wants you,” his mother said. “King Konrad would have put you in chains and kept you prisoner for the rest of your life. You do not owe him or any of the Draconians anything. He does not deserve your devotion. He betrayed you.”
His mother’s words were true. Konrad had turned on him. So had Elias and Gerard. He owed them nothing.
“I know you are confused, Wraith,” the shadow king said. “But you are one of us. You do not need to think. All you have to do is listen and obey.”
They were offering him all he’d ever wanted. It was in his reach. He had an opportunity. All he had to do was take it.