Page 59 of Courting the Dragon Prince (A Royal Arrangement #1)

Chapter Fifty-Nine

I n the back of a prison wagon, Onyx and Luther sat on a wooden bench. Or at least, Luther sat. Onyx slumped against the door at the back of the wagon as they jolted along. The lysithea had worn off a bit but not completely.

Onyx wriggled his toes and fingers. He rolled his shoulders. He lifted his hands. At least he could manage that. But all his movements felt slow. Everything around him swam foggily. He squinted at Luther.

“So where do you think they are taking us?” Luther tried to peer out of a gap in the slats of wood. There were no windows in the wagon. Although, a lantern had been attached towards the front of the carriage.

Two soldiers sat on the bench opposite them.

“Keep your trap shut, you overgrown lizard,” the first soldier, a broad-shouldered woman who sat opposite Onyx, growled at Luther.

The second soldier, a tall, lanky man, sat opposite Luther.

Luther spared the first soldier a look. He raised an eyebrow before once again squinting through the gap. “Is that the best insult you can come up with?”

She sneered.

They’d been travelling for a while now. Or at least, Onyx thought so. It was hard to tell the passage of time since he’d been drugged.

Luther huffed and gave up trying to see outside. He sat back on the bench and faced the soldiers.

“You know this is treason, right? It’s treason to plot against the heir to your kingdom.” He gestured with his shackled hands to Onyx. “You could be hung for this.”

Luther glanced at Onyx, leaning towards him. “Actually, what is the punishment for treason in the Grey Mountains?” His lip quirked up. “Stoning?”

Onyx laughed. Or tried to. His lips twitched, and he wheezed.

Once again, Luther was all bravado. The defeated individual from the cell had disappeared entirely. But Onyx couldn’t get the image of Luther tear-streaked and broken from his mind.

“Quiet!” the tall, lanky soldier demanded.

The first soldier kicked Luther in the leg.

“Aww!” Luther glared at the broad-shouldered soldier, rubbing his shin. “That bloody hurt.”

“Serves you right,” the lanky soldier said. “We told you to be quiet.” He rested a hand on a dagger sheathed at his waist.

Both soldiers wore daggers. Onyx wondered if they’d been trained to use them. Daggers were part of the uniform for Grey Mountains soldiers even though not all earth elementals were trained to use them.

Onyx didn’t know either of these soldiers personally. Neither had trained at the Mystic Mountain Temple. Nor had he fought alongside either of them during the war. But both were earth elementals. They each wore a patch sewn on their shoulder that showed a mountain. The name of the mountain temple where they had trained had been sewn beneath.

Onyx squinted. He read the words Mallmork Mountain Temple . It was the first temple that had been destroyed by a dragon attack. Everyone who’d been there at the time had perished. No wonder they were loyal to his uncle and his plan to once again wage war with the dragons. And they were so loyal that they’d help kill the heir to the throne of the Grey Mountains.

Onyx’s gaze went once again to the soldier’s hand resting on the hilt of the dagger. Onyx hadn’t been trained to use a dagger. Suddenly, without access to his powers, he’d wished he had been. Although, in his current drugged state, Onyx doubted he’d be much use with one.

When these two soldiers had carried Onyx like he was a large sack of potatoes from one of the back entrances of the castle to the wagon, he’d managed to count about fifteen soldiers. But since he’d had minimal control of his head and neck at the time, he knew more must be present.

He didn’t recognise all the soldiers he saw. But of those he did, he knew they’d once served his mother. And now they served his uncle.

Onyx guessed the other soldiers either rode on the outside of the wagon or on horseback with his uncle. Warden Flint hadn’t even looked at his nephew as he’d ordered the soldiers around before mounting his horse.

But Onyx wasn’t defeated. Not yet. He’d try to find a way out of this. He’d try to find an escape. Onyx would not give up without a fight.

Still, Onyx couldn’t help but feel their chances at survival were slim. They were outnumbered and unable to use their magic. Not to mention, his uncle was a powerful earth elemental. Like Onyx, his mother, and Tourmaline, his uncle could hurl boulders through the air with ease. And no doubt at least some of the soldiers would be powerful earth elementals too.

Onyx and Luther might have been able to escape if Onyx could channel and Luther could shift. And if Onyx hadn’t been drugged. But how could they get out of this situation?

Nevertheless, Onyx would not give up.

They rode silently for a while. Slowly, Onyx felt more and more clear-headed. Taking a deep breath, Onyx sat up. The wagon continued to rattle on.

“You’re looking better. Has whatever they gave you worn off?” Luther asked in a light tone, belying the fact that they were prisoners being led to their deaths.

“Somewhat,” Onyx said, pleased to hear his voice sounding firm and clear. “My uncle drugged me with a shit ton of lysithea.”

“Fuck!” Luther swore. “What an arsehole.”

“Shut up!” The broad-shouldered soldier once again kicked at Luther.

But with a casual movement, Luther lifted his legs out of her way, dodging the soldier’s foot with ease.

She grunted as her foot connected with the solid wood of the seat Luther sat on.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Luther said flippantly to Onyx, ignoring the soldier.

The soldier’s face burned bright red.

Onyx didn’t know if it was the look on her face, Luther’s carefree manner in the face of their joint deaths, or the remaining lysithea in his body, but Onyx burst out laughing. Luther’s face split into a grin.

“I said shut the fuck up!” The soldier leaned forward and swung her fist at Luther, smacking him on the side of the face with a crack.

Luther cried out as his body slammed against the side of the wagon. He bounced off. His head and torso landed heavily in the lap of the lanky soldier. Luther groaned, struggling to get up. The hit must have been harder than it looked.

“Get off me, you disgusting reptile!” The lanky soldier shoved Luther off him.

Luther collapsed onto the floor of the wagon. Luther cried out. Both soldiers laughed as they stared at Luther.

Onyx reached out a hand to Luther. “You all right?”

But before his hand touched the cloth of Luther’s coat, Luther reared back. He knelt on the wagon floor, dagger glinting in his manacled hands.

Onyx’s mouth fell open. Where had Luther gotten that? Then he realised Luther must have swiped the dagger from the soldier when he’d landed in his lap. Had that been Luther’s plan all along?

The soldiers’ laughter died. With both hands, Luther shoved the dagger up through the underside of the man’s head. The soldier didn’t even have a chance to make a sound. Blood slid along the dagger, covering Luther’s hands.

The other soldier unsheathed her blade. Luther yanked his dagger free, turning towards her. But the man’s corpse collapsed forward, knocking into Luther.

With a grunt, Luther pushed him away. But already, the other soldier pulled her arm back, about to stab Luther.

Onyx did the only thing he could think of. He threw himself forward over Luther, protecting Luther with his body.

He felt the slash and sting of the blade swiping against his upper thigh. He sucked in a breath.

Onyx twisted his body, and with his shackled hands, he knocked the woman’s wrist. He heard the dagger clatter as she dropped it.

Suddenly, Onyx was being shoved by Luther, who was beneath him. Onyx fell back against the bench with a groan.

Onyx turned back in time to see Luther plunging the dagger into the woman’s chest. She gurgled as blood spilled from her mouth. She clutched at Luther’s hands. But Luther didn’t release the dagger until the life drained from her eyes.

“Mighty mountain spirits,” Onyx whispered as he stared at the two dead soldiers.

Luther turned on Onyx. “What the fuck were you doing jumping on top of me like that?”

Onyx blinked at him. Couldn’t Luther see what Onyx had been doing? “I was saving you.”

“Saving me?” Luther’s brows raised.

Onyx pressed his hands to his bleeding thigh. He hissed.

Luther’s gaze zeroed in on Onyx’s thigh. “Let me have a look at that.” Luther had to practically climb over him in the tight space to examine the wound.

“It’s only a graze. And I had to act. She was about to stab you.” Onyx closed his eyes as Luther tore open his pants and examined the wound.

“So you threw your arse in the way of her dagger? That was your brilliant fucking plan, was it?” Luther sat back. He grabbed the second dagger, the one not planted in the woman’s chest, off the floor. Luther began to cut up one of the soldier’s uniforms. “Fuck, this is hard when your hands are shackled together.”

“I stopped her, didn’t I?” Onyx said. “You didn’t get stabbed.”

Luther made a disgusted noise. “You could have punched her in the face, kicked her in the chest, or slapped her wrist. There were so many things you could have done instead of using your butt cheek as a pincushion!”

“It’s hard to fight in here,” Onyx pointed out. “There isn’t much space.”

“Lift your leg.”

Onyx did, and using the fabric from the soldier’s uniform, Luther began to bind the wound. Although, he frowned and struggled. It did look hard with his wrists bound together. Onyx tried to assist.

“At least it’s only a graze, you boulder-brained idiot,” Luther said. “But what if she’d hit an artery?”

“She didn’t though,” Onyx said. “And I’ve been drugged. It’s hard to think clearly.”

Luther glanced at him. He burst out laughing. “Are you pouting?”

“No. I’m not pouting,” Onyx said as he realised he was indeed pouting. He immediately stopped. “It’s the lysithea. It makes me act weird. And I did save your life. So stop complaining.”

Luther’s expression softened. “Thank you for saving my life, oh mighty earth elemental.”

“Well, I think you saved our lives first by grabbing that dagger,” Onyx said. “That was some quick thinking.”

“We aren’t saved yet. We still have to get out of this situation.” Luther sat back, surveying Onyx’s bandaged upper thigh. “That’s the best I can do for now.” His gaze met Onyx’s. “Now for stage two.” Then Luther reached into his pocket and pulled out a brass key hanging from a plaited leather cord.