Page 161 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be helpful. Is everyone ready to go soon?”

“The sun’s starting to rise, so yeah, they should be.

Look, we discussed with their people and our clan chiefs, but we think it’s better if we, the Munsa and Samial, lead the way.

Their men are obviously in great shape, but they don’t know how treacherous the terrain can be up here.

Some of them were showing us their scrapes from yesterday.

We already sent our best scouts to clear paths ahead, and we were thinking of leading their fighters in small groups to be sure we keep a good pace while we’re in a flat area and can lead them out of the tricky trails.

We can’t afford to lose anyone due to a stupid fall or something. Is that alright with them?”

She asked while glancing at Kassein, but from what Alezya could tell, he was still half asleep and slowly putting on his protective coverings with a grumpy expression.

“I’m sure it will be, but you should tell Tievin and Kiera, or better yet, those senior fighters we met yesterday, Sazaran and Kauser. Kassein’s more hands-off... Don’t worry, they’ll listen.”

“Got it. That Tievin guy is getting really good at understanding us, actually. It saves time.”

“He’s great,” Alezya smiled.

Ekata walked away, and Alezya quickly made sure she and Kassein were ready to join everyone outside. The rain had reduced to a faint drizzle, which actually worked to their advantage, and the day wasn’t cold enough for it to accumulate again.

Outside, an impressive procession had formed.

The men stood in neat lines, and Ekata’s plan seemed to have been carried out to the letter, as for each gathering of men, there were scouts of each clan leading them.

Not only from the Northerners, but it seemed the Dragon Clan had assigned some of their people to partner up with them and share the scouting and unit-leading tasks.

It was probably a good idea, given how temperamental Kassein’s men could be and the limited communication.

.. The bulk of the fighters were tightly assembled along the trail, but it wasn’t until they were all outside that Alezya grasped the sheer size of their force.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Kassein’s men had spent the previous night in nearby caves and she simply hadn’t seen them, or if more had arrived throughout the night.

It now looked like there were hundreds of them, filling every available inch of the nearby trails, with some stretching far down the mountain path.

More piles of supplies were gathered for the dragons to carry, though it was clear it would take multiple trips for Kiki and Kein to transport it all.

Neither Kiera nor Kassein seemed the least bit concerned.

The siblings were in full gear, wearing it as if it weighed nothing.

They hadn’t bothered with cloaks, unlike the others.

While Kiera was already off chatting with Tievin up the route, Kassein didn’t even look at his men before he turned back to Alezya, his expression softening as he carefully adjusted her cloak, his concern evident in the gesture.

“ Sleep? Cold? ” he asked.

Alezya shook her head. She was fine and, for the first time, starting to feel optimistic too. She had underestimated how formidable his clan was and how many of his men he would mobilize for this, but now, it was evident Kassein didn’t have any thought of losing.

He pressed her cheeks between his hands and leaned down for a kiss as if there weren’t dozens of men in the vicinity.

As expected, no one dared to say a word or even glance twice in their direction.

Instead, the crowd parted ways with respectful bows and ready stances when he guided Alezya ahead, and she was glad he wasn’t putting her at the back.

If there was one thing Alezya was confident about, it was her endurance, and she refused to not make the same journey as everyone else; she knew the mountains well, and she could have easily been as efficient as any of the scouts out there.

Even better, Kassein let her take the lead as they passed by lines and lines of men, some from various clans even greeting her as she walked past. Once again, Alezya felt both burdened and proud about her sudden status among all the clans.

Ekata took the time to inform her of everything, and she was made aware of most decisions from either side; Kassein even let her make some for the Dragon Clan, at times.

From running away to save her child to the woman who was now leading a gathering of warriors larger than she’d ever seen was just an eerie experience for her.

“Let’s get going,” Ekut said as they met him at the head of the procession. “Our first scouts came back and cleared the way. They’re going to continue ahead, making sure we don’t run into any problematic grounds or an ambush.”

“Yes, Ekata told me,” Alezya nodded to him and the Samial Clan Chief. “Let’s go.”

Just like that, with a few words from her, hundreds of men began to march toward the battle ahead.

It took a few minutes, but before long, columns of men were venturing on the endless trails of the mountains, some chatting, some quiet, but at a steady pace led by Alezya and the clan chiefs.

The few groups of men marching ahead to clear the route were doing a great job, coming back regularly and filling them in on the terrain and best routes, the decision usually made quickly between the clan chiefs.

It didn’t take long for Kiera to be bored with the trail, however, and she whistled for Kiki to come get her before she joined the scouting efforts, mapping their road from the skies.

She and Ekut seemed to get along well, even teasing each other at times like siblings would.

Tievin was the first one to be panting, and by the end of the first hour, he’d shed one of his cloaks and tied his long hair in a bun.

Alezya was fairly certain she heard him complain and grumble in a low voice in their language, but he didn’t ask for a break.

No one asked to stop, and whenever she glanced back, almost fearing they’d lost some of the group somehow, she could always find the long columns of men still keeping up, as far as her eye could see through the sinuous route.

The lessened load, the weather that seemed almost perfect for their journey, not too cold nor too warm, and the filling dinner really did seem to have brought the spirits up.

It was a couple of hours later that they all agreed to take a break to check that all the fighters were keeping up and have a short breakfast. Kassein took Alezya to sit on a rock, and to her surprise, he somehow managed to produce dried meat and fruits from the satchel she hadn’t even noticed attached to his belt.

“ You have food? ” she asked.

“ For you and baby, ” he nodded.

So he’d taken the time to find a satchel he definitely didn’t have before just to carry their food.

Alezya smiled, feeling touched. Kassein made sure she ate and drank well, and while they rested and waited for everyone to finish their meals, he even sat on the ground and massaged her legs. She would have refused out of embarrassment if the sensation hadn’t felt so good.

Instead, she acted as if this was a completely normal situation and took a look around.

All the men within her eyesight were eating, taking supplies out of the few bags that had been carried, sending one or two to replenish water in a nearby stream the scouts had identified, and even trying to discuss the difference in diets between the clans, from what she caught.

The Northerners seemed utterly confused about the Dragon Clan boiling their water to warm it up without adding at least some herbs to it, and when they forced them to try some, the Dragon Clan laughed, pleased but not shocked at their tea.

Why were they drinking unflavored hot water, then?

She was a bit confused, but it seemed the men were happy to laugh about it.

The pleasantries didn’t last long, though; they couldn’t afford to rest, and despite a few protests, soon, everyone resumed walking again.

It was good they’d stopped because the harshest part of the journey was still to come; crossing more than twenty miles across mountains made for some grueling physical exercise, some tortuous paths, and a couple of uphill climbs that made everyone shut up and let out collective groans.

Alezya noticed Kassein’s hands were always nearby to catch her at the tiniest hint of her slipping as if he was the one who’d grown up climbing icy rocks and not her, and it was slightly infuriating to see how his colossal frame didn’t seem bothered at all by the extra physical exercise; despite his large shoulders, he moved like a snow leopard, unbothered by the elements.

Behind them, she definitely heard a few men letting out swears as they slipped, and a couple of times, there was a commotion, with a man caught by his teammates before he fell into a crevice no one else seemed to have noticed, and another who twisted his ankle.

This was how Alezya realized that some men in Kassein’s clan were actually trained as some sort of healers because in record time, the man’s ankle was covered with some unguent, bandaged, held between wood pieces, and he was carried to the back of the procession.

Thankfully, there were no more accidents as they reached midday, when they finally agreed on a break, to everyone’s relief, and again, all the clans had no trouble coordinating lunch, some even running off to hunt nearby.

The leaders gathered to eat together, and Kiera landed, coming up to them while Kiki flew off again, probably to help Kein carry the supplies over.

“We’re making good progress,” Ekata said. “I didn’t think we’d reach this clearing until later.”

“Alezya!” Kiera called.