Page 101 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

After leaving Lumie, leaving Kassein might have been the most heart-wrenching decision she had made.

He had given her everything she could have asked for and more.

There was just no moving on from the dream she’d been given to live with that man; Alezya knew it.

As soon as she had woken up, finding herself alone in the bed, covered in warm furs and Kassein’s lingering scent, her heart had been more full and painful than ever.

It wouldn’t have been so hard if that man hadn’t given her so much.

She hadn’t even taken a step out of his habitation, and she missed the man already.

She didn’t know where he had gone, but she was certain he had spent more time in his bed with her than he usually did for she had felt his strong arms holding her all night long.

Getting up from the bed, cleaning his scent off herself, and putting on some clothes felt so hard that Alezya found herself choking back tears several times, despite rushing just in case Kassein returned. She had to get out of here and on her way back to her clan before he returned.

She wanted to stay here, most of her heart wanted to stay here, but no matter how much she loved Kassein, how strong of a hold he had taken on her heart, there was absolutely nothing in this world that could have made her not go back to Lumie.

Her baby girl was the only reason she would leave the best man in the world and return to the worst of all.

Kassein made her heart full and warm, but Lumie was her heartbeat.

She couldn’t go on without being absolutely certain her daughter would be safe and well. She had made the mistake of leaving her baby’s fate in destiny’s hands once, and she wouldn’t be making that mistake again.

This time, she was going to make sure Lumie would be fine, loved, and safe, no matter what. No matter what it cost her.

She felt endlessly sorry for Kassein, but absolutely nothing could convince her not to save her daughter before herself. Alezya was resolved to give up on happiness as long as Lumie’s safety was guaranteed. She would bury her own chances at a happy future so long as Lumie got her own.

Thus, with her heart more painful than ever before, she ventured out of Kassein’s home and into the cold to find, much to her relief, the faithful orange dragon waiting for her.

Despite the tears that threatened to spill any second, Alezya was happy to see the dragon and realize again how lucky she was to have made such a beast an ally.

“I’m going to need you,” she whispered to the dragon, using her own language.

She had learned a lot of Kassein’s tongue, and since it seemed like Kein could understand some of hers, she had taken to chatting with the orange dragon when on her own, all while practicing how to give commands in the Dragon Empire’s language.

Alezya had never thought she could feel so confident about directing a man-eating beast, but it was a deliciously empowering feeling.

It was her best chance. She had a plan, a mad plan perhaps, but it was a far better one than the first she’d put into action when she’d run away from her clan the first time.

Things were so different now. She had Kassein and his dragon by her side, even if neither of them really knew, and they were her best chance, a chance she wouldn’t have ever dared to hope for.

Feeling braver than ever, Alezya placed her hands under Kein’s chin and pressed her forehead against the large dragon’s head, between its eyes, closing her own as she felt its incredibly hot scales.

“I need her back,” she whispered again. “Will you help me get my baby girl back, Kein?”

As if it somewhat understood, the dragon let out a low, long rumbling growl.

Alezya smiled and walked around the dragon to climb on its back, acting with a confidence that felt new to her.

Kein seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds before the dragon eventually lifted its heavy body, standing up from the snow den its body had shaped in the last few days.

“ Fly, ” she said, using Kassein’s language.

Kein growled, took a couple of steps away from the habitation to find the space to stretch its large orange wings, and then, much to Alezya’s relief, took off. She had never flown by herself, and she had only done it once with Kassein, making this feel like madness, but it was happening.

It only took seconds for Kein’s large body to get high above the camp, and the men’s figures were reduced to tiny ants beneath them.

Alezya willed her lungs to take a deep breath as the insane reality sunk in. She was flying a dragon by herself. As much as taking his dragon and betraying Kassein broke her heart, she needed the little bit of empowerment it gave her.

For a couple of minutes, she let Kein take them wherever it pleased, but then, she tried to practice the words Lorey had taught her, directing the dragon left or right with a tap on the matching side of its neck, and much to her relief, it worked.

Kein was acting incredibly docile, letting a woman that wasn’t even a fifth of its size direct it wherever she wanted.

They quickly found themselves high above the mountains, and Alezya saw her home from a dragon’s point of view, as well as the many other mountains she had only seen from afar and those beyond all the way to the sea.

There were so many mountains and probably about as many clans.

.. She was the insignificant pariah daughter of a clan’s chief, and yet, she probably was the first of those people to ever ride a dragon.

All of a sudden, she held more power than any of the men who had looked down on her could ever dream of, and that was quite an amazing feeling.

Alezya’s plan still had to come into play, and she took in another breath of fresh air before directing Kein again.

Thanks to the dragon’s formidable size, it would be hard for anyone from below to notice a human was riding it, and she didn’t plan to let her clan see what she could have that dragon do just yet.

Thus, hoping the clans would have the usual reaction to hide inside the mountain, she spotted an isolated clearing for Kein to land in, close enough to her mountain that she could find her way home on foot and hidden enough that they wouldn’t see her coming off its orange-scaled back.

While Kein landed obediently right where instructed, the dragon seemed upset about the human female getting off its back, and its orange head kept following her movements with nervous or upset little growls.

Alezya gave it a sad smile, petting its neck.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I need you to stay close. Can you stick around for me until I call you?”

The dragon let out another growl, which she took as reassuring.

Now that she was back on familiar soil, fresh snow, and far too close to her home mountain, dread began to fill Alezya. She wished Kassein was there to hold her in his strong, warm arms, but instead, she pressed her palms and her body against his dragon, feeling the hot orange scales warm her up.

She was nervous. She’d had to go back twice before already, and each time had hurt more than the last. It was a cruel truth she tried to push aside, but deep down, she knew she might not survive this one.

Alezya let Kein’s body warm her for a few more seconds while she gathered the courage she needed to go back. The dragon’s near-unbearable heat and thoughts of her baby waiting for her finally willed her to pull away and turn in the direction she had to take.

“See you later, friend,” she whispered to Kein, hoping the dragon would stick around long enough to enact her plan.

Alezya heard Kein’s pained growls as she walked away, but the dragon didn’t take off until a few seconds later, and while she was still a long way from home, she could see the orange body making lazy circles above her, no doubt following her hike with its curious silver eyes.

Thanks to the predator in the sky, none of the ones hiding in the mountain crossed her path while Alezya made it back to her clan’s territory.

It was a long journey, but she didn’t hurry, knowing she had hours until the nightmare began. She missed Kein’s warmth already as her feet were numb from the bite of the snow, and although she was used to the pain from the cold, it was nothing compared to what her heart was enduring.

She kept Kassein and Lumie in mind, alternating between hoping one would forgive her and the other one was safe. She had been away from her child for too long, and she missed Kassein already.

She willed herself to keep going, thinking the sooner this would be over, the better, whatever the final outcome.

She felt like the same woman who had left this place twice, only stronger, bolder.

And, if she was honest, loved. There was something immeasurably powerful about knowing that someone was waiting for her.

Someone who loved her, adored her, and made her feel at home in his arms. Her father’s spiteful words wouldn’t hurt anymore; Kassein’s love was like an invisible dragon-scaled shield she wore to battle.

Thus, when she finally stepped foot inside one of the familiar tunnels, she kept her head high as she made her way past the stone walls and back to the depths of her home clan.

It didn’t take long for her path to cross with a sentinel, who took a second to recognize her and another second to realize she was alive. He might as well have seen a ghost because the man’s eyes opened wide in shock, and he darted in the opposite direction without a word.