Chapter Nineteen

The next morning, I woke feeling hung over. My stomach was tight and itchy from dried cum, my ass was aching in a good way, my neck was tender, and I felt seriously dehydrated. I stumbled into the bathroom and pulled off my clothes. Leaving them in a pile with my boots, I stepped into the shower. As I scrubbed at my belly, I opened my mouth and drank. And drank. And drank.

And still, I didn”t feel so good.

Coming out of the heat, I felt lightheaded. I fell against the sink and heaved up the water I had just drunk. Shivering, I pulled a towel around me. I managed to make it to the door, then opened it, but only to fall into the corridor. I lay there for several minutes before someone found me.

“Master Sebastian!” It was one of the servants. He rolled me onto my back. “What”s happened?”

“I can”t get up. I think I”m sick,” I said.

“Sick?” His hand went to my forehead. “You don”t have a fever. Perhaps it was something you ate last night? Here. Let me help you to bed.”

He got me to my feet, and I stumbled back to bed with him supporting me. Once I was under the covers, he said, “I”ll fetch the physician.”

“Thank you.”

I fell back asleep.

When I woke again, there were a few people in my room. One of them was a Zaknir, another was the Dragon King. They were shouting. No, Shale was shouting. The Zaknir was cringing.

“Please, Your Majesty, there is nothing more to be done for him until he awakens. If it is as you suspect, and you, er, an accident occurred, then we can only assist by—”

“Are you talking about me?” I asked.

“Sebastian?!” Shale”s face came into my view while his hand went to my face. “How are you feeling?”

“Weak,” I whispered. Then I frowned. “I can”t . . .” I sucked in a breath. “I can”t catch my breath. I think I”m sick.”

The Zaknir swept around the bed and leaned over it to peer at me. He took my hand.

The King growled.

“Sire, I must examine him,” the Zaknir said.

The King cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.”

“Master Sebastian, I am Master Juc, the Court Physician,” the Zaknir said as he felt my pulse.

Suddenly, my brain shut off. I couldn”t think.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“What the fuck?” the large man beside me growled.

“Who are you?” I sucked in another breath, trying to slow it.

“Who am I?” He looked from me to the Zaknir. “What”s happening?”

“He”s confused,” the Zaknir said.

Then my brain started working again. Sort of. I frowned at the King, wondering why he was standing beside my bed. “Shale?”

The King stroked my face. “Sebastian? You know me now?”

“Of course, I know you.” I scowled. “Are you that upset that you”re going to pretend nothing happened?”

“No, Sebastian. You didn”t know who I was a second ago.”

I made a scoffing sound.

“Master Juc!” Shale snarled.

“Confusion, low heartbeat, low body temperature,” Master Juc murmured. “It is as I suspected, Sire. He”s suffering from blood loss.”

Shale hung his head and cursed.

“Blood loss?” I blinked. Then it hit me. I took Shale”s hand and whispered, “Hey. It”s all right. I knew the risks. And you didn”t know that you needed to be careful.”

The King lifted his head and stared at me. At least it wasn”t with the coldness of the night before, but it wasn”t with tenderness either. He let go of my hand. “Master Juc, you will do everything you can to help him recover.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course. You will be fine, Master Sebastian.” He turned to look at a servant standing nearby—the same guy who helped me to bed. “Bring him some bone broth soup with stewed meat and your sweetest dessert. A glass of juice would be good too. And lots of water.”

“Yes, Sir.” The servant hurried out of the room.

Once they were gone, the physician helped me sit up. “I have some potions that will help.” He went to the bedside table where a small box waited and opened the case.

As Master Juc withdrew bottles and peered at their labels, I tried to catch Shale”s eye. He wouldn”t look at me.

“Shale, please,” I whispered.

“We are not alone,” the King said.

I grimaced. “Sorry. Will you please look at me, Your Majesty?”

“How bad is it, Master Juc?” Shale asked. “He seems to be reviving.”

“Not fatal, Your Majesty. My potions and the food should help him recover by nightfall. Ah!” He opened a bottle of sparkling blue liquid and poured a small amount into a tiny cup. Then he uncorked a bottle of dark green liquid and added some of its contents to the cup. “Here, Master Sebastian. Drink this. It will normalize your heart rate and breathing while helping your body replace the blood it”s lost.”

“Thank you.” I gulped it down, then grimaced. “Oh, that”s awful.”

“Medicine often is.” Master Juc took the cup and packed his case. “You should be feeling better in a few moments.”

I took a deep breath and my body didn”t react poorly to it. “Holy shit! I do feel better. Thank you, Master Juc.”

The Zaknir smiled at me. “It”s my pleasure to be of assistance. Honestly, I don”t often get the chance to practice my trade.”

“I”m happy to help.” I smirked at him.

He chuckled, then looked at the King. “Sire, I”m sure this doesn”t need to be said.”

“Then don”t say it,” Shale growled at him.

Master Juc pressed his lips together and bowed. “Your Majesty.” Then he left.

“Shale,” I said as soon as the man was gone.

“Don”t,” the King said. “I can”t do this.” He turned and walked out.

“Your Majesty!” I called, but it was too much of a strain, and I fell onto my side, whimpering.

“Sebastian!” He was back in a second, helping me up.

I looked up and met his stare. Our faces were inches apart. Shale”s throat clenched. He looked away. I reached for him.

“I”m sorry,” the Dragon King whispered. “I”m so sorry, Sebastian.”

“Don”t be sorry. Just stay.”

His stare coasted over my face. “I can”t.”

I swallowed roughly and leaned back. “She”s still with you, isn”t she? She”s standing between us.”

“I”m a mated Dragon. She will always be with me.”

“I understand.” I let out a long breath, then said, “Thank you for coming to check on me, Your Majesty. That was kind of you.”

The Dragon King”s face twitched violently. He swallowed and stood. His hands clenched into fists. Finally, he nodded, turned around, and left.

I watched him go feeling the most awful I”d ever felt, and it had nothing to do with blood loss. I had screwed up with him again, and this time, there was no coming back from it. Because I had done more than cut the King flush. I had fucking chopped him down.