Page 131 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
Cece was their older sister Cessilia’s dragon, the one who’d mysteriously returned as an Ice Dragon after being trapped in the mythical lake of the Imperial Palace after its apparent death years ago during that incident.
Cece was also one of the largest dragons in size since Cessilia had become Queen and gotten married, and it had produced three younger dragons just as Cessilia had three children with her partner, the Eastern King, Ashen.
Kassein relaxed a little upon realizing who the visitor was, but not completely. He hadn’t seen his older sister in years, and he had ignored many of her letters over the years too.
Moreover, Cessilia had always been different from his other siblings.
She was like a second mother figure to them and far too good at reading people. She was incredibly kind and so good toward others that despite being a foreign queen, she had quickly become an incredibly popular queen in the Eastern Kingdom.
This was precisely what scared Kassein: Cessilia was far too kind.
“Good morning. Is that Her Highness?” Lorey said, stepping out of the castle behind him.
Kassein only gave her a stiff nod while he mindlessly rubbed Lumie’s back to calm himself down. The baby girl was still fast asleep under the cover, her body completely limp against his bare torso, and for some reason, her presence was grounding him and allowing him to stay somewhat calm.
Kein, on the other hand, was growling. Kassein knew his dragon was growling at him, just like he knew that as angry as Kein was, it would never attack while he was holding Lumie.
Graceful as ever, Cessilia’s dragon Cece landed elegantly outside of the castle courtyard, and his older sister jumped down with a bright smile lighting up her face as soon as their eyes met.
Kassein’s heart ached, and he could only reply with the shadow of a smile himself, and a faint nod.
Behind her, Kiki, who was half Cece’s size, landed next. And then, the tiny dragons each landed, although it looked more like the triplets had decided to dive-bomb into the snow rather than land properly.
Each baby dragon landed with a little high-pitched growl of excitement.
Bora, the peach-colored dragon, and Leni, the brown one, both found piles of snow to barrel in and play with as soon as they landed.
Meanwhile, Vele, which was yellow, and a Water Dragon like Kiki and Cece, began running around immediately, tunneling through the foot-high snow.
In a matter of seconds, the triplet dragons managed to turn all of the snow in the area into a mini-snowstorm, ignoring Kiki’s annoyed growls.
As their owners were ten years old, the young dragons were still relatively small, as most dragons grew exponentially once their owners reached teenagehood.
Bora and Leni were Earth Dragons like Kein and, therefore, bigger than their sibling, but they were still only the size of a large dog.
Given that their genitor, Darsan’s dragon Dran, had been one of the largest dragons in existence, they were probably going to grow in size very quickly at some point.
“Do you three ever calm down?” Kiera protested after receiving another wave of snow in the face. “Stop it!”
Cessilia rolled her eyes with an amused smile, ignoring the little mayhem to walk directly toward her brother.
She ignored Kein’s growls and went straight to Kassein, wrapping him in a hug. She had always been the tallest of the sisters, and that was perhaps the only thing she didn’t take after their mother; for everything else, Cessilia looked a lot like their mother.
From her gentle green eyes to her long chestnut-colored hair, her thin limbs, and her thin, rosy lips. She also had the palest skin of the three sisters, slightly more tan than their white-skinned mother, but it was glowing from her days on the coast.
Now that she was a mother of three and approaching thirty, Kassein couldn’t help but notice the few white hairs while he hugged her and how her body felt softer than he remembered too.
“It’s so good to see you,” she whispered in his ear with that soft voice of hers.
Kassein couldn’t say what he’d been expecting, but his body relaxed instantly at her words, warmth spreading throughout his body gently.
Cessilia stepped back, giving him one of her kind, genuine smiles full of sisterly love, and his throat tightened a bit.
All he could do was nod, feeling sorry for not being able to return his sister’s affection properly, but Cessilia didn’t say anything.
Instead, she kept smiling, and her eyes drifted to the little girl in his arms.
As the sun was starting to come out, Kassein had been careful to keep Lumie hidden in the fur blanket, but standing so close, Cessilia could easily catch a glimpse of the little girl through an opening, and her smile brightened up some more before she redirected her eyes at Kassein.
She pressed a hand against his cheek, her thumb rubbing his beard.
“It’s a good sight to witness you like this,” she whispered.
“Half-asleep?” he managed to groan.
“Almost happy,” she said, pointing her chin at the little girl in his arms.
Kassein frowned in confusion.
He hadn’t felt happy in a long time, but... after thinking about his sister’s words for a second, he knew there was some truth to it.
He cleared his throat, and adjusted Lumie in his arms a bit, trying not to look his older sister in the eye.
“I’m sorry I never... replied,” he muttered.
“I know,” Cessilia shrugged. “I hoped you still read the letters, that’s why I kept writing to you anyway. You should come see your nieces and nephew when things are calmer here. They’d love to see an uncle other than Darsan sometimes.”
Kassein didn’t think any of them were a better uncle than Darsan, but he still nodded.
He knew he had been avoiding his sister and her family for a long while, and he wasn’t too proud of it. It was just far too painful for him.
He had read some of the letters, but he was ashamed to say he’d ignored more. Somewhere behind him, Kein’s growls intensified, and Cessilia immediately pinned his dragon with a glare.
“Kein, enough.”
Her voice was cold and imperious, and Kein obeyed, finally lowering its volume and lying down.
Immediately, the dragon’s apparent calmness got the triplets’ attention, and the next second, Kein was the new playground for three dragons a fraction of its size.
Cessilia let out a faint sigh, turning her attention back to Kassein.
“Kiera filled me in on what’s going on. What does it take for you to ask for help, Kassein?”
“It’s just... The triplets’ dragons are the size we need. I wouldn’t want to bother anyone else.”
Cessilia shook her head slowly.
“You’re not a bother to anyone,” she said, patting his cheek again.
“Certainly not to me, Kassein. And you do know I also have three children with three small-sized dragons, right? Don’t lie to me, Kassein.
I know sending Kiera to ask Darsan was the easy option for you.
I’m lucky I happened to be visiting him when our sister came, or else I would have never known about what you’re trying to accomplish here, would I? ”
He lowered his head. As always, Cessilia was right, and he didn’t have anything to answer to that. His sister let out another faint sigh.
“...Will you take a walk with me?” she asked gently. “We haven’t talked in a while, just the two of us, and I feel like it’s a conversation that’s much overdue. If ever, I think there are some things you need to hear now.”
After a hesitation, Kassein gave her a stiff nod.
Gently and reluctantly, he transferred Lumie over to Lorey’s arms and followed his sister outside of the Onyx Castle.
For some reason, Cessilia wanted to walk outside, and they quietly took the pathway to the village, past the mess the young dragons had made and back to where the snow was a thick, fresh layer over the wild grass and bushes.
Cessilia was walking comfortably, despite only wearing a thin coat and leather shoes.
Just like everyone in their family, she was rather resistant to the cold, but living in a coastal city and having an Ice Dragon might have made her even more immune, for she walked as if it was a nice spring day, not a skin-biting windy and cold morning.
“I missed the north,” she admitted after a couple of minutes of silence. “I love the Eastern Kingdom and I love the sea, but sometimes, I get nostalgic about this place. We don’t get snow in the Eastern Kingdom, and my children have never seen snow yet.”
“...You should bring them here someday,” Kassein said.
“I would love to,” Cessilia smiled. “It would be nice to show them where their mom grew up... and see their uncle too. Mom and Dad visit us often, but everyone else is so busy. I would love for you to settle in the Onyx Castle, Kassein. Truly.”
He stopped in his tracks, thinking about his sister’s words, and an aching knot formed in his throat. He glared at a bush on the side, and somewhere far behind, they heard Kein growl furiously and take off.
“...You really think I deserve to?” he said. “I... I asked Kassian and he agreed, but...”
“If not you, who else?” Cessilia asked. “Kassein, look at the Onyx Castle. It’s still our home, but it doesn’t belong to anyone anymore.
Father and Mother understandably grew tired of this place once we all left the nest. All of us siblings are either busy with matters of the state, traveling the world, or settling elsewhere with our families.
We would all love to see the Onyx Castle inhabited again, but it needs a new, young family in it. ”
Kassein’s heart ached as his thoughts inevitably drifted back to Lumie and Alezya. He looked around, feeling lost. He didn’t want to walk to the village or even back to the Onyx Castle.
He just wanted to be wherever Alezya was, bring her back to Lumie, and protect them—make sure they were safe, healthy, and happy. Even if he yearned for their love, he wouldn’t ask for anything in return.