Samantha Edwhan

End of the Winter Star

Chapter 18

When Gerold woke, his head was pounding. He struggled to open his eyes and light flooded in, making him wish to close them again. But after a few, slow blinks, he managed to make out the room around him. He was still in the Throne Room, but now he was surrounded by dragons.

Gerold peered at the faces around him as his vision cleared. He recognised Adelaide, Markos, Luana, and Jakob standing over him. Next to them was Griffin and his family. There was also a pair of doctors with them.

“He’s waking up,” Jakob said.

“Gerold, dear, are you alright?” Adelaide asked. She crouched down beside him and nudged his wing with her own.

“I’ll… be fine,” Gerold managed to say.

That was a lie. He had never felt worse. His head was still spinning and he felt sicker than ever.

“What happened?” he asked slowly.

“You passed out,” Griffin said. “I dismissed the courts and sent Freya for the doctors. You’ve been out for half an hour.”

“We were about to move you when you woke up,” one of the doctors said. Her soft green face had a sympathetic expression.

“We were able to examine your body though,” the other doctor added. He turned to Griffin and Markos. “You said this lump on his leg has been growing steadily for a few years?”

Griffin and Markos nodded in unison. Markos added, “I first pointed it out to him two years ago. He wasn’t worried about it then.”

“Has he expressed any concern over it since?” the doctor asked.

“Not to me,” Markos said. The others all shook their heads.

The doctor turned back to Gerold and poked at the lump. Gerold grunted. The doctor ignored his discomfort and continued to poke and prod at the lump. Gerold gritted his teeth. It hadn’t hurt before, why did it hurt now?

After what felt like an eternity, the doctor stepped back. Gerold sighed and relaxed, realising how much he had tensed up.

“You should have gotten this checked sooner,” the doctor told him. “We may have been able to treat it if we knew when it was small. High Caln, you have cancer.”

Gerold stared at the doctor for a moment. Then he closed his eyes with a sigh. Of course. He should have gotten it checked sooner. But because of his refusal to care for his health, he was going to die.

“How long do I have?” Gerold asked.

“If you’re lucky, maybe a year,” the doctor said. “However, I think a few months is more realistic.”

Adelaide made a sound that was a mix of a gasp and a sob. Gerold’s heart cracked as he saw the dark expressions that crossed the faces around him. He could have prevented this.

“So, Dad’s going to die?” Jakob asked in a small voice.

“I’m afraid so,” the doctor said.

“No,” Luana whimpered.

Gerold’s heart broke. He squeezed eyes shut and willed himself not to cry. He was going to die before the year was over. He was going to leave his family with so much pain and grief. He wouldn’t get to see his youngest grow up. He might not even see his egg hatch. And it was all his fault for not getting that stupid lump checked.