Page 157 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

To his relief, Alezya appeared comfortable among them—he recognized familiar faces from the Munsa Tribe mingled with a handful of others from the previous gathering.

Many, however, were seeing him for the first time, their expressions marked by a mix of curiosity, apprehension, and respect. He could feel the weight of their glances even more when he looked elsewhere, their eyes continually shifting between Alezya and himself.

Choosing to ignore the attention, Kassein kept his focus on Alezya as she was talking to the crowd.

The gathering was a strikingly eclectic mix, and from their diverse clothing, distinctive markings, elaborate jewelry, and varied hairstyles, Kassein estimated there were representatives from at least six or seven tribes, clustered together in small groups.

He couldn’t understand Alezya’s speech, but he heard the word she used for dragons and his own name a couple of times, as well as the name of her tribe.

It was likely that she was explaining to the newcomers what she had already explained to the Munsa before and catching them all up to speed.

Then, it was their turn to talk, and there were definitely some questions, Alezya answering and explaining things patiently, pointing at the two young dragons by her side, at Kassein, and so on.

But mostly, he realized those people were introducing themselves to her, with hands lightly directed toward their leaders or what he guessed were their seconds or heirs.

Then, there was some more talking, some outrage that, luckily for them, wasn’t directed at Alezya, but the name of the Deklaan Tribe came up a couple of times.

It took a little while, during which he was happy to stand back and let Alezya take the lead.

She might not realize it herself, but Kassein could witness that she had the traits of a leader: she was speaking unafraid, not intimidated by those tribe chiefs who spoke back to her, some of them twice her age, and he could tell when she was fervently defending a point.

The Munsa brother and sister, were eagerly talking along with Alezya too, no doubt supporting her based on their corporal cues.

Again, Kassein felt frustrated at his lack of understanding of their language, something he was going to remedy as soon as he could. He didn’t mind letting Alezya lead, but he wished he could have been able to support her better.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like he needed to intervene; it was clear Alezya was the one leading the discussion, and one by one, the tribe chiefs’ questions lessened, leaving them to stare at her with focused frowns or nod along.

Just as most of them looked to be done talking, Kiki’s familiar high-pitched growl echoed from outside, frightening the assembly. Seconds later, Kiera waltzed in, attracting many curious stares.

“You found them,” she beamed at Kassein. “How are things going?”

“Alezya is handling it,” Kassein shrugged.

“Ugh, you don’t have to look that smug when you say that. Alezya? Everything going well?”

Alezya turned to them and gave them an assertive nod.

“The Munsa Kulani found a lot of friends,” she said. “This is other kulanis that want to hunt the Deklaan Kulani . But Deklaan Kulani has found lots of friends too. It’s... big hunt.”

“A big battle,” Kassein rectified for her.

“Big battle,” Alezya nodded.

“Promises, promises,” Kiera grinned. “So? They’ve got a battle plan, something?”

“Alezya? Where do we battle?” Kassein asked.

Alezya turned to the others, likely translating, but the Munsa looked at a loss.

The siblings exchanged a sour expression before talking to Alezya.

Kassein couldn’t understand, but he could spot the tension in her shoulders, the frown between her eyes, and the tone with which she spoke to the Munsa.

After a while, she shook her head and turned back to Kassein.

“The kulani , they all want to battle or leave battle. They go to Munsa and us or to Deklaan to do battle. All the kulani . Munsa Kulani said where to find our friends. But battle... after a night and a day. At night. But Deklaan and Munsa are talking to know where to battle. We... We wait for Deklaan to go.”

“Tomorrow night, then,” Kiera nodded. “That’s fine by us. Gives us just enough time for the army to get here if they hurry a bit. Good thing we sent for Herken already.”

“It sounds like the Deklaan Tribe wants to decide where the battle will occur,” Kassein frowned.

“So what? I doubt there’s a place they can find that could increase their chances,” Kiera hissed.

“Well, actually,” Tievin’s voice suddenly rose from behind, ”they are likely to try to find a setting where your dragons cannot intervene, Lady Kiera.”

They turned around to see an exhausted-looking Tievin stumbling inside, with the young dragon pulling on his cloak. General Kauser was right behind him and gauged the audience with a surprised expression.

“Quite a crowd you’ve got assembled here, Commander!” he exclaimed, putting his fists on his hips.

“These are all the tribes willing to fight alongside us,” Kassein explained. “It sounds like all the tribes are picking a side at the moment, and the Deklaan is trying to get the last word as to where the fight will happen. “

“Ha!” Kauser exclaimed. “Let them pick! Who cares? We can wipe out those people in a blink!”

“The goal isn’t to wipe them out,” Kiera hissed. “As much as I like a good rumble, we’re still officially trying to pacify the north. We will fight so long as they want to fight us, but no need for extra bloodshed.”

“As you wish, Princess,” Kauser grunted.

“Kiera is right,” Kassein said, ”and we can’t underestimate their knowledge of the terrain. We might walk into a trap or something. We will send scouts as soon as we know the location, but in the meantime, prepare for an all-out battle and coordinate Herken’s arrival with the rest of our troops.”

“Understood,” Kauser said.

The man left the cave, and Tievin let out a little sigh, tightening his cloak around him.

“Well, Commander, I shall make sure the troops are ready in time,” he nodded.

“Thanks to General Herken’s arrival and the short delay until the battle, I am not too worried about resources.

I wish there had been more time to map out the area properly, but I guess it would have been a challenge either way if our opponent had insisted on picking the battle place. ”

“The Munsa,” Alezya said. “They tell friends where to go, where to battle. Kassein and Kiera and Kein... Strongest. They battle Deklaan first. Deklaan will want to battle Kassein. But Munsa and friends know where to battle best.”

Based on Alezya’s gestures, they could deduce that their allies would corner the enemy and attack from side positions while they took them head-on. Kassein nodded; that was fine with him. They had never intended to let the tribes do more than help, and this had always been his war.

“In other words, we’re to be the decoy,” Kiera grinned. “Fine by me. I like a challenge, and your men have been eager for a proper fight too.”

“We should keep Herken’s portion of the army at the back for support,” Kassein nodded.

“If the Deklaan Tribe and their allies want to focus on our forces, they might as well be confused about how many of us there are. We can set up a camp near enough to the battle that they won’t be able to corner us and where our allies can retreat if things go wrong.

Alezya will be able to show us where to go. ”

Kiera and Tievin nodded, and Kassein turned to Alezya.

“We will wait to see where the Deklaan Kulani wants to fight,” he said. “We will listen to you and the Munsa. When the battle starts, you can fly to the Onyx Castle with the baby dragons. We will–”

“No!”

Alezya’s blunt refusal took him by surprise. He was confused about what she was suddenly upset about, but before he could react, she went ahead and took his small dagger out of the sheath at his thigh and showed it to him.

“I battle too!” she insisted. “I don’t go to Onyx Castle! I battle the Deklaan Kulani with Kassein and the Munsa!”

Kassein immediately stiffened.

“No,” he grunted, gently taking the dagger out of her hand. “You’re not coming. Kein will take you back to Lorey before the battle.”

“What?” Alezya frowned. “Kassein!”

“Ooooh, I was wondering when the honeymoon period was going to end,” Kiera grinned, crossing her arms. “I guess this is it.”

Her brother sent her a furious glare, but there was no wiping that smirk off Kiera’s face, and more importantly, Alezya was stepping forward, trying to take that dagger back.

“Kassein!” she protested, more anger in her voice.

“No,” he said. “You’re not fighting, Alezya. I am not putting you in danger.”

“This is my home!” she argued.

“The home that hurt you,” he said. “They hurt you before; I’m not letting that Deklaan Kulani do it again. I am not letting you in the middle of danger, in the middle of a battle–”

“Not my home, men!” She rolled her eyes. “My home here! The mountains! The friends! The Munsa! All the kulani ! My home, my friends! My battle, Kassein! I battle too!”

“No.”

“I come and battle too!” Alezya shouted angrily.

And now, Kein was growling furiously outside, as if to echo her protests. Kassein rolled his eyes, while his sister grinned some more.

“Having mixed feelings, are we, Little Brother?”

“Stay the fuck out of it.”

“Oh, I’m enjoying my front row seat just fine, thanks.”

“Kassein!”

“She isn’t coming.”

“Well,” Tievin suddenly cleared his throat, ”it definitely sounds like Lady Alezya wants to come, and if I may, I think she should.”

This time, his glare landed on Tievin. Alezya stopped shouting, her eyes darting to Tievin with a hesitant expression as if she were trying to decipher what was going on.

“What?” he hissed. “She is no fighter, Tievin.”

“Yes, I do understand that, Your Highness. However, I do have to point out that Lady Alezya is right; this is her home, while our army is in foreign territory. Moreover, I would like to point out that, despite my very best efforts, it is still quite an arduous task to tell these tribes apart and, therefore, determine who is friend or foe. We might have walked into this gathering completely unaware of those people’s allegiance if not for Lady Alezya.

However, Lady Alezya certainly can, and she’s the only one to speak our language, or well, the basics of it.

.. It might be worth considering including her in the battle, sir. ”

“...Tievin’s right,” Kiera shrugged. “How do you expect to fight if you don’t know which ones to slay?

Are you going to explain to those people after the fight that you killed some of our allies too?

Your woman went through all this trouble to get us allies and a proper battle, Kassein.

I think she’s a fighter in her own right. ”

“She’s pregnant, Kiera, with my child. I am not risking her anywhere near the battle. She could get injured or killed, and I cannot protect her while I–”

“Kassein, I know!” his sister exclaimed. “And I didn’t say she had to be on the ground with us. But what about letting her ride her bestie?”

“...Kein?” He frowned.

“You know another giant dragon obsessed with her?” Kiera raised an eyebrow.

“Think about it. She would get a bird—I mean, a dragon’s eye view of the battlefield, be protected by Kein’s big ass, and be able to direct men and shout orders from above.

And if anything happens, your dragon would be there to protect her, and you’d know instantly if something’s wrong.

She’ll be safer in the skies than anywhere else; the enemy doesn’t have a dragon, do they? ”

Kassein was thinking about it. He still didn’t like Alezya being anywhere near the battle, but his sister’s idea might have been a decent compromise. Alezya, who was looking between them with a frown, seemed confused. Tievin cleared his throat.

“Lady Alezya, how would you feel about flying Kein during the battle?” he asked with exaggerated gestures. “Kassein and Kiera battle, and you, on Kein?”

Alezya seemed to hesitate, glancing at Kassein.

“Not to the Onyx Castle?” she insisted with a frown.

“...No,” he sighed. “Kiera and Tievin think you should fight. But you would be safe with Kein. Flying above the battle.”

He waited while Alezya seemed to be hesitating, glancing at Tievin, then Kiera, then back to him.

“...I fly with Kein,” she finally said, sounding doubtful. “To battle?”

Kassein nodded. He didn’t want Alezya anywhere near danger, but from her spark of fury, he could tell she wouldn’t have backed down without a compromise, and Kein was likely to be the safest bodyguard he could find her.

His dragon wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her, and if things were to take a wrong turn, it would fly out of there and take Alezya back to safety.

From her expression, he could tell she wasn’t fully convinced, but it didn’t matter; her safety came first, and she had already agreed to that compromise.

“I don’t want you in the battle,” he said, ”but you would be safe flying Kein.”

She was still hesitant, but Kassein stepped forward, gently pressing his hand against her stomach.

“For the baby,” he whispered. “I want you safe. Not hurt or in danger. You will be alright with Kein. My dragon can protect you. Yes?”

After a second, Alezya finally gave him a little nod.

“Yes,” she muttered, putting her hand on his.