Page 104 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

She didn’t want to waste time on her father’s glare when she had spent so little time with her baby lately. Lumie had changed from the last time she had seen her, and she wanted to take in everything, every little detail she could carve into her mind, every smile and giggle of her baby.

She was starting to look more and more like a little girl and less like a baby, and it made her heart ache.

Subtly, Alezya opened her coat and pressed Lumie against her skin, praying that she would share her scent and Kein would be able to smell it.

Her baby immediately relaxed, breathing hard against her collarbone, and Alezya leaned her cheek against her, holding her as tight as she could.

All exits from this place were blocked by her father’s men, so there was no way for her to make a run for it. Although she was dying to get them both out of there, at least she could finally hold Lumie again.

“Their clan. How many are there? Is there more beyond the forest we don’t know about?” her father pressed.

Alezya suppressed a smirk just in time, thanks to Lumie hiding some of her face.

Kassein’s clan was far bigger than her father imagined.

She had seen their land when they had flown, and it was a large country with lots more people and homes.

Kalat Unshreik too. That amazing mountain was more impressive, beautiful, and imposing than any she’d seen.

Still, Alezya carefully put on a neutral expression.

“It’s mostly what we see from above,” she lied in a low voice. “There are a few more beyond what we see, but that’s it. The men aren’t as strong as they seem either. Only the best warriors get to fight. Others are young or old and train when they can, away from our eyes.”

Her father squinted his eyes. Alezya didn’t care if her clan went to battle with Kassein’s; her people only sent their warriors to fight.

If they believed it might be a war they could win, they would send the kind of men she hated the most, and they could all go to hell for all she cared.

She had no doubt Kassein and his people could crush them, and Kein eat them all.

Still, her father seemed suspicious of her words and tilted his head slightly.

“They didn’t seem to have any women down there. Why would there be no women if that was all their people?”

“Women are seldom allowed out,” Alezya lied. “Most live in a nearby place but remain inside, away from the mountains, so our clan doesn’t touch them.”

“But you and two other women were allowed outside. And there were no children either.”

“I was never left alone, and there was always a dragon nearby, wasn’t there? There’s a section at the back for women. The other two women and I were only allowed to move around because we belonged to their chief and were watched by their dragons.”

She hoped the lie would hold, and she counted on all the blind angles her father’s sentinels had of the camp, which she knew all too well herself from having watched the Dragon Clan from the mountain a few times.

Plus, they wouldn’t have believed that women could move around with no other company than dragons without that kind of reason. ..

She was using the differences between their cultures to twist the truth into one her father would be more inclined to believe.

What else would he think? That she had walked around freely?

That the dragon followed her for her protection, not as a threat?

That she feared Kein less than Kassein’s men?

Inconceivable for her father. No, it was far more promising for him to think he could potentially defeat the clan that had plagued them for centuries.

“How did you learn their language?” he squinted his eyes.

“...It was fairly easy. Their language is simpler than ours, and they didn’t mind speaking when I was there. They didn’t think I’d understand at all. I simply listened and understood things.”

“What could you possibly know?”

He wanted proof. He didn’t want to believe the daughter he’d kicked out was so smart that she had learned another language. Alezya smirked.

“Their chief is called aqayir ,” she said. “It’s their word for clan chief. They call the dragons taniyen , the fighters judun , and the weapons dinjhar .”

She knew a lot more vocabulary, but those were the words that would surely get her father’s attention more than meat or family .

“How do I know you’re not making it up? You have a knack for lying, daughter.”

“I can call the dragon.”

Her father’s eyes opened wide.

“...What?”

Alezya smiled through her tear-stained cheeks, a bit proud at the feeling of anger and disbelief that appeared on her father’s face. Envy too, no doubt.

“I can summon the orange dragon,” she said. “They have a word for when they’re ready to offer it a sacrifice, and I know the word for it. Should I show you?”

Holding Lumie tight against her, Alezya turned around, trying to keep her expression calm.

This could be her chance. This could be her one opportunity to get Lumie out of there.

.. As her father’s men’s grip had already lessened around her, she shrugged them off and pushed past them to walk through one of the tunnels, feeling half a dozen people following her.

She shouldn’t run; they would no doubt catch up to her before they got out if she ran.

But to think she was headed outside with Lumie.

.. and into the sunlight, Alezya suddenly remembered, stopping in her tracks.

Her faint idea that she might have a chance to get her baby out of there so soon and so fast died as realization struck her. She couldn’t take Lumie out now in the middle of the day; the daylight would hurt her.

A knot lodged itself in her throat. She could have been so close!

But it didn’t matter. She still had her point to make, and her plan could still work.

“Why are you stopping?” her father hissed.

“...We’re far enough,” Alezya muttered, pressing Lumie closer against her. “I don’t want my child too close to the dragon.”

Or the daylight , she thought to herself.

It was laughable to think the sunlight was more dangerous for her baby than the orange dragon outside. But Alezya had to be careful; she couldn’t have her father think she was too close to Kein. It was better if he still believed she feared the orange dragon. Still, she had a point to make.

Alezya took a deep breath, and after shielding Lumie’s ear that wasn’t pressed against her bosom with her hand, she shouted.

“Kein!”

Her voice reverberated along the walls of the tunnel, all the way to the entrance she knew to be after one turn, opening into a large crevice of the mountain.

She waited a couple of seconds and was about to shout again when a loud growl made them all jump.

Everyone but Alezya took a step back in fright.

There was a violent gust of wind and then a deafening boom.

A ruckus as loud as a thunderstorm came from the other end of the tunnel, shaking the walls around them and even making the floor tremble menacingly.

They heard furious dragon growls, claws ripping against stone, and the terrible forewarning sounds of boulders crashing.

Alezya retreated back into the cave, nervous as to how much damage Kein could do against the mountain in its frustration.

She could hear it growl furiously, trying to rip the mountain apart to get to her, and she felt grateful for the dragon’s stubborn loyalty.

“ Kein, tawa! ” she shouted again.

The rumbling stopped, but they could all sense the dragon a few steps away, its growls quieting down. Its warm breath sent faint gushes of hot air down the corridor.

After a few more seconds of unbearable tension, Kein let out a long, low-pitched growl, and they heard it take off. Alezya let out a faint sigh of relief.

“Do you believe me now, Father?” She turned toward him with a triumphant expression.

Her father had gone pale and wide-eyed, staring at the other end of the tunnel with sheer confusion painted on his face. Clearly, he hadn’t been ready to believe her.

“Wha—... How did you do that?” he grunted.

“I told you I learned a lot from the Dragon Clan by observing them,” she muttered.

“Do it again,” he hissed. “Call the dragon again!”

“No.”

His glare could have burned, but Alezya didn’t cower. She held Lumie a bit tighter in case he tried to hurt them and returned his intense glare, resigned to stay defiant.

“What?” he spat.

“I learned how to call the dragon by myself,” she said. “You can’t do it, and I won’t do it and risk my daughter again.”

“I could have you and your bastard child killed right this instant!” he shouted.

“Yes, Father, you could. But then you would have no dragon child and no way to call a dragon and impress the other clan chiefs,” Alezya retorted fiercely. “Your choice.”

For a few seconds, her father kept glaring at her, visibly furious but considering his options.

He was still the cunning, vicious all-mighty man she had once known and been scared of, but Alezya was the one who had changed.

If she could face a dragon without fear, she could sustain her father’s glare.

His eyes turned toward the end of the tunnel, and he licked his lips.

“K-Kain!” he called, butchering the dragon’s name.

They all waited, but there was no response, which brought a faint smile to Alezya’s lips.

Dragons were stubborn, and Lorey had taught her that they were quite willful too. Kein didn’t care for her father and wouldn’t respond to a stranger’s call. The little doubt she’d had was lifted, confirming how much power she held thanks to her connection to the dragon.

Her father looked passably furious, and he had failed to prove her wrong in front of some of his men, which added to the humiliation.

Alezya almost expected another slap, but he was standing a bit too far and didn’t move toward her, only pinning her down with his infuriated eyes.