Page 160 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
In fact, it took several minutes for her and the other people around to understand what the Dragon Clan was doing. Bit by bit, they were gathering all the supplies outside, and wrapping it all up with tight ropes.
The powerless clanspeople were left to watch as slowly, a little mountain of supplies was assembled, almost everything but their weapons and coats. Then, when Alezya was left standing outside staring at all their stuff, the twins came back to her side, looking just as confused.
“What’s going on?” Ekut exclaimed. “They walked in, and their men started gathering our food and everything! Our men are nervous!”
“They know we need that stuff, right?” Ekata frowned.
“I-I’m not sure yet,” Alezya admitted.
Out of nowhere, Kein arrived, along with Kiki, and all of a sudden, it became clear to Alezya.
“The dragons,” she said. “They’re going to make the dragons carry our supplies!”
“What? Really?”
“I just explained to them about the journey and all. I was nervous they hadn’t understood, but I think they plan to make the dragons carry all of our stuff!”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Ekut blinked. “They left everyone their weapons and cloaks.”
“It’s going to save everyone a lot of time and energy if the dragons can carry all this around,” Alezya gasped.
She walked up to Kassein, who took her hands.
“ Kein take it and fly? ” she asked to confirm.
“ Kiki too, ” Kassein nodded.
Did that mean dragons could carry this much weight? She’d had doubts upon seeing the mountain of supplies, but divided between Kein and Kiki and knowing the distance would be short for them, it didn’t seem impossible. She was certain they were smart enough to make multiple trips if needed.
She smiled at Kassein, already feeling better. This was going to be helpful in keeping everyone’s spirits up if they didn’t have to worry about hauling heavy loads.
“I guess that means we’re all ready for tomorrow, then,” Ekata shrugged. “I’ll inform everyone to sort out what they want to carry and what they want to leave to the dragons, and we should have a nice dinner; we’ll need the energy and all the extra sleep we can get tonight.”
“I’ll organize the night watch with one of their senior warriors,” Ekut said. “We should start working with them and get ready.”
“Can I help?” Alezya asked.
“You can rest,” Ekata winked. “Let the men do the work for once.”
Alezya didn’t feel like resting much though, so while everyone got busy inside, she took Kassein along with her to go hunting and pick herbs for dinner.
She showed him the kind of traps she usually built to catch small prey, herbs she picked, and which were poisonous.
She didn’t have time to wait for prey to fall into her trap, but luckily and to everyone’s delight, the dragons showed up with freshly killed prey for the humans to share, and kept going out to hunt, again and again, as if they’d decided to feed the entire group of humans, until they eventually stayed and ate their own share.
“There’s enough meat for everyone,” Ekata remarked with a shocked expression.
“That’s life with the Dragon Clan,” Alezya beamed, petting Kein for its good job.
Thus, they had to find a large clearing to make a fire big enough to cook it all, and there was a continuous stream of meat-filled plates being delivered from there to inside the caves they were occupying.
Alezya and Kassein isolated themselves in a corner to eat, but soon enough, everyone had to gather and crowd the caves as a heavy downpour started outside, ending the cooking session and forcing everyone to run back inside with the last plates.
Despite the terrible weather and the prospect of the battle, Alezya noticed the morale was good; men were delighted to have meat for dinner, and since the word had spread they wouldn’t have a heavy load to carry, their confidence had climbed too.
Even more shocking, the Dragon Clan’s fighters seemed to be making a conscious effort to try and mix with the other clans.
She spotted Dajan nearby, laughing with a bunch of men and women from the Munsa Clan as they all made wide gestures to understand each other.
The Samial Clan Chief and Ekut were also seated with one of the Dragon Clan’s senior warriors, and she was fairly certain they were talking strategy.
Kiera was apparently having a blast defeating some of the fighters in arm wrestling, and Tievin was talking to other people from the Northern clans, visibly teaching them more words and learning some of theirs.
It moved Alezya, how easily they were all chatting and finding ways to communicate and laugh together.
She knew most of them were fighters, as the Samial and Munsa Clans had hidden their elders, women, and children in caves nearby, and apparently, it was enough for all those men to bond.
It wasn’t completely seamless; arguments erupted a couple of times, but they were quickly defused by other people separating the fighters.
Once, Kiera even grabbed one of their men by the collar, and dragged him outside in the rain like a child.
Alezya wasn’t sure what happened, but when the man returned a while later, he was drenched, had a massive bruise on his cheek, and sat in a corner with a sour expression.
Alezya noticed that although he didn’t say a word all this time, Kassein’s presence was enough to tame some of his men; when some discussions became heated, a single glance in their direction was enough for the Dragon Clan warrior to pale and calm down.
Alezya couldn’t help but love his quiet strength. All her life, she had known men to raise their voices and act violently the second she uttered one wrong word.
Kassein was different; he was the most powerful man she’d known, and yet, he managed to make his aura alone enough to tame other fighters and coerce them into behaving.
He spoke softly and never raised his voice; he was only violent toward his enemies and if provoked first. He didn’t even seem to speak much to his own men; everyone seemed to go to Tievin or one of those senior fighters when they had questions, and yet, it was clear he was their leader.
Alezya’s father would have never allowed another fighter to give orders in his stead, and most clan chiefs wouldn’t even allow a woman to speak up at all.
Yet, Kassein had trusted her blindly to coordinate their efforts with the Munsa and the other clans and relay the information despite her limited vocabulary. Tomorrow, he was going to take all of his fighters to war because she needed him to.
Alezya let out a faint but content sigh, relaxing against his torso with her belly full and her body warm, thanks to her fancy coat and the hot-skinned man surrounding her with his long and thick limbs.
“ Sleep? ” Kassein suggested, and she nodded.
It was as if his whisper carried the weight of a shouted command; all around them, the Dragon Clan fighters fell silent or reduced their voices to hushed murmurs.
They moved with purpose, swiftly gathering the remnants of their dinner for cleanup, unpacking their bedding, and lining up along the walls to settle in for the night.
They even took out large blankets to share, covering up to three men with some, including fellow fighters from the other clans as they joined them without distinction.
It was like a ripple effect, everyone preparing for sleep simply because Kassein was.
The sight brought a smile to Alezya’s lips as she curled up beside him.
For once, she didn’t feel the cold floor; Kassein’s arm was her pillow, his breath was warming up her neck, and she was basking in his heat, so relaxing that the rhythmic drumming of rain and the rumble of thunder outside became a soothing backdrop, lulling her into a peaceful sleep before long.
The night felt like it had lasted seconds.
Alezya was stirred awake by the subtle activity around her; after years of either sleeping with one eye open or alone with Kassein, she had grown attuned to even the slightest movements. The quiet rustling of dozens of men preparing for a long journey was more than enough to rouse her.
She could tell Kassein was still asleep behind her, even slightly snoring and unbothered by the ruckus around them. Kiera was the first to notice Alezya’s open eyes and approached, nudging her brother’s feet with a firm kick.
“ Kassein, ” she barked. “ Up. ”
He answered with a growl, and Kiera rolled her eyes before turning around, fists on her hips, and suddenly yelling orders without the need for any translation.
All the men who weren’t already up jerked awake or sat up with visible panic.
Alezya smiled and spun around. Kassein was still very much asleep and remarkably unbothered.
“Kassein,” she whispered, before putting a peck on his lips. “Wake up, my love.”
He blinked awake and groaned before hiding his face in the crook of her neck, making Alezya smile. She patted his torso.
“Come on,” she said, not bothering to use his language. “We have to get up and go.”
She had to use some more pushes and kisses to nudge him awake as if they were alone in the cave and not surrounded by dozens of men preparing for war. By the time he finally sat up and stretched, almost everyone around was gone or carrying their stuff outside.
Ekata came to find Alezya with a yawn.
“Slept well?” Ekata asked.
“Great, actually,” Alezya confessed while standing up, leaving Kassein to get up at his own pace. “How is everyone?”
“Better than I would have expected, actually,” Ekata blinked.
“I think having a really nice meal with meat and getting to know our allies boosted everyone’s morale.
The downpour also helped get rid of some of the snow outside, so our journey will be easier than anticipated, thanks to that and the dragons carrying a lot of the supplies.
I don’t want to be too optimistic, but I’d say our odds aren’t looking too bad for now. ”