Page 24 of Courting the Dragon Prince
Luther licked his lip. He tried again. “It’s nice weather today.” He gestured out the window at the sun. “Perfect for a carriage ride.”
Warden Onyx grunted.
Luther pressed his lips together. A flare of annoyance reared inside him. Luther was playing nice. Why wasn’t Warden Onyx?
The driver up front gave a call. The carriage jerked and rolled forward. Hoof-beats clattered against the pavement.
Luther stared at the man opposite him. The warden wore his hair cut short. His broad shoulders and thick arms filled his dark leather coat, which although rather plain, had been well tailored to fit his muscular body.
After several minutes, the carriage paused as they reached a gate. The gate opened, and the carriage resumed its journey into the city within the outer monastery.
Luther straightened in his seat, trying once again to be polite in the face of Warden Onyx’s rudeness. “So where is this carriage taking us?” Luther asked, keeping his voice light.
Warden Onyx made a frustrated noise. “Do you not listen to anything?” he snapped. “The grand monk explained it all.”
A muscle in Luther’s cheek twitched.
How was he meant to respond to Warden Onyx being so nasty? Was Luther meant to just accept it? He was a prince of Draconia. Behaviour like Warden Onyx’s was not acceptable and should not be tolerated.
Clearly, Warden Onyx was set against him. And he had been since the moment they’d met, even before Luther had intentionally tried to be annoying.
Outside, the people and buildings passed them. He could hear the murmur of voices, hoof-beats, and the bustle of the city.
Luther’s hand curled into a fist on his lap.
He’d tried to be pleasant. He really had!
But obviously, the warden had no desire to play nice. So Luther wouldn’t either.
“No doubt I was too busy dealing with the damage of the dawn to pay attention to the ramblings of the dull grand monk,” Luther drawled.
Warden Onyx stared blankly at him. “Damage of the dawn?”
“I was hung-over,” Luther clarified and smiled.
“Of course you were,” Warden Onyx muttered.
And because Luther couldn’t help himself, he pulled out his hip flask and took a deep drink, the whisky burning his throat.
Warden Onyx scoffed in disgust.
“Oh. I’m sorry. I’m being rude,” Luther said innocently. “Would you like some?” Smiling, Luther offered the flask to the man, who just sneered at him before looking away.
Luther suppressed a chuckle. “So are you going to tell me what is happening today? Or are you going to keep the knowledge to yourself and leave me in such wretched suspense?” He pouted.
The earth elemental’s eyes burned into Luther’s. “They are setting up a couple’s quest for us to complete together. It is one of the courtship rituals. So we can become more acquainted with each other,” Onyx said. “The quest was devised by my uncle and several members of your family.”
“I see.” Luther vaguely remembered hearing something about that. “A couple’s quest. How very romantic.”
Warden Onyx didn’t respond.
Another gate opened, and then the carriage rattled along as they exited the monastery entirely. Soon, a verdant green forest flew past them in a blur.
Minutes passed. They rode along the bumpy path, jolting along with the carriage. Luther stared at his glowering betrothed, who stared fixedly out the window, obviously trying to ignore Luther.
Luther remembered the warden’s dark eyes flushed with anger, jealousy, and arousal. He had a sudden desire to make it happen again.
“Stop staring at me like that,” Warden Onyx bit out as his gaze snapped to Luther’s face.
