Page 166 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Still, she ignored the blood dripping from her hands, her pounding heart, her ragged breath, and the pain that was already subsiding, and willed herself to move.

Footsteps were rushing her way, and she decided to shed her tattered cloak, which was soaked with rain and blood, heavy, torn, and impairing her movements. That’s when she noticed the streaks of white shimmering along her skin.

The wounds slashed across her body were closing; under the patches of blood, the raw flesh was gradually being covered by smooth, reptilian scales.

Alezya let out a faint exhale of relief as the pain faded, and she realized she wouldn’t bleed out in this mountain, not with Kassein’s baby somehow protecting her.

She wasn’t sure how good this healing magic was, but it was good enough for now.

When two more men arrived, her chances of survival had already risen dramatically thanks to it.

Not only was her baby shielding her, but the narrow tunnel also worked for her.

The men were forced to line up to face her, and Alezya had somehow gathered her composure enough to get into the fighting position Kiera had taught her, and got ready for their attacks.

The first man glared at her with the most disgusted look she’d seen in a while.

“You damned witch,” he spat at her. “This is all your doing! You dragon slut!”

“This dragon slut is about to kill you,” Alezya hissed back with a fire she didn’t know she had.

He launched himself at her, but this time, she was ready, and she side-stepped at the right moment to avoid his blade and swung her dagger, stabbing his arm and forcing a scream out of him.

Kiera had taught her better than to stop moving mid-fight, so she ripped the dagger out and planted it again in the next available piece of flesh, his flank. Alezya had never been much of a fighter, and apparently, they had thought so too, because both men looked utterly confused.

She didn’t give them time to recoup and stabbed a third, a fourth, and a fifth time, not stopping until the man collapsed off to the side with a groan, his partner looking horrified.

“You’re going to pay for this!” he roared.

Alezya wasn’t confident nor foolish enough to answer his taunt, so she focused on his incoming attack, bracing herself for it.

She was grateful the narrow space didn’t allow for large weapons because he swung his sword fast, and she barely had room to avoid it.

The blade grazed her arm, but most of it fell on her white scales, and she barely felt the flicker of pain. Instead, she lowered herself and just about managed to stab his leg twice before she was brutally hurled against the wall.

Her head hit the rock painfully, and for a dizzying moment, the world blurred. Agony spread through her body, her left side crushed before she was wrenched away and slammed onto the ground.

A brutal kick landed against her ribs.

Then another. And another.

The sharp snap of bone stole her breath, and she barely managed to suck in enough air to let out a strangled cry.

As soon as she could, Alezya fought through the pain to curl inward, arms tightening around her belly.

She took the brunt of the next hit on her shoulder, her ribs aching, but her baby was safe.

They had to be safe. It felt all too familiar, that overwhelming, desperate need to protect her child at all costs, just like when she’d hidden Lumie away.

Just like before, she would endure whatever it took to make sure her child lived.

She thought she might have heard Kein growl in fury, but her ears were ringing too much, and she felt too dizzy to process any other sound.

Her attacker was enjoying this, she realized. Stomping her on the ground, kicking her, beating her to death.

Panic clawed at her mind as she tried to move, to crawl, to do anything, desperate to get away. The pain was insufferable, and fear rose as she thought about her child. She knew the baby had to be strong, but neither of them could take much more of this.

Alezya let out another yelp, desperate. She was drowning in a sea of agony, and it wasn’t stopping. She couldn’t even tell if the hits were still raining down on her or if she was just enduring the ripples of pain.

The man shouted something, and she tried to regain her senses, but she couldn’t. Then she saw it. The blade. Swinging down toward her.

Alezya had no time to think, no strength to fight back. She closed her eyes.

A scream echoed, but the pain didn’t come.

Instead, Alezya somehow caught her breath and forced one eye open. To her surprise, the man was the one with his mouth wide open in horror, stumbling back, a furious black shadow hooked to his throat, blood gushing everywhere.

It took her several seconds to align her senses enough to recognize the black lump of scales ripping his windpipe out.

“Nii-... Niiru?” she gasped.

The man fell, choking on his own blood, and the little black dragon finally let go with an enraged growl, its tail furiously whipping the air and its body on alert.

“Niiru,” Alezya muttered, forcing herself to sit up through the pain.

Again, she could feel the magic helping her pain recede, and she allowed herself a few seconds to catch her breath and let the young dragon’s presence sink in.

What was Niiru doing here? It was supposed to be back at Kalat Unshreik , safe.

Had it flown all the way here on its own?

Once the man had stopped moving, the young dragon turned its big wide eyes to her and hopped over to her side, with a little high-pitched growl that almost sounded concerned.

“I’m alright,” she muttered.

At least she was still alive, which she wouldn’t have been so sure of just moments ago.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Alezya managed to get up, well aware she owed her survival to a baby dragon and her unborn child. Or perhaps the gods that had shunned her for so long were finally making it up to her.

“Let’s finish this,” she whispered to the young dragon.

Niiru let out a grunt and charged ahead, nearly invisible in the darkness.

Alezya’s breathing was slow and uneven, but she’d never be grateful enough for how the pain slowly subsided, and a dull ache replaced the pain.

She couldn’t believe she’d been nervous about this pregnancy; half-dragon babies were amazing.

She had been surprised that more of her father’s men hadn’t arrived to finish her off, but the tunnel now seemed empty, and she realized that while she fought, Kein had calmed down or flown off.

The mountain had stopped shaking like a localized earthquake, and things were much quieter.

She and Niiru progressed quietly, wary of any incoming sound.

The young dragon was ready to attack at any second but stuck close to her, suspiciously inspecting every corner before Alezya reached it.

Had they left? Or had her father lost men to Kein?

Had Kein killed him? Still, Alezya proceeded cautiously, with a feeling this wasn’t over yet.

Suddenly, Niiru started growling, and right after that, her father stepped out of the shadows, an arrow pointed right at her.

They had arrived at the end of a tunnel, and she could see the wind and rain battering the opening right behind him. She guessed he had sent his men to distract Kein, because she could hear the dragon’s growls coming from somewhere else on the mountains, conveniently away from that one opening.

“There you are,” he hissed. “My traitor of a daughter.”

“And child of a coward,” Alezya hissed. “Hiding while others do your dirty work has always been your strong suit, Father.”

“I am no coward!” he barked. “I am a leader. And leaders don’t fight in the front like expendable pawns.”

“Is that what you told the men you sent to die?” she shot back.

“Is that what you told the other clan chiefs you manipulated? Tell me, Father, where are those clan chiefs now? Hiding like cowards, like you? Or down there, on the battlefield, bleeding for a war you started? A war you wanted! How many more will you sacrifice to feed your greed? How many lives will you destroy while you cower in the shadows like the vain, spineless coward you are?”

His expression turned ice-cold, deadly, and filled with rage. At her feet, Niiru growled furiously in warning, and Darak’s eyes darted to the young dragon before going back to hers.

“...I should have smothered you the second you were born,” he seethed. “I should have slit your throat before you learned how to use that damn mouth. I should have disposed of you the same way I got rid of your useless mother. I should have known that damn witch would bring me nothing but trouble.”

Alezya froze. A sharp, suffocating weight settled in her chest.

“Why?” she asked, her voice tight with emotion. “Why did you even marry my mother? You didn’t love her.”

“That witch turned out to be useless,” he sneered.

“Given her wretched clan, I thought she would at least be of some use to me. Show me how they avoided the dragon, teach me their secrets. But she never trusted me with anything. She was a disobedient, worthless, arrogant bitch who didn’t know her fucking place.

She dared to talk back to me in front of my men!

She tried to take my place, insult me! She thought she was so special because she came from that crazy clan of witches.

She thought she was smarter than me. I tried to teach her her place quickly, but no, that insufferable bitch wouldn’t take it.

I would have thrown her back to the pack of rabid mutts she belonged to if she hadn’t been pregnant with you!

I had to suffer her cocky, know-it-all bitch mouth for months!

I tried to endure her yapping, but she was an insufferable, pathetic excuse of a woman.

I was merciful to even let her carry you!

More than once, I thought that even a son wasn’t worth enduring her disobedience! ”