Page 109 of Courting the Dragon Prince

“How dare you? Even at six, I was a terrifying fire-breathing dragon.” Luther paused. “Okay, I didn’t shift into a dragon until I was eleven. And I didn’t breathe fire until I was twelve, but still.”

After walking a few more minutes, they reached a dead end.

“Here, hold the torch.” Luther handed it back to Onyx, whose gaze flicked over the brick in front of them.

Luther placed both his hands on the wall. “I am Prince Luther Drachen. Open for me.” Once again, the wall slid inwards with a groan.

Luther took the torch from Onyx and held it aloft as he entered the chamber. “Behold, my hoard.” He turned to watch Onyx enter. Luther held his breath, waiting for Onyx’s reaction.

Onyx stepped forward. He blinked. He frowned. For several seconds, he didn’t speak.

Luther’s hand on the metal handle of the torch tightened.

“It is … not what I was expecting.” Onyx faced Luther, a puzzled expression on his face.

Luther gave a nervous chuckle as he placed the torch in a sconce by the entrance. “What, you didn’t expect a hoard of thousands of keys?”

Onyx glanced at one of the walls lined with keys hanging from hooks. “No. I can’t say I did.” Onyx looked back at Luther, clearly still perplexed. “I thought hoards were …”

“Gems, gold, jewels, wealth beyond all comprehension and imagining?” Luther prompted.

“Kind of. That’s what all the stories say.” Onyx stepped towards one of the walls of keys.

“Yes.” Luther clasped his hands together in front of him. He bounced on the balls of his feet. “Compared to those, my hoard might seem a little … silly.”

“I didn’t say that.” Onyx glanced towards him.

“Well, I’m sure some would.” Luther shrugged a shoulder. “But it all started rather simply. As you’ve been told, my older siblings are the heir, the spare heir, the dragon warrior, and the spare dragon warrior.”

Onyx nodded.

“All four of them were taken away to lessons and training from a young age, preparation for their future roles, you understand. They’d spend hours with tutors, or with my father, or my aunt, the current grand dragon warrior.” Luther stepped in front of one of the keys. “I was often left to my own devices, told to go off and play.” He pressed his lips together.

He lifted the key from its hook, admiring the slender gold barrel and the swirls at the top of the key, surrounding a dragon. “I would watch them go and ask the nanny why I wasn’t allowed to go with them. Of course, the answer was simple. My older siblings were the important ones. I wasn’t. As such, they had my father’s attention. I was an afterthought to him.”

Luther could still remember staring in through the open door, watching his father talking to his elder siblings. “I started sneaking into their lessons to try and be a part of it. I’d copy my siblings in an attempt to impress my father and aunt.”

Luther sighed and placed the key back. “Instead, I just annoyed them and got scolded for getting in the way of my siblings’ important training. I got kicked out. But I was determined and snuck back in. I kept getting kicked out.”

He chuckled. “So they started locking me out. Then I stole the key and hid it away, thinking they wouldn’t be able to keep me out then.” He shook his head. “But then they got new keys made. I kept stealing them.”

Luther ran his fingers along the lines of keys, watching them sway and glint in the low light of the torch. “They changed the locks. I stole the new keys.” He laughed. “Father got so angry. Everyone thought I was doing it to be naughty. For attention. There was lots of yelling. But I just wanted to have a role in this family. To be important like my siblings.

“And honestly, the only time my father seemed to notice me was when he was scolding me.” Luther forced a smile and turned towards Onyx.

Onyx watched him with his intense dark eyes.

“It’s probably for the best though. I’ve never been good at responsibility.” Luther laughed as he clenched his fists, nails biting into the skin of his palm. “Every time I’ve been given any, I’ve always fucked it up. So it’s probably best I’m the fifth born.”

Onyx frowned.

“Anyway, that’s how it started. After that, I developed a habit of stealing keys. Anytime I saw a key, I’d take it. At some point, I moved on to just collecting and buying keys rather than stealing them. I’ve grown out of the stealing. Mostly.” He walked towards Onyx. “Hand me my bag.”

Onyx did. Luther slid his hand into his pack and into a side pocket. His fingers closed on cold metal. He pulled out a brass key on a ring and an ornate bronze key. “Recognise these?”

Onyx’s eyes widened. He burst out laughing.

Luther held up the brass key. “This key is from the shackles that bound us together on our couple’s quest.” He held up the bronze key. “This is from the library door.”