Page 111 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
A heavy downpour was plaguing the south of the Empire.
It had started almost as soon as they had flown past the Shadelands and left the Onyx Castle behind.
Kiki was usually one of the fastest dragons, but the rain and her load of two adult men slowed her down considerably, and the sun had set behind the dark clouds by the time they landed in the gardens of the Imperial Palace.
Tievin was drenched, all of his fur coats rendered twice heavier than usual, and his teeth were loudly chattering.
The usual green grass around the lake the palace surrounded was so saturated with water that their shoes sunk in by half an inch.
Kassein unloaded their luggage, mostly Tievin’s, while his Intendant tried to disembark, but the operation was rendered quite difficult by all his oversized layers.
Eventually, he tripped and inevitably landed on all fours.
“By the mighty dragon,” he grimaced.
He was still a bit green from the trip and looked seconds away from puking in the grass. Kassein didn’t say anything, glancing around while his Intendant regained his continence and equilibrium.
He had forgotten how sad and boresome this place could get during the rainy season.
There were a handful of servants nearby walking under the white stone arched pathways of the palace, and upon recognition, a couple of them opened their eyes wide before running inside, no doubt to warn the Emperor of the unexpected arrival.
Kassein had thought it best to fly straight to the Capital without forewarning, not leaving any time for the rest of the family to try to come.
He already didn’t want to be here and dreaded running into anyone.
He hadn’t set foot in the Capital in a long time now, and he certainly hadn’t missed it.
This place had banished him as much as Kassian had, making him feel unwelcomed, if not feared by the locals.
Even the Imperial Servants, whose duty it was to literally serve the Imperial Family, didn’t come out to greet him, only observing him from afar like an unexpected storm cloud from the safety of the archways.
Kassein glared back at them, slightly annoyed. He might not have been the most popular, but he was still an Imperial Prince, and Kein wasn’t even around to give them a fair excuse to stay away.
“So improper,” Tievin scoffed as if he’d read his thoughts. “The Imperial Servants’ training seems to be lacking nowadays!”
He had said it loud enough that a couple of Imperial Servants heard it and felt compelled to go against their instincts and approach, albeit they made a noticeable detour around Kassein to come and grab the luggage.
Kassein couldn’t help but notice that even Kiki seemed to be more easily approached than he was... He shook his head in resignation and moved to get inside the palace, Tievin two steps behind.
Everywhere he went, there was a mix of reactions, going from wide, stunned eyes to some servants swiftly turning around and disappearing out of sight.
There was something unnerving about still being so feared after so much time had passed, but at least no one dared to stop him on his way to the throne room.
Even the guards seemed unsure what to do, shocked to see him, nervous about his determined approach, and unwilling to stop a relative of the Emperor, even the least popular one.
The only thing to slow Kassein down was the feeling of dread torturing his gut as he got closer to his destination.
Tievin was somewhere behind him, moving more freely after having shed the drenched layers and leaving his luggage to be carried by servants, but Kassein couldn’t hear anything; it was as if everything else was tuned out, his being solely focused on the impending encounter.
The last time he had seen his brother had been a terrible moment, a memory he didn’t even want to remember, but his head was forcing him to.
The fury and disappointment of his brother.
The harsh words that had echoed around the walls, giving him the appraisal he’d always known as the failure of the family, an Imperial disappointment.
Kassein’s throat tightened and his nerves tensed.
He could feel his spine going stiff as steel, his muscles tense, his hands sweaty, his mouth dry.
He hated every bit of this, every step that took him closer to his brother.
The only thing that kept him going, the thing that had prevented him from having Kiki turn around during the long hours of this journey, was Alezya.
He wanted to be that man for her. If he turned around now, he would never be the man she deserved. It was as simple as that.
Not easy, but simple.
He held onto the memory of her, of her smell, of her silky hair, of her smooth skin and shy smiles, as he reached the large doors.
He hesitated behind the threshold, so tense he feared he might never be able to take another step again. It was Tievin’s voice that unexpectedly grounded him, snapping him away from his internal chaos.
“Is the Emperor inside?” he asked the pair of guards who’d been staring at Kassein.
“Yes, Intendant.”
“Well then,” Tievin said, with a tone that implied they should hurry up and do what they were here for.
The doors opened. Heavy, imposing, needlessly high.
Kassein hated those doors. They were meant to make people on this side feel small, like everything in the throne room.
It was one of the largest halls of the palace, and it was almost empty.
There was no furniture but the large throne at the end.
There were stairs, but once upon a time, there had been proper chairs and soft carpets for guests to sit on.
It looked like Kassian didn’t invite many guests to sit down anymore.
Perhaps the place was rendered even darker by the raging downpour outside, but even so, Kassein found it a striking contrast with the warm hall of his childhood.
He and his siblings used to happily barge into the throne room at all times of the day to bother their Aunt Shareen, the previous Empress.
There was a seat his sister Sadara preferred for her needlework, next to the one Cessilia would read on for hours.
There would be carpets covered with toys for him and the younger siblings, and servants would go in and out all day to help his parents tend to the eight siblings.
Now, the place was bare, cold, uninviting.
It took Kassein a few seconds to recognize the place as it wasn’t even lit by candlelight, but engulfed in the darkness of a gray evening instead.
And it was almost empty, except for the one lonely figure of his older brother.
Kassian wasn’t seated on his throne but on the floor, his back and head slumped against the large golden seat.
He seemed to be asleep; one arm was on his bent knee while the other rested on his straightened leg.
His hair had grown longer since the last time Kassein had seen him, reaching beneath his shoulders.
He didn’t announce himself, but took in a deep breath, almost expecting to smell something odd in the air. Alcohol, perhaps.
“What are you doing here?”
Kassian’s voice broke the silence before he opened his eyes.
Kassein’s eyes were a dark green, a soft mix between his mother’s and their father’s black irises, but Kassian’s were exactly like their mother’s, green as emeralds.
Perhaps that made the irate expression on his face feel even worse.
“Long time no see, older brother,” Kassein finally managed to utter.
“I asked you a question.”
Kassian sounded in an even worse mood than the last time he had seen him, and that didn’t seem possible.
Still, Kassein steeled himself for a hard conversation. He had left after an irreparable mistake and was coming back to ask a favor of the brother he’d left to deal with the horrible consequences; this wasn’t going to be easy at all.
“...I came to ask you something.”
“I wonder what it could be,” Kassian sneered.
“...How is the family of the man you killed, perhaps? Or how many of them did I have to look in the eye and apologize to in your stead? No? Then how is the widow, surely? How are his children growing without their father? How many houses have been rebuilt since you left? How many times have I had to apologize for your actions? How many of our citizens fear and despise us thanks to you? How–”
“I get it,” Kassein interrupted him, his throat tight. “...I get it, Kassian. I’m sorry.”
His older brother went silent for just a second, squinting his eyes.
“You’re sorry? ... Sorry? You think being sorry begins to cover it?”
“...I would have apologized myself. I would have apologized and rebuilt those houses myself if you had let me–”
“How?” Kassian shouted. “How the hell would you have done anything but destroy? How was I supposed to trust you to rebuild something after all the damage you’ve caused for the last ten, no, fourteen years? How do you apologize for killing a man, Kassein? Tell me, where would you start?”
Kassein clenched his fists, taking in the verbal abuse.
He knew his older brother had every right to be mad, but it seemed Kassian was done, for he slowly stood up. Surprisingly, he had to lean on his throne to get himself upright, which made Kassein frown.
“Are you drunk...?”
“What I am, Kassein, is tired ,” Kassian retorted.
His tone was full of anger and sarcasm, but beneath it, Kassein felt something in his older brother’s voice. Genuine tiredness, not just physical fatigue, but the kind of deep mental exhaustion that took a toll on someone’s mind. And, underlying, something that sounded like... sadness. Or grief.