Page 100 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Kassein ignored her, feeling increasingly nervous.

He had told his dragon to watch over Alezya. While Kein had rarely listened to its owner’s wishes in recent years, there was one thing they had agreed on, and it was Alezya. She came first, especially her safety.

Kassein knew his dragon wouldn’t have left her, not willingly.

If Alezya wasn’t in his tent, she wasn’t with Lorey, and Kein had taken off... Was Alezya riding his dragon? If so, where to?

Kassein tightened his fist. He didn’t like this. He felt a minimal amount of relief knowing that she was with his dragon, but to think she had left when he wasn’t looking...

How long had passed since he’d left her in his bed? A few hours?

His throat tightened. Where could she have gone with his dragon? A dragon could cross from one end of the Empire to the other in a few hours... but he had to think Kein wouldn’t take her too far from him.

Perhaps she just needed some fresh air or to experience a ride again. After all, the weather was fair, and there was a full moon that night... or so he was trying to convince himself, ignoring the ominous feeling gnawing his insides.

“Shall we chase them?” Kiera grimaced. “Not that I think it would be a great idea to chase your insane dragon, but...”

“Let it be,” Kassein said half-heartedly. “...They’ll be back.”

Kiera raised an eyebrow that clearly meant she doubted it but didn’t pursue the matter any further.

Kassein forced himself to take a settling breath in.

He and Alezya trusted each other. After what had happened between them the previous night... he felt like they were marked forever by some invisible, unbreakable bond. She was his.

It was in a dragon’s blood to hoard his treasures, and he had no intention of letting her go.

Wherever she’d gone, she’d come back to him, or he would go to her.

Neither mattered. Once he conquered those mountains, Alezya would be free to go wherever she wanted, and she would still be within his grasp.

The possessive feeling was sudden but not surprising.

Once again, Kassein had always known it was in their nature to be jealous and possessive, and he had seen his siblings and parents with their partners; he was almost relieved to have found his own half to feed that instinct.

“Are you sure?” Lorey whispered as if the other two couldn’t hear.

Instead of replying, Kassein turned to Tievin with a determined expression.

“Do we have everything we need to meet with my brother?”

Tievin hesitated, making some mental checklist in his head that included some grimacing, and eventually, nodded with a heavy sigh.

“I’m afraid so, Your Highness.”

“You are not taking my dragon,” Kiera hissed.

Kassein didn’t even bother to ask her and simply walked out of the tent, Tievin trying to keep up behind him while carrying his map.

“I-I need to make a stop by my tent, Your Highness,” Tievin panted. “The journey will also be quite long, we haven’t been to the Capital in a while, and you know how much I hate flying...”

Kassein didn’t reply, but as he was clearly headed for his own tent rather than Kiki, his sister’s dragon parked right outside the tent, Tievin took a turn and headed for his own, leaving his Commander to walk alone.

Kassein wasn’t even sure why he was making a stop by his tent when there was no one waiting for him. Perhaps he needed to see for himself the empty bed, feel the heartache more deeply.

Even if he expected it, the heartache hit him profoundly when he stepped inside and confirmed Lorey’s words. Alezya was gone again.

The bed was left a mess, the fur blankets spread around that still smelled like her.

He resisted the urge to go and smell it more deeply. The tent still smelled like her, like them, but it was now cold and empty. Where had she gone? Why? Was it about whatever or whoever she had left behind again?

The snow. She had said the snow was her family… Was that what she missed too much to stay with him? What was he missing?

She had seemed happier lately. There was always this melancholy about her, but it wasn’t as bad as when he’d first found her.

Would she ever be able to be fully happy with him? To trust him enough to stay? To rely on him, let him protect her from whatever was haunting her? Provide everything she needed? Because he would.

Kassein had made up his mind. If she didn’t come back, he would find her again. He wasn’t letting go. She could run and fly as far as she wanted, he would always find her again.

Kassein left the tent, not needing anything to head to the Capital anyway, and moreover, his sister’s dragon would fly faster if he went without wearing his armor.

As he headed back through the tents to find Kiki, he could feel the bustling his meeting with the generals had launched; there was some newfound excitement throughout the camp as the men were gearing up for the action they’d been hoping for.

Ignoring their stares, Kassein scrutinized the sky, hoping to find a glimpse of orange scales, but Kein was out of sight, and he had a feeling through their bond that the beast had gone to the mountains, carrying their heart with it...

He clenched his fists, and resumed his walk straight back to his sister’s dragon, unsurprisingly finding it next to Lorey and Kiera outside.

His sister was sulking, her arms crossed, while Lorey was affectionately petting the dark gray dragon.

“When do you expect to return?” Lorey asked.

“As soon as possible. If Alezya returns...”

“We will watch over her,” Lorey smiled.

He nodded and glanced at the skies again.

Kassein didn’t want to leave, but he felt like he would only delay this if Alezya was here, and he didn’t want to delay the inevitable.

It was almost easier to go while she was away and under his dragon’s protection.

Surely Kein wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

.. and Kassein would be back soon enough.

In the best-case scenario, she would be back in the camp, waiting for him with Lorey and Kiera.

If not, he would look for her. He would search every mountain, every cave, every crevice for her.

And he would return with his brother’s benediction to do so.

Truthfully, Kassein cared very little about his brother’s opinion, but he did want to go about this the right way.

For once in his life, he wanted to take a chance at making the right choice, the right decision, and being the man Alezya deserved, someone who could claim the north and rightfully own it.

He only had to wait a while longer for Tievin to return, quite neatly packed for someone with such little enthusiasm to fly. Lorey, who had taken to scouring the skies with him, smiled at Kassein.

“...I’m sure she will return,” she said.

How Alezya would return, of her own volition or after Kassein had brought her back, was left unsaid and up for interpretation, but it mattered little.

As soon as Tievin was ready, they climbed the dark gray dragon, who growled a bit, visibly as annoyed as its owner was about this, but still got up and flapped its wings a couple of times, getting ready for departure.

“Kassein,” Kiera marched to stand next to her dragon’s head, staring up at Kassein.

“...Don’t let Kassian get to you,” she simply said.

There was a lot more meaning to her words, but neither of them said it out loud, and he only replied with a stiff nod. Then, she stepped away, and Kiki took off with an elegant flap of its wings.