Page 138 of Courting the Dragon Prince
“Don’t be.” Luther shook his head. “So we get the shackles off, fingers crossed, with minimally crushed wrists, then what?”
“I’ll knock back all these rocks around us; they’ll erupt outwards, and we’ll be free,” Onyx said. “I’ll be good at that. It will require lots of brute force. Then you shift as soon as you have enough space. Then we fight and fly the fuck out of here.”
“All right. I’ll burn them all with dragonfire,” Luther pledged. “So let’s go. Let’s smash these shackles,” Luther said with more confidence than he felt.
ChapterSixty-Three
Luther held his entire body completely still, wrist and shackle resting on Onyx’s palm.
Because Onyx couldn’t see in the dark, he needed to be touching the manacle to know where it was.
Luther really wished he could see. Although, maybe he didn’t. He didn’t know what was better in this situation.
Onyx took a deep, slow breath.
Luther held his.
Silence.
The rock crashed into the shackle. Luther grunted, his body jolting with the force of the hit.
Onyx tugged and felt around the cuff. “Shit. I only managed to dent it.”
Luther’s shoulders sagged.
“Sorry. I didn’t do it hard enough,” Onyx said. “I’m just so worried about hurting you.”
“Well, that’s sweet … But don’t worry about that.” Luther tried to be encouraging and not think about the bones in his wrist being shattered into a million pieces. “Just focus on breaking the shackles. Focus on getting me out.”
They got back into position.
Once again, Onyx inhaled deeply. Once again, Luther held his breath. Once again, the rock crashed into the metal.
This time, though, the shackle cracked. The cuff immediately loosened.
“You did it!” Luther cried out. He smiled in the direction of Onyx. Luther tugged the cuff from his wrist. The metal clanked, and the chain rattled.
“I didn’t hurt you?” Onyx probed Luther’s wrist, searching for injuries.
“Not even a scratch!” Luther laughed. “Now let’s do the other one.”
The second shackle was removed more quickly. Onyx seemed to have gained some confidence. The shackle hit the dirt with a thud and a clanking of chains.
“That feels so much better.” Luther rotated his wrists, free of any encumberments. He tilted his head back and reached inside himself. “I can feel it. I can shift again. Well, I can shift once I have more space.” If he tried to shift beneath all this stone, he doubted the rocks would give.
That would be a very bad idea. For both him and Onyx.
Luther laughed. “I knew you could do?—”
“The stones are moving.” Onyx touched his arm.
Luther froze, straining to hear. After a moment, he could just make out a distant rumble.
“They’re lifting the stone,” Onyx said. “I can feel it. They’re uncovering us. You ready to shift and fight?”
Luther squared his shoulders. “Of course,” he said with all the bluster he could manage.
Luther’s leg was broken. Onyx had been cut on the thigh, and he’d been drugged. Although, thankfully, that seemed to have worn off. They both carried numerous bruises and cuts from their fight with each other earlier. Not to mention, Luther’s whole body ached with exhaustion. He imagined Onyx must be the same.
