Page 142 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

She wasn’t sure about the connection between Niiru and Kein, but she wasn’t worried.

Instead, she was more frustrated by the configuration of the land they were on, which made it impossible for Kein to land.

It was too steep, too narrow, and too full of trees.

She knew the Munsa Clan and their allies had probably picked this spot for this very reason, and sadly, it was working; Kein couldn’t land.

The relief of seeing the dragon had been so high she felt all the more disappointed, her hopes shattered after existing for a second. The dragon couldn’t land and save her this time.

Ekata came back by her side, although she kept sending panicked glances toward the sky.

“Let’s get out of here,” she muttered, a bit late. “Before those bastards bring reinforcements...”

Something cracked loudly nearby.

On the other side of the river, a couple of fights were still going on besides Ekut’s, but everyone stopped and froze at the strange sounds coming their way, an ominous feeling filling the air.

There were more noises of wood brutally creaking, a heavy thud, and then crisp steps on the rocks.

Something large and heavy was coming toward them, and their steps were far too steady on the treacherous ground.

To her credit, Ekata extended a shaking hand before Alezya, and everyone turned their weapons south. The steps got closer, and everyone held their breaths as a large silhouette busted through the trees.

“Kassein?” Alezya gasped, unable to believe her eyes.

The man himself stood on the other side of the river, his eyes darker than ever before. In a split second, those dark irises met Alezya’s teary, shocked ones, and she saw him slowly take in her state, lying on the river bed, probably not looking good at all.

His eyes went from dark to hellish, and the nearest man hadn’t had a chance to move yet when Kassein kicked him brutally in the torso, sending him crashing down the rocks. Somewhere above their heads, Kein echoed his master’s fury with another deafening growl.

Kassein had just turned around when several men suddenly stepped out of the trees, long blades drawn, and Alezya couldn’t guess if they’d been waiting to ambush or if the foreign clans’ reinforcements had arrived at the worst possible moment.

Either way, their timing was most unfortunate, as they ran right in Kassein’s path.

They hesitated for a second, before one of them launched themselves at him; he didn’t even get to finish his attack when Kassein’s large sword swung, and a limb flew.

“Oh, gods...” Ekata muttered.

Alezya was thinking the same. As much as she was relieved to see him, she had never seen Kassein look so furious or so terrifying.

He moved slowly, like a predator amongst prey, dominating the whole area effortlessly with his sole presence.

He was simply walking, taking a couple of steps to place himself between Alezya and the incoming men, and yet no one dared to move an inch.

Their eyes were riveted on him with a mix of raw fear and sheer terror, almost too scared to even blink.

Alezya swallowed slowly. The scene had gone so eerily quiet that she could hear her own frantic heartbeat and Ekata’s panted breaths.

The realization hit her: those men were all going to die.

They had come as reinforcements to save men who were already dead or dying, and they were all going to die.

And judging by the ice-cold tension and the seconds that passed with everyone perfectly still, none of them were too eager to meet this god of death.

“K-Kassein,” she muttered, her voice breaking a little.

He slowly pivoted his head just enough that his eye met hers over his shoulder. It was the first time Alezya felt so much apprehension toward this man, and yet, she didn’t flinch.

“ D-don’t ,” she muttered. “ Don’t hunt them. ”

She didn’t have the exact word for “kill,” but she knew he would understand.

She waited a couple more seconds before she redirected her eyes to the men who’d emerged from the trees, the ones who had survived the previous fight, and the ones who were stepping away from Ekut, crossing the river to join the others.

Ekata supported her as she fought the pain to sit up.

“I’ll let you go,” she hissed, glaring at all of them with tears in her eyes.

“I’ll prove what your clan leaders don’t want to believe.

The Dragon Clan doesn’t want to kill you.

This man could kill you all, but he won’t because I can ask him not to.

Tell your clan leaders that if they follow my father and choose to fight, you won’t survive.

Tell them to choose whether you all die or live. ”

A few seconds of silence followed her words, before Ekata scoffed.

“Didn’t you hear her? Fuck off!”

Her voice seemed to jerk a couple of men into moving, and then, progressively, they all stepped away toward the trees, disappearing one after another. Alezya watched until all of them were gone, and Kassein glared at the tree line for a few seconds longer.

Then, he spun around and ran to her.

“Kassein,” she whispered.

“Alezya.”

He dropped to his knees next to her, immediately brushing Ekata’s hands aside to take her in his arms. One arm wrapped around her back to support her, while the other began checking her body for injuries, his eyes scanning every inch of her.

But Alezya had momentarily forgotten about the pain, too relieved to see him to care. She lifted her hands to his face, an overwhelming wave of relief filling her like never before. Only once she touched his face did she confirm that he was truly there, tears of happiness filling her eyes.

He pressed a long kiss to her forehead, and she closed her eyes, taking in his scent, her limbs relaxing as his familiar smell surrounded her. He was sweaty, and he looked like hell, but he was there for her, not an ounce of resentment to be seen, and that was all she needed.

Suddenly, while Kassein held her, something flashed to the top of her mind, and Alezya urgently patted his arm.

“ Kassein, my baby, ” she said, trying to remember his language as fast as she needed to ask. “ Lumie, my baby. Did you— ”

But his hand interrupted her, cupping her cheek and jawline, and before she could get another word out, Kassein pressed his lips against hers urgently, desperately, kissing her like he needed it to survive.

Alezya’s body immediately reacted, her heart jumping in her chest, her stomach twirling excitedly.

She felt the heat of his strong, firm hold warm up her entire body in a matter of seconds, like hot lava pouring over her.

She was exhausted, she had been cold every day she’d been away from him, and Kassein’s embrace was washing all the hardships and discomfort away.

Alezya barely found room to breathe, let alone speak a word.

Kassein’s thick lips were relentlessly tasting hers as if they’d been apart for months, not days.

When she finally found the strength and willpower to gently push his chest away, not making a dent in his position but clearly indicating she needed a break, he reluctantly pulled back, breaking their kiss with a lingering pout.

“ Kassein ,” she breathed. “ My baby. Lumie. ”

“ With Lorey ,” he pressed his large hands against her cheeks, cupping her face again. “ Lumie is with Lorey. She’s fine .”

He gave her a strong, determined nod, and after an extra second of looking into his dark green eyes, Alezya let out a long sigh of relief, the last ounce of pressure vanishing off her shoulders. She allowed herself to go limp in his embrace, some final tears escaping her eyes.

Her baby was fine and safe with Lorey. Kein had saved her.

She had tried to believe it until now, but it was nothing compared to the relief of knowing, for sure, that her baby girl was fine somewhere. Kassein’s hand moved to hold her neck, his thumbs gently caressing her hair as he kissed her temple.

“ She is like snow ,” he whispered into her ear, “ and she is like you. ”

“ It’s my baby, ” she let out a broken laugh between her tears, wishing they had more vocabulary to say everything that needed to be said about her baby.

She looked up at Kassein, and he was smiling down at her, a smile so rare and gentle she couldn’t help but mimic it back.

“ She is yours,” he whispered. “ So small. So white. She is hassna. ”

“What is hassna ?” Alezya frowned.

“ Like you ,” he whispered. “ You’re hassna .”

The way he looked at her, his thumb caressing her cheek and his eyes filled with something dangerously akin to admiration, made her blush.

Whatever hassna was, it seemed like a very good thing.

Alezya let out a long sigh of relief, and let Kassein hug her again, more tenderly, pressing the side of her face against his strong torso.

This position had to be uncomfortable for him, but she didn’t care at that moment.

She had almost forgotten how warm his skin was, but she never wanted to part ways with him again. Then, he put his arms under her back and knees, and lifted her effortlessly.

A sudden loud growl made her jump against his torso, and Alezya turned her head to see Ekut, who had walked up to them at some point, had just fallen backward, bum in the water, while Kein was growling somewhere above their heads.

She couldn’t see it, but Alezya could feel the dragon’s silver eyes on them from above, and she guessed it had landed on some cliff nearby. Kein growled some more, and the orange dragon sounded upset.

“I-I didn’t—” Ekut fumbled, his terrified eyes looking for the source of the sound.

“ Kein, tawa.” Alezya said to the air above them.

Kein let out another angry growl, but a second later, there was a loud, sharp flap of wings.

Alezya guessed he had simply repositioned himself, perhaps onto a higher cliff to better watch over them.

She felt a stab of regret she couldn’t hug Kein’s warm scales too, but there was no space for a dragon to land here.