Chapter 66
Chapter
Sixty-Six
Wraith opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling above. Rain pattered outside. A greyness permeated the room.
Where am I?
All his limbs and muscles ached. He took a deep breath. He groaned. Even his lungs hurt. He struggled to keep his eyes open. A bone-deep weariness urged him to close his eyes and return to sleep.
Images flashed in his mind. Monks chanting. Skeletons. Corpses. Lightning. Blood. So much blood.
The shadow king, Vex, and Harrow dying. The bone dragon. The dread knights. The Bone Door. His mother’s willingness to kill him. His mother was dead now. The lightning had torn through her. It was the last thing he remembered before he’d collapsed.
Wraith exhaled. It was a lot. And he didn’t quite feel ready to deal with … any of it.
He turned his head. Konrad lay on the bed beside him, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
Konrad’s bed. That’s where we are.
And for a moment, he just stared at Konrad’s handsome face, slackened in sleep. Bags hung beneath his eyes. He lay on top of the sheets, fully dressed in rumpled clothes. They’d both been through a great ordeal.
With a sigh, Wraith closed his eyes and fell back asleep.
The next time he woke, he was still facing Konrad. But Konrad had moved. He now slept on a chair by the bed. This time, Wraith felt a lot more rested and did not need to immediately return to sleep.
More memories fluttered through his mind. These ones from before the battle. Konrad turning on him. Accusing Wraith of betrayal. Guards grabbing him.
“I know what you are. A monstrous fucking necromancer.”
Wraith’s throat clenched. His heart dropped like a lead weight as he remembered the words Konrad had flung at him.
He really felt something for Konrad. And he’d believed Konrad felt the same for him. But he’d turned on Wraith so fast. How could he trust Konrad again?
Umbra, who lay snuggled beside Wraith’s legs, woke and glanced up at Wraith. She jumped to her feet and barked, circling on herself and messing up the sheets.
“You’re awake! Oh! I was so scared. Your Konrad was scared too,” she said. “But you’re awake now! You’re awake, and I’m so happy!”
Konrad blinked awake. When he saw Wraith with his eyes open, he bolted upright. He smiled.
“Wraith. I’ve been so worried.” He cupped Wraith’s cheek. Then he turned to the door. “He’s awake! Call the healer.”
The door opened immediately, and a servant appeared. She must have been waiting for Konrad’s call. “Right away, Your Majesty.” She bowed and dashed off.
“How are you feeling? Are you all right?” Konrad’s dark brows lowered as he looked Wraith up and down.
“I think I’m okay,” Wraith said.
Umbra laid her head on his thighs. Her tail wagged. “You just kept sleeping and sleeping! I worried you’d never wake ever again!”
Wraith placed his hand on her head, scratching the top of her head. “How long did I sleep for?”
“Forever!” Umbra said.
“Almost a full day,” Konrad said. “I don’t really know what happened. You just collapsed.”
“I think I overexerted myself. I’ve never broken a bond like the one holding your father. And I’ve never forced a bunch of dread knights to move on. I probably just need some rest.”
Konrad nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you get it.” Concern shone in his green eyes.
He’s been worried. But Wraith still remembered how those eyes had filled with hatred. How could Wraith be sure that Konrad would not turn on him again?
He opened his mouth to speak, but Healer Doran rushed into the room and approached the bed. Stopping beside them, he bowed. “King Consort Wraith, it is good to see you awake. You had us all worried.”
The healer’s appearance put a stop to the conversation. Healer Doran looked Wraith over. He’d never been assessed by a non-necromancer healer before. Most healers trained at the Dove Healing Academy. But the healers from Necros did not.
He wondered if healers would continue to train at the Dove Healing Academy after all the monks had done. Wraith glanced around. They were still at the White Monastery.
What has occurred whilst I slept?
“We won, right?” The end of the battle was hazy in Wraith’s memory. But he was pretty certain of that. And if they hadn’t won, he doubted they’d be alive.
“We did.” Konrad watched the healer probe and prod at Wraith. “But you don’t have to worry about any of that right now. You’re safe. Everything is fine. Just rest and recover. That’s the most important thing.”
He cares so much about me. But Wraith had thought that before too.
Healer Doran took a step back from the bed. “Can you stand up for me, please, King Consort?”
Konrad tugged the sheets back from over Wraith. Someone had changed him into a sleeping gown whilst he’d been unconscious. He assumed it had been Konrad.
Umbra hopped down off the bed, and Wraith stood.
“Lift your arms, please.” The healer got him to perform some basic movements whilst he examined Wraith. Then, finally, he said, “Well, you look to be in good form. I think you’ll make a full recovery after some rest and proper eating. Which I’m sure His Majesty will ensure you get.”
“I will,” Konrad said. “Thank you, Healer Doran. That will be all for now.”
The healer left just as the servant returned with a tray of bone broth, bread, and some strange greenish liquid in a carafe. “It’s a herbal drink from Botanial,” the servant explained. “It is used to aid recovery. It was sent by Prince Ash.”
“Thank you, Louise,” Konrad said.
Wraith returned to bed at Konrad’s prompting. Umbra lay beside him, but she watched Wraith carefully, as if she wasn’t convinced he was fine.
Konrad fluffed up Wraith’s pillows and placed them behind him. Then he tucked the blankets around Wraith’s body. He moved a side table right next to the bed and placed the tray of food on top of it.
“Do you want me to start a fire or call a bath for you? Or maybe you want to sleep more?” Konrad asked, clearly eager to see to Wraith’s needs. Or maybe this was guilt for how he’d treated Wraith the previous morning.
Was it really just the previous morning? It felt like an age. And he’d slept for most of that period of time.
“I think I’ve had enough sleep for now, but maybe a bath,” Wraith said. “Feeling clean would be nice.”
Konrad strode to the door and ordered the servants to draw him a bath.
Wraith consumed the bone broth and the bread, his appetite coming back as he ate. He drank the green herbal drink, nose wrinkling.
Konrad chuckled as he returned to Wraith’s bedside. “Is it not to your taste?”
“It’s very bitter.” He gulped down the rest. “But I feel a lot better after having eaten and drunk.”
“That’s good.”
When the bath was full, Wraith walked towards it, Konrad at his elbow, perhaps ready to catch him if he fell. Wraith sank into the hot bath. He sighed as the citrus-scented water engulfed him.
Konrad placed a stool beside the tub and sat. He poured liquid from a bottle on a washcloth. Wraith reached out to take it, but Konrad shook his head. “Allow me.”
Wraith settled back. Konrad leaned forward, moving the cloth over Wraith’s chest in circles.
Wraith hummed in pleasure.
“Lean forward,” Konrad said when he’d finished Wraith’s torso.
When Wraith did so, Konrad washed his back. He cleaned every inch of Wraith. Then he washed Wraith’s hair, strong fingers massaging his scalp. Wraith would have enjoyed the gentle attention, except he couldn’t get past what had happened before the battle the previous day.
Konrad had apologised during the fighting. He’d even told Wraith he loved him. Still … Wraith felt they should talk about it, even though a part of him just wanted to enjoy Konrad’s kind and gentle attentions.
Konrad picked up a comb and brushed Wraith’s hair.
But Wraith couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You promised to protect me. You promised not to harm me. And instead, you turned on me and had your guards drag me away.”