Page 123 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

“Darak’s words can never be trusted,” one of the other two scoffed.

“His daughters are supposedly always the most beautiful women amongst the clans, but he never showed them until the weddings. How many of the men who married into his clan were promised they’d be free to visit their families but never came back?

And how many died ‘honorably’ in his wars against the Dragon Clan?

His warriors somehow always survive, but many of the men who marry into his clan are never to be seen again.

No one wants to marry a Deklaan woman anymore. ”

Alezya hadn’t been privy to any of the dealings of her clan ever since she had been cast aside because of Lumie’s birth, but she had noticed that there had been fewer weddings.

She had always thought that her own failed marriage must have been the reason there had been so few afterward; her father had harassed her so many times about how much disgrace she’d brought upon their clan that she had hardly ever stopped to question it.

As it turned out, she might have been as blindsided as the other clans who didn’t know what happened on the other side of the mountains.

“The way you stood up against him last night and the obvious... disagreement between you and him is what pushed our chiefs to send us after you,” one of them explained.

“A lot of clans have been unhappy with Darak for a while, but he has so many allies, and we have so little information... Your outburst against him and the Exkiu Clan last night was unexpected.”

“And the dragon! The dragon, it... it really looked like it obeyed you.”

Their eyes all drifted down to Niiru, who tilted its head.

This time, Alezya had nothing to do with it, but the young dragon was still very visibly stuck to her side.

She didn’t comment on it. Whatever reason the baby dragon had to remain stuck to her heels, it was helping her convince those men that she held far more power over the dragons than her father could, which was true.

For now, Alezya only cared about increasing her chances to return to Lumie and Kassein, and it seemed to be working that way, even if they were presently heading in the opposite direction.

Each step took her farther from her father and farther from Kassein.

If she could have spotted Kein, she would have absolutely rushed to the first cliff for the orange dragon to get to her, but there had been no sign of Kassein’s dragon since it had taken Lumie away.

Moreover, she had already deserted Kassein twice; Alezya knew she had no right to expect Kassein or his dragon to come to rescue her again.

No, this time, she was determined to be the one to make the trip back, no matter how long it would take. It wasn’t right for her to wait to be rescued again; a good man like Kassein deserved to be the one to be chased after.

She had no choice but to assume she would have to go back on foot, and there was no way she’d be able to cross the mountains between Kassein and her without help.

Her father had far too much power over the area.

The alliance she was offered from foreign clans was an unexpected development but very welcome.

She didn’t only want to get back to Kassein; after what she had learned the previous night, Alezya was also determined to make her father pay.

The truth behind her mother’s death had been the final blow to any filial piety she had left. The more she learned, the more she was convinced that he was trouble for all the clans.

They walked for a long time, and when they stopped to take a break, Alezya was surprised they offered her some food. There were also new foods she had never seen before, which they described as a mix of grain and fish wrapped in edible leaves, and she found it surprisingly good.

Niiru, on the other hand, ignored their food to focus on dried meat instead, and it did seem to like the little bits of fish the Munsa men threw its way.

Still, they remained at a reasonable distance from Alezya and her thirty-pound bodyguard. It was kind of fun for her to notice how three grown men were scared of a miniature dragon while she was comfortable with Kein, who was at least ten times Niiru’s size.

They didn’t stop for long, just enough to eat and share some water, before they resumed walking.

Alezya was impressed by the length of the tunnels they used. They were shockingly long and narrow, running deep within their mountain, and, from what they told her, they didn’t belong to any clan but were mostly used as safe passageways from one mountain to another.

They had to step outside a few times, much to Alezya and Niiru’s relief, but there was no other dragon in sight for the duration of each walk outside, and Alezya felt a bit more sad every time they re-entered tunnels without having seen Kein.

Had the orange dragon given up on her? Or was there some other matter that kept it away?

Did Kassein order his dragon to not go back for her? Or was Kein still with Lumie?

Alezya would have given a lot to have the answers to her questions, but right now, all she had was a tiny dragon, the prospect of an alliance with the Munsa Clan, and a silent promise to herself that she would do anything to go back.

“We’re here.”

Alezya was surprised when their tunnel suddenly took a sharp turn and emerged into a large cave with a large body of water.

She immediately noticed it smelled salty, and though she had only seen the sea from afar, she assumed that was probably what it was supposed to smell like.

The lake of that cave must be connected to the sea. How deep inside the mountains had she gone? She couldn’t tell how many hours they had walked, but she was tired, and she could tell it was late.

The three men were welcomed back by many people of their clan, all with intricate braided hairstyles, and now that she stood closer to them, Alezya noticed they had shiny little pearls, stones, and little objects she’d never seen before woven into them.

While they greeted many people, they continued to escort Alezya past them, leading her through more corridors, more little caves with people and bodies of water of all sizes.

Their lifestyle was probably organized around those bodies of water, as Alezya noticed many people were actively swimming in them, including children.

There were nets hung nearby, little wooden boxes, and spears, and she wondered if they could actually fish with those.

“Those... lakes are connected to the sea?” she guessed out loud.

“They are,” they nodded. “Our people are great swimmers. Children learn young how to swim fast and hold their breath long enough to get to the other side.”

Alezya was stunned.

Their clan felt so different from hers; no wonder she hadn’t recognized the food or some of the fabric of their clothes.

Their clothing was also much lighter than the Deklaan’s, but she guessed they were also deeper in the mountains, not as high and exposed to the cold winds as her clan.

Even their bodies seemed leaner, with broad shoulders and long limbs too. Alezya wondered if their hairstyles helped them swim better, perhaps, or if it had another cultural significance that escaped her.

Eventually, they reached an opening that brought them outdoors again and into a cove that took Alezya’s breath away.

It was a large dome carved into the mountain, but the ground was half rocks, half sand, and the sea was coming to lick the entrance with small waves.

All around the area were the Munsa people, gathered around little fire pits, walking with fishnets, or busy making wicker baskets. There were countless ropes, baskets, and fishnets hanging around the walls of the cove, some so high Alezya had no idea how they’d reached it in the first place.

There were children playing around in the inches of water, and as soon as it noticed them, Niiru let out a chirpy sound and jumped after them.

“Niiru!” Alezya stopped the dragon in its tracks. “No. You’re going to scare them.”

Niiru gave her a little disappointed growl and, instead of coming back to her, crouched down in the thin bed of water, its tail swishing little waves of water left and right.

It reminded Alezya of how Kein could do exactly the same thing with snow and again, she wondered if Kein was related to Niiru somehow.

Leaving the small dragon within eyesight, she was led toward one of the gatherings.

It was one of the bigger circles of people, with some elders who didn’t even glance up as they were braiding younger kids’ hair, fishnets, or baskets, but she did recognize the man and woman with braided hair from the gathering.

The man was frowning at her, his eyes going to his men who had brought her full of questions, but the woman didn’t seem surprised.

From up close, Alezya guessed that woman was slightly older than her, perhaps thirty years old.

“You brought her?” the man finally asked out loud, sounding annoyed.

“Darak had shoved her into a crevice,” one of them admitted. “We kind of... had to strike a deal before he noticed us and took her elsewhere.”

“What deal?” the woman asked.

“I would agree to meet you if they freed me,” Alezya answered for them, “and I would consider making sure your clan was safe from the dragon.”

Those words got a few more people at this gathering to raise their heads. The adults sent the kids off to play with their peers, and the atmosphere around grew tense.

The woman glanced around, silently checking in with the others, before she turned to Alezya.

“...Fine, let’s talk,” she said. “Sit down. You should have a meal since you have traveled all this way. And... is that dragon yours?”

Alezya glanced back.

In the few minutes she’d focused on the man and woman from the gathering, Niiru had begun chasing after the kids.