Chapter 63 Night of Madness
“Your Majesty! Wake up!"
Hands grabbed Adrian's shoulders. Shook him hard. He fought against them, still trapped half in the nightmare, half in reality. Still feeling Celeste's death grip on his wrists.
"Your Majesty, please!"
Adrian's eyes snapped open. He was in his bed. Not the forest. His chambers were dark except for a single lamp. Marcus stood over him, his face creased with worry. Three servants huddled near the door, their faces pale with fear.
Adrian realized he was screaming. The sound echoed off the stone walls, raw and broken. He clamped his mouth shut. The silence that followed was somehow worse.
His entire body was soaked with sweat. His sheets were drenched. His bandaged arm throbbed with fresh pain. When he looked down, he saw blood seeping through the white fabric. The wound had reopened.
"How long?" His voice came out hoarse. "How long was I screaming?"
"Ten minutes, Your Majesty." Marcus's jaw was tight. "Maybe longer. The guards outside heard you. Wanted to break down the door. I told them you'd given orders not to be disturbed, but…"
"Help me up." Adrian swung his legs off the bed. The room tilted. The sleeping draughts were still in his system, making everything feel distant and unreal. "I need air."
"Your Majesty, you should rest. Let me call Doctor Iris to look at that arm…"
"No." Adrian stood. His legs shook but held. "I need to move. Need to…"
The room spun violently. Adrian stumbled. Marcus caught him, one strong arm around his waist. The servants rushed forward but Adrian waved them back.
"Leave us." His voice was rough. "All of you. Now."
The servants fled. Marcus held firm, supporting Adrian's weight. "Your Majesty, whatever you saw in that dream…"
"I need to see her." The words escaped before Adrian could stop them. "I need to know Lila's safe. Need to see her with my own eyes."
"The confinement order applies to everyone. Including Lady Lila."
"I don't care." Adrian pulled away from Marcus's supporting arm. Staggered toward the door. His body moved on instinct, following the mate bond that pulled him toward Lila like a compass pointing north. "I have to see her. Have to make sure she's real. That I didn't…"
He broke off. Couldn't finish the sentence. That I didn't kill her like I killed Celeste.
The corridor outside his chambers was dark. Guards stood at attention, their faces carefully blank. They'd heard him screaming. Heard their Alpha King having nightmares like a frightened child.
Adrian didn't care. He moved down the hall, one hand trailing along the wall for balance. The sleeping draughts made everything feel like he was moving through water. His vision blurred at the edges. The torchlight seemed too bright, then too dim.
Marcus followed. "Your Majesty, you're not well. Let me escort you back to your chambers."
"No." Adrian kept walking. Toward the stairs. Toward Lila's rooms three floors above. "I have to see her."
He reached the base of the stairs. Started to climb. Each step took enormous effort. His legs felt like lead. His wounded arm hung useless at his side, blood now dripping from his fingertips onto the stone steps.
Halfway up the first flight, he saw her.
Celeste stood on the landing above. She wore the green riding dress from his dream. Her golden hair shone in the torchlight. Her face was pale, beautiful, terrible. She stared at him with those cold green eyes.
Then she turned and walked away. Toward the upper floors. Toward Lila's chambers.
"No!" Adrian's scream echoed through the stairwell. "Celeste! Stay away from her!"
He lunged forward. Tried to run up the stairs. His legs gave out. He fell to his knees, one hand clutching the railing. His bandaged arm left a smear of blood on the stone.
"Celeste!" He pointed up the stairs with his good hand. "There! Don't you see her? She's going to Lila's room. She's going to hurt her!"
Marcus was there. Strong hands grabbed Adrian's shoulders from behind. "Your Majesty, there's no one there. The stairs are empty."
"You're blind!" Adrian struggled against Marcus's grip. "She's right there! The green dress. Her hair. Don't you see…"
"There's nothing, Your Majesty." Marcus's voice was gentle but firm. He wrapped both arms around Adrian from behind. Pulled him into an embrace. Held him tight. "You're seeing things. The sleeping draughts, the stress, the wound. Your mind is playing tricks."
"She's real." But Adrian's voice broke. "She's real and she's going to hurt Lila. Going to punish her for taking her place."
"Lila is safe in her chambers." Marcus's arms tightened. "She's guarded. Protected. Nothing can hurt her."
Adrian sagged in Marcus's grip. The fight drained out of him. His body shook with exhaustion and leftover terror from the dream. From the vision. From whatever ghost haunted these halls.
"I saw her." His voice came out small. Broken. "In the dream and now here. She's angry. She wants revenge."
"Your late wife is dead, Your Majesty." Marcus's voice was quiet. "She's been dead for a month. Buried in the royal crypt. Whatever you're seeing, it's not her."
But it had looked so real. Her face. Her dress. The way she moved. Adrian closed his eyes and still saw her, walking up those stairs toward Lila's chambers with murder in her cold eyes.
Marcus half-carried, half-dragged him back to his chambers. Laid him on the bed. Wrapped his bleeding arm with fresh bandages. Spoke in low tones to the servants who hovered near the door.
Adrian heard fragments. "Call Doctor Iris... infection, maybe... the fever... keep him confined... guards outside... don't let him leave..."
The ceiling above his bed seemed to spin. Adrian stared at it, unable to close his eyes. Afraid of what he'd see if he slept again. Afraid the nightmare would return. Afraid Celeste's ghost would finish what she'd started.
Through the blocked bond, he heard Lila's wolf whimpering. She'd felt his terror somehow. Felt him calling her name in his nightmare. Felt him screaming in the stairwell.
He wanted to open the bond. Wanted to reassure her he was alive. But what if opening it let the curse spread? What if his nightmares infected her too?
So Adrian lay in his blood-soaked bed and stared at the ceiling and listened to his dead wife's laughter echoing through his mind.
Outside, dawn was still hours away. The kingdom slept under confinement. And in the Alpha King's chambers, madness crept closer with every passing moment.