Page 94 of Courting the Dragon Prince
Luther didn’t really know the shadow princes, princesses, lords, or ladies well. After all, Draconia and Necros had been enemies not that long ago. But he knew that in Necros, the termshadowwas placed before someone’s title. As if they wanted to make themselves even creepier.
Since they’d arrived at the assembly, Luther had been introduced to several of the noble necromancers. But they’d not seemed that interested in making chit-chat with him. And Luther had not been that interested either.
Most necromancers preferred to wear black or grey, which Luther felt was very obvious. Although, he saw some purple, red, silver, and white mixed in too.
Onyx’s arm pressed against Luther’s as he, too, gazed below. “I’ve never been able to stand the necromancers.”
Luther glanced at him. “You were allies during the war.”
“Out of necessity. We from the Grey Mountains have never gotten along particularly well with the individuals from Necros.” Onyx took a sip of his wine. “Mother did not enter into an alliance with the necromancers happily.” Onyx’s gaze slid to Luther’s. “But we had to do it to fight the mighty dragons of Draconia.”
Luther chuckled. “Yes. Well, we are pretty mighty.”
It had been about a day and a half since they’d returned from their night-time flight. It had been almost two full days since their last fight, when Onyx had accused Luther of sneaking off to fuck someone.
It must be some kind of record for them. Although, he supposed they hadn’t technically been fighting when Luther had been avoiding and ignoring Onyx.
The point was they were getting along now. That was something to be pleased with.
“We kept our distance from the necromancers even though we were allies during the war. Not just us, but those from Botanial and Voltaria as well. None of us wanted anything to do with them. Even here, you can still see it.” Onyx gestured around the room. “Everyone keeps their distance.”
It was true. Whilst those from the Grey Mountains, Botanial, Voltaria, Zephyrias, and Draconia mingled, those from Necros congregated in clumps.
From the looks of the room, one would assume the necromancers had been the ones at war with everyone, not the dragons.
Shadow King Lament wore all black. A crown carved from ivory that had been made to look like bones sat atop his head. Black lace hung from his crown, over his eyes like a veil. He spoke to his wife, Shadow Queen Rue, who unsurprisingly also wore black, although her dress had silver swirls along the hems.
And what was with their names? Everything about them was just sinister.
As Luther watched, the grand monk approached the shadow king and queen, who stopped speaking and turned towards him. It seemed only the monks did not avoid the necromancers.
“I remember we fought armies comprised of a mix of those from Botanial, Voltaria, Zephyrias, and the Grey Mountains.” Luther shook his head. “But you never saw those from Necros fighting alongside anyone else. The Necros armies were always comprised of those from Necros.”
Onyx nodded. “All four of the allied kingdoms wanted it that way. The necromancers have always been secretive about their magical methods. We’ve always been disgusted by them. So it’s for the best we didn’t fight together.” Onyx’s lip curled. “When an individual dies, they should be allowed to rest, not brought back to life to fight beneath someone else’s control.” Disdain dripped from his words.
“When we fought the undead armies, it always left me feeling sick.” Luther shivered as he remembered the fields of walking skeletons and zombies. “At least I was too far above to even attempt to recognise anyone I might know. A benefit of being a fire-breathing dragon.”
Still, the stench had been vile. He’d been glad to breathe fire and let the poor souls rest once more.
“It’s disgusting,” Onyx spat. “I’m glad the war is over and we don’t have to work with them anymore. This is as close as I ever want to get to them again.”
“Konrad doesn’t think they want this treaty.” Luther stared at Shadow King Lament Grimm, the ruler of Necros, as he spoke to the grand monk. “Do you think that is true? Do you think they actually want peace?”
This was new, Luther discussing alliances and politics with Onyx. It felt a little strange opening up to someone from the Grey Mountains. This was the stuff he’d normally only talk about with those from Draconia, usually just his siblings.
But the war was over. Onyx was his husband. If they couldn’t even try to work together, what was the point of this treaty?
“The necromancers held out against negotiating a peace treaty.” Onyx stared at the necromancers as he sipped his wine. “But I believe they’ve come around. Mainly because my uncle has spent a great deal of time in meetings with the shadow king and others from Necros, and that’s what he believes.”
“My father would agree with him.” Luther gestured to his father, talking to the shadow king and queen. “For all our sakes, let’s hope they’re both right. I don’t want more war.”
“Me neither.” Onyx surveyed the crowd. “But there are those who have been against the treaty.”
“Let’s just hope there are no more attempts to put a stop to it.” Luther lifted his goblet to his lips, only to discover it empty.
“Here, I’ll get you some more.” Onyx took his goblet.
“I have such an attentive husband.” Luther smiled coyly.
