6. Unknown Danger
Chester
I pushed my chair back and rushed over to catch him before he could hit the floor. Other guards rushed in, then stopped and bowed when they noticed me.
"Apologies, Your Majesty."
I motioned for them to stand up straight, which they did.
"What is the meaning of this? This man looks like he has been fighting demons."
The guards shared a look. One of them stepped forward. "Your Majesty, Michael was a part of the group of knights that were sent to investigate reports made by citizens residing in the northeast. He was one of the two that came back. The other, I'm afraid, died before they could get a foot through the front gate."
A growl erupted from my throat, but I calmed it down.
"Bring the doctor. Are you going to stand there and keep looking?"
They jumped and ran away to look for him.
I clicked my tongue and placed my hand over his wounds and focused my energy on that spot.
A faint green glow emitted from the tattoos lining my arm. They traveled down my fingers in dotted lines and stopped the bleeding.
Michael's wounds started to glow green before they closed up. I left the bruises and shallow cuts since I heard footsteps headed my way. Alyssa wet a napkin with the water on the table and joined me. She gently started to wipe the sweat and grime off his face.
Slowly, Michael's pulse returned to normal. His eyelids fluttered but didn't open.
The military doctor along with a few of his assistants rolled Michael away in a wheelchair. My men and I followed closely behind them.
"Stay here and enjoy the rest of your breakfast," I told my children.
"No, Dad." Sirius slammed his hand on the table, prepared to get up. "I should come too."
"No need. Keep your sister company until I call for you." I shot him a smile.
Sirius looked displeased. However, he obeyed me all the same.
The young man's blood was tested for poisoning. His organs were intact with minimum internal injuries, so that was a relief.
I turned to the guard who I spoke with when Michael appeared. I asked, "What were they investigating in the Northeast?"
He glanced at Michael's unconscious figure in bed then retreated one step to bow properly.
"Your Majesty, we received reports that people were getting sick in a small community near the border. The clinic couldn't find anything wrong with them. We also heard that people witnessed a strange creature walking on hind legs at night. Some of the livestock had been slaughtered. The corpses showed traces of demonic aura.
"A squadron was sent out to look into things. Unfortunately, we never heard back from them."
I nodded. I hoped it wasn't what I thought it was.
"What is your name?"
He looked up. "Jeffrey, Your Majesty. I'm a new recruit that was accepted into the palace."
"Hm." I nodded and turned to the bed. "When he wakes up he'll be able to give us more details. In the meantime, give your captain this order. Every report regarding the area in the past three months needs to be handed to me within the hour."
Jeffrey bowed his head again. "Yes, Your Majesty."
He disappeared behind the door. The doctor motioned for his attendants to leave the room. After they did, we were alone.
"It's a good thing that his determination to finish the mission led him to looking for you, Your Majesty," the doctor said. "If you hadn't healed him in time, he could have very well ended up like his companions."
A sigh passed through my lips. I took a seat in a nearby chair. It was hard to tell whether the sweat on my brow was from the heat or the stress. "I could tell from the feel of his slowing pulse. Couldn't risk losing a good man."
The doctor nodded and adjusted his glasses. He said the next words in a whisper.
"I understand that more than you know. After all, I am a doctor. I've had more people die in my presence more than I would have preferred. However, do not forget that you're the King of Dragons And Trolls. Most of the information about the royal family has been lost over time, and the citizens of Nightveil have forgotten your real title. Not a lot of our folk know that dragons still exist."
"Not for long." I peered at Michael's sleeping face. Although I knew that he was safe here, I couldn't shake that uneasy feeling. "Neither of my children have awakened. I might be the last dragon alive."
Doctor Hector sighed. He passed a hand through his graying hair. Suddenly, he groaned. "There is still time! Who knows what might happen in the future. Besides, we still have you, your highness. You and loyal knights who would die for our cause."
The fact that he was trying to comfort me didn't fly over my head. I gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement and strode to the patient.
Once again, my tattoos lit up and the magic transferred from them to my knight's injuries. The remaining injuries gradually closed up or ceased to exist altogether. In front of me now was a fully healthy man about to have a good night's rest.
"Thank you for your time and dedication," I told him. "I'll never forget what you've done for our people."
The dragon bloodline was thinning since we've been mating with other species for so long. It's a miracle I inherited the markings of a dragon and could transform into one at all.
Without my tattoos, I'd be nothing but a walking dead-man with a vulnerable kingdom.
Not that I thought of my children that way. They were the most precious things in my life.
I could only hope that I'll create the kind of kingdom where they don't have to be afraid.
"Hector."
"Yes, Chester?"
"Tell one of your assistants to bring good food for him when he wakes up. Treat him well," I said.
Doctor Hector bowed to me as I left the room.
There was an envoy coming in from Masonville. Countless stacks of paper were sitting in my office, waiting for me to look over them. Preparations needed to be made for my son's fianceƩ's visit.
However, when it came to a possible demon portal, nothing else took priority over the lives of my people.
The moon hung high in the dark night. The cool breeze kept pushing me back, as if giving me a warning to return home and never come back. But I couldn't do that.
It was just as I thought. The portal was in a grove not far from the residential area. I could feel its wicked aura from where I stood, hidden behind a wisteria tree.
Yet, my focus wasn't on the grove. A shadowy figure crouched down behind a hedge. Her body was covered in all black, thin ethereal glimmered gold as it covered her chest and arms. A black hair cap almost made her look bald.
She stared back at me, having noticed me too.