Page 125 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
“We think his plan was foiled when they refused to let him live with them,” one of the elders left of Ekut suddenly spoke.
“The Lumiata rarely allowed men to live with them, and it was far less likely for a Lumiata woman to go to the men’s clan.
Some of their women never even lived with the father of their child.
And in all cases, if they had a daughter, the daughter was always sent to live with the Lumiata Clan, whereas if it was a son. ..”
“He lived with his father’s clan,” Alezya muttered. “But my father never sent me to the Lumiata Clan, did he?”
“Not just you,” the older woman said. “Your mother wasn’t able to return to her people either.
Our clan was too far to know what happened at the time, but now, we know that there were many meetings between your father and the Lumiata.
We think he wasn’t letting your mother return, or your mother refused to return without–”
“Without me.”
Alezya let out a heavy sigh. It was a huge blow, much worse than she would have thought. She had very few memories of her mom, but she knew she had been a kind, loving woman.
And now, she knew that her mom had fought as hard as she could to return to her home clan while refusing to abandon her child, precisely like Alezya had done with Lumie. Suddenly, she felt more kindred than ever with the mother that she hardly remembered anymore.
No wonder her father had hated her so much; she probably reminded him of the previous woman who had defied him...
“...My father killed my mother,” Alezya suddenly spat.
Her words triggered a collective gasp around her, but she wasn’t looking at them; she was glaring into the fire, remembering her father’s taunting voice, the grin she could imagine on his face when he’d slapped her with that earth-shattering revelation.
“...I knew it,” Ekata hissed. “That wretched bastard... I always knew Darak was the worst of them! The Deklaan clan chiefs have always been sick with arrogance, but that bastard... I’d bet you he did something to the Lumiata too!”
“We don’t know that,” her brother said. “I don’t think he could have exterminated another clan on his own without anyone knowing.”
“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes. “We know how Darak is, and he isn’t the only one who hated the Lumiata as much as he envied them.
I bet he convinced some other clans who thought the same that they had to get rid of the Lumiata.
Look at last night! The Exkiu bastard was ready to slaughter the girl on the spot.
The Exkiu Clan’s previous leader hated the Lumiata just as much, and to whom did Darak marry his daughter, of all people? The son of that bastard!”
“Even if that’s right, that has little to do with us,” Ekut said, far calmer and resigned. “And even if it did, there is little we can do. We cannot avenge the Lumiata, even if he did what you think he did, that’s... that’s out of our hands. It’s done now.”
Alezya felt a strange mix of sorrow and annoyance toward that man.
She could understand he was trying to think with the best interests of his clan in mind, and it was no easy feat when they were talking about actual war with a clan that had most likely already annihilated another under their noses.
Still, Alezya didn’t like this. She couldn’t let her father go unscathed after what he had done to her mother and what he had very likely done to her clan. She needed to make him pay, and she wasn’t going to be able to do anything if she couldn’t find allies.
“It’s done?” his sister scoffed. “We can’t simply ignore what the Deklaan Clan did like cowards!”
“We’re not sure what they did, Sister. Even if we had proof–”
“Even if we had proof, they would deny it,” she hissed, “but no clan is blind nor deaf. We all know the same thing, and that is that the Deklaan Clan is dangerous. How many clans would believe us if we told them what they did to the girl’s mother?
Be real, Brother. We both know there are a lot of clans who would be happy if the Deklaan Clan got wiped out tomorrow.
Even more so after what happened last night. ”
“My father deserves to die,” Alezya said, drawing all the eyes back to herself.
“Not only because of what he’s done to me and my mother, but because of what he did to the Lumiata and all the other clans by perpetually antagonizing the Dragon Clan.
He’s blindsiding them all. Even the clans who are allied with him probably have no idea they will never win this war. ”
“What did you see, child?” one of the elders asked.
“The Dragon Clan is beyond anything we think we know,” Alezya scoffed.
“Far more. When I rode on the dragon, I saw land as far as my eyes could see. We’re.
.. We’re so small compared to them. The men at the foot of the mountains are just a tiny piece of their clan.
I saw more of their settlements, their black mountain.
And there are far more dragons than what we know.
The fact that we haven’t seen them all means they’re far from where we can see.
If the Dragon Clan decided to, they could probably exterminate us all at dawn. ”
A heavy silence followed Alezya’s words.
She wasn’t sure they’d believe her or not, but she knew what she had seen; there were hardly any women in the Dragon Clan, but she had seen some in settlements near Kalat Unshreik .
There had to be a lot more living beyond that.
If Kassein had six more siblings with dragons as big as Kein, they had to be far away for her people to have never seen them.
Her father’s dreams of victory were just blind delusions, and he was going to send many clans to their deaths with them.
The gathering the previous evening had been the eye-opener Alezya didn’t know she needed. She had always been oblivious, but now, she couldn’t remain passive.
“Alright,” Ekata said, with an insistent look to her brother. “You know the Dragon Clan better than anyone in the mountains now. What can you help us do?”
“I... I need to get back to them,” Alezya said, her throat tight with emotion. “Their Clan Chief, I could... I could tell him not all the clans want to fight him. That your clan has no intention of fighting.”
Alezya wouldn’t admit it to her newfound allies, but she was also dying to know if she could get back to Kassein and still be allowed by his side. With each minute she spent away from him, her anxiety got a bit worse that he wouldn’t forgive her for another betrayal.
She was hopeful that Lorey wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Lumie, and she knew Kassein wouldn’t take his anger out on a child, but she wasn’t confident she would also be spared.
As much as she never wanted to fear Kassein, and she firmly believed he was a good man, Alezya wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle being rejected by a man she actually loved this time.
“It’s not just us,” Ekut said, now looking hopeful.
“There are a few other clans who would want that... guarantee. Many of us haven’t even dared to grow in size just so we wouldn’t have to send men to the border to have them die at the hands of the Dragon Clan.
If we could be sure, somehow, that we will be able to travel outside without the risk of being attacked by a dragon, it would be. .. incredible for our clan and others.”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Alezya admitted, “but I know their Clan Chief might listen to me if I explain things. I just need to get back to him—I mean, to the Dragon Clan, but my father will never allow me to cross the border.”
Ekata frowned, exchanging another look around.
“Sadly, we’re not familiar with the mountains you come from,” she said, “but we can reach out to other clans who might; some of them we do trust.”
“Thank you,” Alezya said.
Ekata exchanged a long glance with her brother, who cleared his throat before he spoke.
“We... are also worried about the clans who will be unwilling to help us,” he said.
“After you were taken away from the gathering last night and the Deklaan Clan left, many clans argued for a long time. As my sister said, many clans like ours believe in peace with the Dragon Clan, or at least we hope to find a way for their beasts to leave us alone. But some other clans were less... optimistic. Many clans are too afraid or have lost too many to the Dragon Clan. They don’t want peace, and worse, they believe your father does have the solution to end this war. ”
“This is madness,” Alezya scoffed. “They don’t even realize... Kein is—I mean, the orange dragon is just one of their dragons. They could wipe us all out in a blink if they wanted, or at least make it so we’d never be able to see the light of day again.”
“We believe you,” Ekata said, “but not all the clans do. Many of them would much rather believe your father’s promises to end the Dragon Clan than think a woman can help them establish peace.
Whether it’s pride, fear, or anger, some clans won’t listen to us, and certainly not to you.
The Exkiu and Deklaan Clans hold far too much power.
Your father sacrificed countless other clans’ men for his war, and they won’t be pacified so easily. ”
“...Is there a way we can convince them?” Alezya muttered, horrified. “They... They will just keep sending men to their deaths!”
“It sounded worse than that last night,” Ekut groaned. “Some wanted to launch an all-out war against the Dragon Clan. There were... horrible ideas thrown around.”
“What kind of ideas?” Alezya asked, alarmed by the fact that he wouldn’t meet her gaze anymore.
Ekut looked nervously at his sister, so Ekata was the one to scoff.