Page 25 of Courting the Dragon Prince (A Royal Arrangement #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

M ountain spirits, please give me the strength to get through this wedding.

Onyx closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. In and out.

He pictured himself at the Mystic Mountain Temple, sitting by a pillar, hand on the stone. He focused on the calm.

In and out. In and out. He let his awareness expand, feeling the stones that made up the building.

He tried to hold on to that sense of peace as he opened his eyes and faced the door that led into the ceremony chamber where he was about to be married.

Onyx glanced back at his mother, who stood behind him. They currently waited in a room just off the ceremony chamber. A normal monk, as well as several warrior monks, also stood in the room with them.

Thankfully, with Onyx’s and his uncle’s efforts, they’d been able to keep his mother together long enough to be present at today’s ceremony.

Onyx hesitated. “I … ah … I can’t believe I’m getting married today,” Onyx said, not hiding the apprehension from his voice. “And to Prince Luther of Draconia. But I will do what is needed for our kingdom. For the glory of the Grey Mountains.”

His mother met his gaze.

And for a split second, Onyx hoped she might give him some words of wisdom, might tell him she was proud, or maybe just comfort him as he entered into this horrid marriage.

But after several moments, she just blinked at him slowly and turned away.

Swallowing his disappointment, he faced the door. His shoulders slumped. He’d been a fool to expect anything more from her.

The door leading into the ceremony chamber was opened by the monk.

On the other side, the grand monk stood on a dais at the front of the ceremony chamber.

“Warden Onyx Obsidian,” the grand monk announced. His voice echoed off the tall, barren walls of smooth white marble.

“Accompanying him is the Grand Warden Amber Obsidian of the Grey Mountains. She is presenting Warden Onyx Obsidian, recognising that he is acting as a representative of the Royal House and the Kingdom of the Grey Mountains. His marriage will act as one of the marriages that will seal the peace treaty.”

Onyx stepped into the large chamber. It was almost empty. No one was present at this sacred binding ceremony except those directly involved. They’d hold a feast afterwards to celebrate their union where everyone could be present.

Bright light filled the room from large glass windows. Onyx took several steps forward. He glanced back. His mother hadn’t followed him. She stared blankly at the floor.

“Mother,” Onyx said. “Mother!”

She looked at him with her empty eyes.

“Please follow me,” Onyx pleaded.

“What?”

Onyx inhaled, trying to keep calm. “Follow me into the chamber.”

She stepped forward and thankfully followed him. Onyx let out his breath. He glanced at the grand monk, but the man smiled kindly at him and his mother.

Onyx continued to the dais. He stood before the grand monk.

A table made of white wood had been placed before the grand monk. On the table sat a bowl of ink, a quill, and a scroll. On the scroll, written in the ancient language of Lorentath, were the details and terms of their marriage contract and what they were binding themselves to for the rest of their lives.

This contract would be the reason they would need to live together for all that time. Onyx let out a breath. Only death would release them from this horrid marriage. And if one of them murdered the other, which for them seemed not unlikely, the murderer would die instantly.

But in this contract, there’d be no pledge of fidelity. Still, Onyx knew he’d not seek companionship or love outside his marriage. It would not sit well with what he believed to be honourable and right. He knew Luther did not feel the same. Already, Luther had taken other lovers at this assembly.

They’d not spoken since Luther had stridden off after the blow job in the garden, leaving Onyx feeling alone and wretched. Onyx imagined he would likely feel alone and wretched throughout the rest of their marriage.

Two monks stood on both sides of the grand monk, making five in total. They were all dressed in robes of beige. They wore chains made of copper, marking their positions and roles within the monastery.

The grand monk turned towards another door opposite to where Onyx and his mother had entered.

The door opened, revealing Luther.

Despite everything, Onyx’s breath caught.

Luther dressed in a fitted dark-green shirt with burnt-umber trousers. Over the shirt, he wore a decorative gold breastplate fashioned to look like dragon wings curling around his torso. A robe hung over his right shoulder, made from green dragon scales that glistened in the sunlight.

Were these Luther’s scales? He knew dragons shed their scales, and these matched Luther’s dragon’s colouring perfectly.

A golden circlet, glittering with green emeralds, rested on his dark hair, which had been slicked down and back. His eyes had been lined with kohl. Gold painted his lips.

He truly was the most beautiful man Onyx had ever seen. Too bad his personality did not match.

“Prince Luther Drachen,” the grand monk announced. “Accompanying him are King Alaric Drachen and Queen Consort Adelina Drachen of Draconia. They are presenting Prince Luther Drachen, recognising that he is acting as a representative of the Royal House and the Kingdom of Draconia. His marriage will act as one of the marriages that will seal the peace treaty.”

Prince Luther stepped into the room. He walked towards the dais. The king and queen consort followed, without being told to. They stopped several steps behind Luther.

Luther wouldn’t even look at Onyx.

It’s our wedding day. And Luther won’t even look at me.

Onyx tried to hold on to some calm, to some sense of peace. He tried to push away the feelings of despair and loneliness that threatened to overwhelm him.

He remembered picturing his wedding day in his youth, back when he’d hoped he might marry someone he actually loved. He’d imagined his sister and mother by his side, smiling and happy for him.

Onyx’s throat constricted. This was so different from what Onyx had imagined. This was not what he’d dreamed of or hoped for.

He wished he could turn and leave. He wished he could return to the Grey Mountains. He wished he could turn back time and be at the Mystic Mountain Temple with his sister.

But none of that was an option.

This was his life now. And this man was his future.

His sister was dead, his mother a shadow of who she’d once been, and Onyx would be marrying a man who hated him.

From his robes, the grand monk withdrew a long golden needle. “For this ceremony, I will need a drop of each of your blood. Please hold out your hands.”

“What?” Luther frowned.

Onyx clenched his teeth. He held out his hand to the grand monk. “The grand monk explained this to us the other day,” he said softly, trying to keep his voice even.

The four other monks began a chant in Lorentath. Onyx did not understand a word. The grand monk took Onyx’s hand and pressed the tip of the needle into his pointer finger. It stung but only for a second. The monk guided Onyx’s finger over the bowl of ink. A drop of Onyx’s blood dripped into the dark ink before the monk released his hand.

The grand monk turned towards Luther with an ever-patient smile.

Luther shoved his hand out in front of him. The grand monk repeated the same actions with Luther. When Luther’s blood dripped into the ink, it immediately began to swirl.

The grand monk gestured to the both of them. “Onyx Obsidian and Luther Drachen.” He met each of their gazes. “Today, you sign your names in blood, binding yourselves in unity for the rest of your lives. This cannot be undone. This cannot be reversed. This is not something to be entering into lightly.”

The grand monk looked to Onyx. “Do you understand, Onyx Obsidian? And do you consent to enter into this irreversible contract written out onto this scroll?”

Onyx wanted to scream no. He wanted to yell that he didn’t want this. He wanted to run. He wanted to flee and never set eyes upon Luther again.

But instead, he opened his mouth and simply said, “I understand and consent, Grand Monk.”

“Very good.” The grand monk nodded to him. “Do you understand, Luther Drachen? And do you consent to enter into this irreversible contract written out onto this scroll?”

Luther’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes.” He let out a breath. “I consent.”

Those hadn’t been the words the grand monk had told them to say, but it seemed to be enough for the grand monk, who smiled and held out his hands wide. “We, the Monks of the Way of the Dove, bear witness today to your union and to this contract you enter into. Now sign your names on the scroll.”

Without giving himself time to think over the gravity of what he was about to do, Onyx picked up the quill, dipped it into the swirling ink, and signed his name.

He stared at his name for several seconds before he held the quill out towards Luther. Luther grasped it, and Onyx took a step back. Luther dipped the quill into the ink and pressed it against the parchment. It blotted as he held it in place. After several seconds, he signed.

The monks’ chanting rose in volume. Both their names began to glow on the parchment.

“I ask you to face each other and place your palms together,” the grand monk said.

Onyx faced Luther. For the first time that day, Luther met his gaze. Onyx lifted his hand, and Luther placed his against Onyx’s. Around them, the chanting echoed, bouncing and reverberating off the smooth walls.

Suddenly, he felt as though his hand were being pressed from behind into Luther’s. Onyx frowned. So did Luther.

The chanting continued, growing louder and louder in time with the strange pressure. He wanted to tear his hand away from Luther’s. But the pressure just kept on, locking their palms together, not allowing them to part.

Suddenly, everything stopped. Onyx and Luther dropped their hands, the pressure gone. The monks stood silent, their chanting finished. Onyx’s and Luther’s names on the parchment no longer glowed. Now they just appeared as if signed in plain black ink.

“The union is completed,” the grand monk said. “You are bound together for this life, Onyx Obsidian and Luther Drachen.”

Onyx closed his eyes. Defeated acceptance washed over him.