Page 58 of Courting the Dragon Prince (A Royal Arrangement #1)

Chapter Fifty-Eight

O nyx tried to open his eyes. But his eyelids wouldn’t budge. His body, his limbs, everything felt far too heavy.

He heard a voice.

Luther’s voice.

Affection stirred in Onyx’s chest. But what was Luther saying? Onyx couldn’t make out the words. It was as if Luther spoke with his mouth full of water. Why would Luther be speaking with a mouth full of water?

Onyx’s head lay on something soft and warm. Fingers caressed his hair. Luther’s fingers?

The rest of Onyx’s body lay on the cold stone.

But the stone felt … wrong. Distant. Onyx couldn’t connect to it.

Where were they? What had happened? Why couldn’t he channel? And why couldn’t Onyx open his eyes?

Onyx let those questions drift away as he floated, focusing on Luther’s voice and the feel of his fingers moving in Onyx’s hair. Gradually, Luther’s words became less garbled and took shape.

“—can’t say I saw this coming.” Luther sighed. “I guess you didn’t either. Otherwise, you’d have tried to stop your uncle’s plan and we wouldn’t be here in this dungeon.”

Uncle’s plan? What plan? What dungeon?

Then it all came rushing back. His uncle’s betrayal. The plan to kill Onyx and Luther. His thirst for war and total victory over the dragons.

Then even more memories came back to Onyx. The yelling. The screaming. The fighting with Luther.

Luther’s fingers caressed his cheek. “Not that I blame you for not realising. Your uncle seemed to have been planning this for a while. And he is your uncle. I imagine it’s hard to spot betrayal when it comes from someone so close.”

Dread settled in Onyx’s gut.

So Luther hadn’t gotten away, then. Now they would both die at his uncle’s hands.

I wish Luther had gotten away. Because no matter what he’d discovered, despite their fight, he couldn’t stand the thought of Luther dead.

“So now he is going to take the two of us out into some mountains,” Luther said. “He’ll hurl rocks at me until he kills me to make it look like it was you.”

Onyx’s throat tightened. He didn’t want that.

“Then he said he has some poison that will make it look like you just dropped dead because you murdered me and thus broke the term of our marriage contract.” Luther sighed. “He said some trainees from some mountain temple are scheduled to pass through those mountains in a few days’ time. They will find our bodies.”

So that is his plan to kill us.

For several moments, Luther didn’t speak. His fingers continued to stroke Onyx’s hair.

Onyx tried to open his eyes. He struggled to pry his eyelids open. Finally, after what felt like forever, he managed to open his eyes a crack.

Slowly, the dark room came into focus. They were in a cell in one of the castle’s dungeons. He couldn’t tell which one.

Then again, Onyx had never spent much time in the castle dungeons. But it seemed to be one of the smaller ones. Two soldiers stood on the other side of the bars. They spoke to each other in murmured tones, not paying Onyx and Luther any attention. A single torch hung in a sconce on the wall, providing the only light.

Onyx’s head rested in Luther’s lap. Luther’s hands rested in Onyx’s hair.

He turned his gaze as much as he could. He couldn’t move his neck or head. Just his eyes. He could see the bottom of Luther’s jaw. From here, it looked like Luther stared ahead through the bars. He had not noticed that Onyx had woken.

“You know, that day is what my nightmares are about,” Luther spoke so softly Onyx almost couldn’t hear him.

“I hear the beating of dragons’ wings. Then the crack and crashing of rock. I see the people I led buried beneath stone.” Luther’s voice sounded so empty. “Buried and dead. Buried and dead.” Luther spoke the words like a chant.

“My cousin Errol, he was just a fucking boy.” Luther let out a pained breath. “He was so excited when he joined my division. So pleased to be doing his duty for the kingdom. His father wrote to me, asking me to look after him. I wrote back promising I would.” His voice trembled.

“I remember Errol playing with his siblings as a boy. He was so quiet and shy. He always wanted to join in any games his older brother and sister were playing. He was always running after them. I remember him then.” A tear dripped from Luther’s chin. “And I remember him dying.

“No one blamed me. I think that made it worse. I returned from the battle. Everyone was celebrating our victory.” Luther shook his head. “They should have blamed me. Someone should have blamed me.” More tears fell.

Onyx wished he had the strength to wipe them away.

“Soldiers die in war, and I fought for my kingdom.” His voice twisted with bitterness. “But I led them to their death. That’s what I did. And I should be punished for it.

“I barely even got a slap on the wrist for not being easy to find on the day and for going through the tunnels. There was no official command not to use them. Just rumours and concerns. After that, we were officially told to stop using the tunnels.” Luther took a deep, shaky breath.

“I got a letter from Errol’s father.” Luther’s chin trembled. “He said Errol had been so proud serving with me and that they were proud he’d died fighting bravely for Draconia. They were glad that I, his cousin, had been there with him.” A sob escaped him.

“But I killed him. I killed my cousin. If it wasn’t for me …” Luther’s head dropped back against the wall, chest heaving with sobs. “I thought maybe after the war, I could move on. But since that day, a darkness has taken root inside me, spreading deeper and consuming me.” He took a deep, shaking breath.

“I try and pretend I’m who I used to be. But it’s all a lie. So often, I’ve tried to flee from it, from the darkness. I fly to exhaustion. I drink. I dance. I keep moving. I do anything I can to escape it. To forget it. But the darkness is inside me.” More tears dripped from his jaw. “The darkness is me. So of course I can’t get away from it. Of course I can’t move on.

“Truthfully, I don’t think I deserve to. The people I led through those tunnels can’t move on. Errol can’t move on. They’re buried beneath rock. So why should I get to move on? Why should I get a happy future when they can’t have one? I should have to live with this guilt, this regret, this pain for the rest of my life.”

Onyx moved his lips, trying to speak Luther’s name. But no sound formed. He wanted to take Luther in his arms. He wanted to wipe his tears away.

“I deserve to be miserable.” Luther lifted his hands. Shackles wrapped around his wrists. They were linked together with a chain that clinked as Luther rubbed the tears from his face.

With a sinking sensation in his gut, Onyx realised his wrists had also been shackled. It explained why he felt disconnected from the stone around them. His uncle had used the shackles that cut them off from their magic.

“Recently, I’ve been less miserable. I’ve been happier than I have been in a long time. Because of you, of course.” Luther said the words so flippantly.

Onyx wanted to tell Luther he was glad he’d taken some of Luther’s suffering away. He wanted to say so much to Luther. But the words wouldn’t come.

Luther’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “But it’s better this way. I’ve hated myself since that day. So it’s good you hate me too. It’s a decent punishment for what I did. I’m glad that I am finally being punished for it.”

Onyx wanted to protest. He wanted to say he didn’t hate Luther and that he regretted the words he’d spoken earlier. He wanted to take them back. Because he didn’t want Luther’s pain. He’d just been so angry and hurt.

Luther dropped his hands and placed them on top of Onyx’s, which lay limp on the floor. Luther stared at their hands.

“And what makes this punishment more painful is that I’m falling in love with you.” Luther paused. He squeezed Onyx’s hands. “No. I’ve fallen in love with you, Onyx. I’ve fallen in love with you, and you hate me more than ever. It’s the perfect punishment for my crimes.”

“Luther,” Onyx croaked, finally able to form a word.

Luther’s gaze sprang to Onyx’s, his green eyes going wide. Tears streaked his cheeks.

Onyx licked his lips, trying to find the strength to speak, trying to find the right words.

The door groaned as it swung open.

They both looked towards it. Warden Flint stood in the doorway, several soldiers poised behind him.

“Let’s get these two into the wagon,” his uncle said.