Chapter 60 A bond tested by plague
Thorne shifted, and Adrian saw it clearly now: fear. Not just for the kingdom, but for Adrian himself. The king might already be contaminated. The thought hung unspoken between them, heavy as stone.
"Are you scared, Thorne?" Adrian moved closer, his boots silent on the floor. "Of me? Of what I might become if that claw carried infection?"
"I'm scared for you, Your Majesty." Thorne's voice was quiet but steady. "And for all of us. But you're right. Confinement is necessary, regardless of the cost. Better economic hardship than mass death."
"Everyone in the Northern Kingdom must be confined." Adrian moved to his desk, pulled parchment toward him, began writing the decree in swift, sure strokes. "Immediately. No exceptions. Royal stores will be opened. Food will be distributed house to house. Anyone caught outside their home without direct royal authorization will be detained."
"What about the council? They'll want to convene, to discuss…"
"The council can discuss from their own homes." Adrian's pen scratched across the parchment. "This decree comes from the Alpha King. It's not a suggestion or a recommendation. It's law, effective the moment this seal touches wax."
He finished writing, reached for his seal. The royal crest pressed into hot red wax with a hiss. The scent of burning wax filled the study, sharp and final.
"Distribute this to every district." Adrian handed the parchment to Thorne. "Every messenger, every runner, every warrior. I want the entire kingdom locked down within the hour."
Thorne took the decree, read it once, then nodded. "As you command, Your Majesty. Though I fear the panic this will cause."
"Let them panic. Fear will keep them inside. Fear will keep them alive." Adrian's jaw was set. "And Thorne? Send riders to fetch that diviner. Offer whatever price she names. We need answers, and we need them before this spreads beyond the lower districts."
"I'll send our fastest riders immediately." Thorne moved toward the door, then paused. "Your Majesty, about the research into King Aldric's curse. I'll continue digging through the archives. If there's any information about how the curse was lifted, any detail that might help us…”
"Find it." Adrian's voice was rough. "Whatever it takes. I don't care if you have to tear apart every book in the royal library. We need to know what we're fighting."
Thorne nodded and moved out with immediate effect to pass on the decree of the king.
The door closed. Adrian was alone with his thoughts and the dull throb of his wounded arm. He moved to the window, looking down at his kingdom. Already he could see the effects of the decree. Messengers ran through the streets, their voices carrying even to his high window. Royal guards moved in formation, beginning the process of clearing the markets, sending people home.
The kingdom was in uproar.
People rushed through the streets, panic clear in their movements. Some carried baskets of food, grabbing last-minute supplies before the markets closed. Others simply ran, desperate to reach the safety of their homes before the confinement took full effect. Children cried. Dogs barked. Somewhere, a woman screamed.
Adrian pressed his forehead against the cold glass. His reflection stared back, ice-blue eyes shadowed with exhaustion and something else. Doubt? Fear? He wasn't sure anymore.
The mate bond pulled at him constantly. Lila was three floors above, confined to her chambers. Safe for now. But for how long? If this curse was real, if it had truly been awakened by some forbidden act, what did that mean for a bond the kingdom had called cursed from the beginning?
He reached for the bond, that invisible thread connecting them. For a moment, he let himself feel her presence. She was afraid. Worried. Reaching back toward him with desperate need. The pull was almost unbearable.
Then Adrian slammed the bond shut. Blocked her out completely. If she felt his pain, his fear, his doubt, it would only make things worse. Better she think he was simply busy, distracted by kingly duties. Better she not know how close he'd come to infection. How the claws had missed his veins by mere inches.
Better she not feel him questioning everything.
Outside, the smoke from the burning bodies drifted across the palace grounds. The sun climbed higher in the sky, indifferent to the suffering below. And in his study, the Alpha King stood alone, trying to figure out how to save his kingdom without losing the one thing that made him want to rule it in the first place.
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In the Lilan chambers, three floors above the king's study, Lila stood at her window and watched chaos break loose below. The plague had struck regions close to the palace, and now everyone was being forced into confinement. She could see people running, guards shouting, merchants abandoning their stalls. The orderly flow of palace life had shattered into panic.
The door burst open. Maya rushed in, her usually perfect appearance disheveled. Her hair had escaped its pins. Her dress was rumpled. She was breathing hard, one hand pressed to her side as if she'd run the entire way from the servants' quarters.
"My lady!" She gasped, trying to catch her breath. "Ten people have been recorded dead. No, twelve now. And I heard..." She faltered, her face crumbling. "I heard the king was attacked and injured by a rapid wolf."
The words punched through Lila like a blade. Her knees went weak. The room tilted. She gripped the window frame, nails digging into wood hard enough to hurt, while her heart tried to beat its way out of her chest.
"What did you say?" She turned from the window, moved toward Maya. Her hands found the girl's shoulders, gripping tightly. Too tightly, probably, but she couldn't help it. "Adrian. Where is he? Is he…"
Her eyes hovered around Maya's face, searching desperately for any sign that this was a mistake, a rumor, anything but truth.
But Maya didn't repeat her words. She didn't need to. The truth was written in her ex
pression. In the fear in her eyes. In the way she bit her lip.