Page 124 of Courting the Dragon Prince
“Did you have any inkling Luther had been at the attack on the Mystic Mountain Temple?” Onyx asked. “Sorry. That’s a stupid question.” Why would his uncle be aware of that?
Onyx sagged against the chair, body heavy. Now that he’d taken a moment, he felt exhausted. He must have used so much energy raging at Luther.
His uncle stared at him. “I did, actually,” his uncle said, voice flat. Warden Flint placed his cup down. “I’d actually hoped you’d kill him outright when you found out. But it seems I’ll have to be the one to do that.”
ChapterFifty-Six
“What?” Onyx placed a hand on the armrest. He tried to push himself up. But his arm gave out. He fell back onto the chair. He stared at his arm in confusion before turning to his uncle. “What the fuck was in that tea?”
Warden Flint stood. “You don’t recognise it?” He picked up the empty obsidian teacups, walked across the room, and placed them back on the tray. “Well, there is lavender, chamomile, valerian root, and passion flower, all good for calming the nerves.”
Warden Flint turned and faced him. “But I added some ground lysithea powder to yours. A lot of lysithea, actually.”
Reaching into his pocket, his uncle pulled out an empty vial. “The powdered form is much more potent than when you steep the plant in hot water to make a tea. It smells a little different too, which is probably why you didn’t recognise it. You’ll have trouble moving for the next little while, and you’ll be unconscious soon.”
As if testing his uncle’s words, Onyx tried to stand. But his feet slid out from under him. “Ah!” he cried out as he slumped uselessly to the floor.
His uncle studied him, gaze cold.
Onyx lifted his hand towards a stone on the floor. He tried to channel. But the energy spun and slipped from his grasp.
“You don’t know much about lysithea, do you? I suppose with your mother addicted to it, it makes sense that you avoided the stuff,” his uncle said. “You won’t be able to channel. Not with how much lysithea you’ve drunk.”
As Onyx breathed heavily, his arm dropped. He collapsed, slumping on the floor and leaning against the seat of the chair.
“I suppose you want an explanation. Where should I start? Perhaps the beginning,” Warden Flint said. “When I arranged your marriage, I matched you with someone I knew you couldn’t stand. Who better but an arrogant, spoiled dragon prince? A man your complete opposite. A man I knew you’d despise.”
His uncle smiled. “And when I discovered Prince Luther was part of the attack on the Mystic Mountain Temple, I thought it too good to be true. Although, I’ll confess I hadn’t realised he wasn’t there for the entirety of the attack. A limitation of my intelligence, I suppose,” he mused.
“I’d really hoped you’d kill each other by yourselves.” Warden Flint walked towards him. “As you know, part of the marriage contract means that should one of you murder the other, the murderer’s heart would stop. You just needed to kill him and you’d both be dead. Or he could have killed you. Either way, it didn’t matter as long as both of you ended up dead.”
Onyx blinked, unable to comprehend what his uncle was saying. His head felt like it had been packed with dirt. How could Warden Flint want Onyx dead? This was his uncle. They were family. This man had helped him since his mother had sunk into grief. How could he betray Onyx like this? “Uncle? Why?”
But his uncle ignored his question. “Then you two seemed to be getting along. Even growing affectionate. I had to move to my backup plan.”
“Backup plan?” Onyx repeated.
Warden Flint nodded. “Which was killing you both myself and making it look like you killed Prince Luther and that you had dropped dead from murdering him.”
Warden Flint retook his seat opposite Onyx. “Although, since I am being honest, I always thought I might have to go to my backup plan. I wasn’t sure you had it in you to kill Prince Luther, even if he was part of the attack that killed your sister.”
How is this happening?
His uncle leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “That is why I sent you here. When I realised you were getting along, I knew I needed to get you both away from so many watching eyes. Then I could spread rumours about growing tensions and recent fights between you. I could easily control the narrative with you out of the way. Then I could come here and kill you both more easily.”
Warden Flint chuckled. “Imagine my surprise when I arrived and saw you two fighting. I thought maybe you would kill each other after all and I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty.”
His uncle’s lip curled. “Then Lady Larimar stepped in. But no matter, everyone saw you fighting and heard you accuse Prince Luther of killing your sister. No one will be shocked if you kill the prince tonight.”
“Why are you doing this?” Onyx slurred.
“For the glory of the Grey Mountains, my dear boy.” His uncle gave him a pitying look. “It is always for the glory of the Grey Mountains.
“My sister lost her will to rule our kingdom properly. Her grief weakened her. She let her softer feelings consume her,” Warden Flint spat. “Battle after battle she threw away with incompetence, too consumed by her pain. I took over on the battlefield. Under my guidance, we stopped losing so many battles. And I knew we could still beat the dragons.”
Warden Flint pressed his lips together. “But when I returned to Limestone Castle, your mother had already agreed to the peace treaty.” Warden Flint lifted his chin, staring out at the mountains. “If not for your mother, we would have won. But I can still salvage this. I’ve been preparing and planning for another war with the dragons.”
Onyx choked. “No.”
