Page 114 of Courting the Dragon Prince

“That is true.” Onyx glanced at Luther. “I suppose the people must be curious.”

Lady Larimar smiled. “They are excited to see the future grand warden and consort. The city has been practically bursting with anticipation since we received your letter and announced your imminent arrival to the people.”

“They do not hold any animosity to me being a dragon from Draconia?” Luther had intentionally not flown about the castle and city, not wanting to cause the inhabitants unease.

After all, if a dragon had flown overhead not that long ago, it would have meant death, destruction, and dragonfire.

The lady’s smile softened. “Perhaps if you’d arrived a couple of months ago. But the citizens have been coming around, especially since your marriage was announced. In fact, we had a citywide holiday on the day of your wedding. There was much celebration through the streets. Now your presence means peace and the end to war. They are excited and glad for that.”

“There are no opposing voices amongst the populace?” Onyx asked.

“A few. But not many. The general tone of the people is one of optimism and hope,” she said.

“I am glad to hear that,” Onyx said.

He and Luther mounted their horses and rode towards the city. The herald rode ahead of them, blowing her trumpet to announce their coming. Guards circled Onyx and Luther. It was then that Luther realised the guards were not here to protectagainstLuther but instead to protect Luther. Behind them came the rest of the retinue.

They rode across the drawbridge. Even before they entered the city, Luther could hear the cheering and roars of the crowd. Luther’s mouth dropped open, eyes widening as they passed through the thick walls and entered the city.

Everywhere he looked, people lined the streets, hung out of windows, and stood on rooftops. They leaned and stretched as they tried to get a look at the royal couple.

“Warden Onyx! Prince Luther!” the people shouted and cheered. They whistled, rang bells, and threw rice.

Luther blinked and glanced at Onyx. Onyx smiled back at him as they rode on.

Lady Larimar appeared to be correct. At least on the surface, these people seemed to hold no animosity towards him.

Onyx leaned towards Luther, taking his hand. “They’ve never done this just for me before. I think they are truly pleased with our marriage.” Onyx lifted his free hand in a wave.

Luther did the same.

A child with dark hair sat on the shoulders of a tall man. She waved wildly, smiling a toothy grin. Luther smiled and waved back. In her excitement, the child waved even more furiously, almost falling from the man’s shoulders. Luther had to hold back a laugh.

Luther realised that for the entirety of this child’s life, her world had been wrenched apart by war. Thankfully, the war had ended and this child’s future was brighter because of it.

Luther’s throat tightened as a sudden wave of emotion slammed into him. Luther might not be from the Grey Mountains, but he’d married their future ruler. Now these people looked to him, an outsider and previous enemy, and Onyx as a symbol of a peaceful and better future.

Luther wanted to be more than just that symbol. He wanted to be a part of making that happen.

Luther had made many mistakes in his life. He’d hurt people, let them down, and fucked up completely. But maybe here Luther had another chance, a chance to do some good and atone for his past.

Perhaps this would be a fresh start. Here he could strive to not be an irresponsible, selfish prince who messed up things. Instead, he could be someone who made things better.

As they rode through the streets, Luther felt a sense of hope.

He tightened his hand on Onyx’s. Maybe by Onyx’s side, Luther could become the person he’d always wanted to be.

ChapterFifty-One

Asense of peace descended on Onyx as he sat on the large cold slab, surrounded by pillars of stone, including sandstone, limestone, marble, onyx, granite, quartz, and slate. It was like sitting amidst a forest of rock. He inhaled deeply, letting the earthy, metallic scent fill his lungs.

Each pillar had been carved from stone collected from the different mountain temples throughout the Grey Mountains. Unfortunately, not all those temples had survived the war. But their memories lived on in the Limestone Castle Temple and in the souls of the earth elementals who’d trained at the temples.

Onyx opened his eyes and stared at the pillar carved from granite that had been collected from the Mystic Mountain. He and Tourmaline had spent years training at the temple there.

Since the war had ended, earth elementals had begun clearing the ruins of the temples that had been destroyed during the war and then starting to rebuild them. This included the Mystic Mountain Temple.

But Onyx hadn’t been back since the war. His chest tightened at the mere thought of returning. After all, it had been there that Tourmaline had died.