Page 27 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
Right now, that woman was finishing her bowl of porridge in silence. Kassein had been worried she’d refuse to eat, but she was clearly satisfied with the camp’s food. She carefully ate every spoonful of the porridge, despite that injury on her lip.
Every time he looked at her, the sight of her injuries made his blood boil. Outside the tent, Kein growled faintly, startling her. Alezya glanced toward the side of the tent the noise had come from, before glancing at him. He didn’t say anything and simply sat down on the tent’s floor.
If anything, he had to prove to her she didn’t have anything to be afraid of here.
When he had first brought her to camp, she was clearly terrified, but she hadn’t been scared like he expected one to be.
In fact, her first reaction to him was solidly engraved in his mind.
She had retreated to the edge of the bed like a cornered animal, but instead of shivering in fear and crying or begging, she’d shown her fangs.
That look in her eyes... She’d looked like a snow leopard ready to defend itself.
Despite her injuries and the incredible amount of pain every movement must have put her through, she had still been strong enough to protect herself and try to get away from him.
The defiance in her dark eyes spoke volumes.
.. She was used to this. That kind of resilience didn’t happen overnight.
Not only was she feeling threatened by him, but she had felt this way many times before.
Every movement he made put her on edge, and even now, he could tell she was watching him from the corner of her eye, if not glancing at him every once in a while.
It was incredible to witness such a slender woman, who had already been able to withstand this amount of injuries, still have the strength in her to defy him.
Although the thought hadn’t crossed his mind at all, if he were to try and harm her, Kassein was certain she wouldn’t let him have his way without a fight.
She had that amazing fire in her dark, doe-like eyes. That woman had the heart of a warrior.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said.
Once again, she gave him that confused expression, like she did every time he spoke in his language. It was somewhat amusing to see her get frustrated every time he said anything.
Thinking about it, Kassein had probably spoken more with that woman in a couple of days than he did with anyone else in a week, with maybe the exception of Tievin.
It didn’t really matter that she couldn’t understand; it was more about his willfulness to establish some kind of dialogue between them… any kind, really.
Like many times before, he couldn’t understand himself, but he was curious about that woman, her actions, her reactions, and what she was hiding behind that strong facade.
It wasn’t like she was as strong as she was pretending to be. He’d seen her crying. A lot.
Alezya cried in her sleep, and he heard her sobbing when she was alone in the tent. Her eyes had turned red, shiny, and puffy from all the crying. He didn’t know if she realized how much she cried in her sleep.
When she woke up, her eyes would be dry, and she seemed tired, but she somehow did her best not to cry when he was there, as if she refused to show him her weakness. For that, he found her quite interesting too.
And at the same time, he was dying to know the reason for those tears.
A part of him couldn’t help but think it was mostly his fault.
He’d taken that woman away from her homeland, and she was held in a tent, in a place she knew nothing of, and couldn’t understand anything.
And yet, she didn’t act that scared of him to justify all the tears she shed.
He had a gut feeling there was something else.
That woman was acting unusual, as if she was torn between two minds.
A part of her was trying to be brave and face him, feisty even, but also, he had noticed she seemed incredibly vulnerable at times, almost..
. broken, as if she was ready to collapse at any moment.
Her gaze would get lost and that light in her eyes would suddenly extinguish.
It only lasted a couple of seconds, as every time, she seemed to get back to her former self after some thought.
He couldn’t understand what was going on in her mind, but he was dying to know.
Kassein couldn’t understand why that woman was so fascinating.
He couldn’t even explain why he’d decided to save her on a pure whim that day.
Perhaps he’d simply been raised in a way that he’d never stand by while a woman was being harmed.
Perhaps he’d simply done what felt right, but then, it wouldn’t have explained his dragon’s actions before his.
“Kassein?”
Her gentle, cautious voice brought him out of his deep thinking.
She was done eating, and handing him the empty bowl. He smiled faintly, something that he had rarely done in these past few years... No, the last decade. Why did that woman feel so different?
He couldn’t tell, and truthfully, he didn’t want to think too much about it.
He took the bowl away, but he had no intention of going out yet, not when most of his men were up and roaming around the camp.
He loathed other people’s gazes, and they followed him everywhere he went.
He’d had enough of that constant scrutiny.
Perhaps it was a good thing his brother had exiled him to the north; he was fed up with the Capital. ..
“Barbarians! An attack!”
Right after that, a young soldier appeared at the tent’s entrance.
He didn’t dare enter, but he stood at the entrance and his gaze went to Alezya, visibly surprised to find a woman in the Commander in Chief’s bed. She darted a glare at him, and pulled the blanket higher to cover herself, although he hadn’t seen anything.
“Commander, there’s a–”
“Get out,” Kassein growled before the man could finish his sentence.
Realizing his mistake, the soldier disappeared in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Kassein had no choice but to grab his sword.
For once, he was thankful Alezya couldn’t understand them.
She stared with big, curious eyes riveted on him, her breathing a bit faster, probably nervous and wondering what the hell was going on out there.
He didn’t say anything this time and left the tent without looking back.
It was probably for the best she didn’t know...
Outside, the army was already moving. No doubt the men were excited by the prospect of another fight with the barbarians.
Kassein ran to the frontline, but without hurrying unnecessarily; they had been expecting an attack since the barrier was down, and this was the second one already. The men were ready.
The first had happened the previous night, just a little brawl with a handful of barbarians who had attacked under the cover of night. They had been caught and killed before they could set foot inside the camp.
The night patrol hadn’t even needed to inform Kassein; he’d learned of this once all the action was over. This time though, he had time to get to the frontline, as the barbarians had decided to attack in numbers.
Although there was no doubt every soldier in the camp would have loved to partake in the battle, they had strict orders, and each their own duties.
Hence, only about two hundred men were busy fighting, another hundred waiting behind them in case the fight didn’t go favorably, and the rest of the camp was busy consolidating the defense, preparing to heal the wounded, or getting more weapons ready for use.
One of the generals was supervising the battle from on top of his horse, shouting orders at the top of his lungs, while Tievin, as always, stood carefully far from the battle, flanked by a unit for some reason.
He looked incredibly bored watching the fight, only grimacing from time to time when the bloodshed was getting too much for him to witness.
On one of those occasions when he averted his gaze, he spotted Kassein running toward them.
“Commander,” he greeted him.
Kassein slowed down as he reached him, although his green eyes were already scouring the fight.
It was obvious they were winning, or would be soon. The barbarians had lost the element of surprise, and would quickly be overwhelmed by the difference in numbers. Truthfully, they could have been wiped out already if it wasn’t for Kassein’s men’s desire to enjoy the battle while it lasted.
“The attack began just a few minutes ago,” Tievin stated with a bored matter-of-fact tone. “General Kauser’s fourth patrol unit was the first one to spot them, so as per the rule, their units were the ones to partake in the fight.”
Kassein didn’t answer, his eyes just scouring the battlefield.
The fight was already well into its second half as the casualties were lying on the ground.
From time to time, one of the evacuation units would run in to grab a wounded soldier to take them off the battlefield, often despite the wounded’s protests.
Only the bodies of the barbarians were left on the ground to redden the snow with their blood.
“...Shall we take prisoners?” Tievin asked, noticing the Prince’s gaze.
The handful of soldiers guarding Tievin also glanced at him, curious to see if the Commander in Chief’s orders were going to change.
He didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes shifted to one of the fighters. At this very moment, one of the barbarians somehow managed to detach himself from the battlefield and having spotted him, ran toward Kassein while yelling and holding some axe-like weapon aimed at him.