Page 31 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
Neither dared to ask it out loud though, so they were left with no choice but to leave, their gazes shifting to the noisy mountain behind the tent. Kassein also turned around to see what kind of rampage Kein was still on.
His dragon was just jumping and climbing on the mountain, digging into some area with its tail swishing around like it had found something to play with.
For a while, Kassein just stared its way, until the dragon picked up on his gaze.
Kein stopped moving and glanced back, glaring immediately at its owner.
The dragon growled and jumped back down in a few hops. Its heavy body brutally and loudly landed on the ground, shaking the whole area. Kein stood facing him, visibly upset.
The only reason the dragon wasn’t growling louder was the prey caught between its fangs. A dead snow leopard was trapped there, its blood dripping down the dragon’s maw and on the snow.
Kassein clicked his tongue.
“What’s that?” he growled at his dragon.
The dragon growled back as if it was equally pissed at him.
They both stood in another stand-off, but the anger was rising slowly.
The dragon raised its shoulders and lowered its head, its silver eyes riveted on Kassein.
Because he’d joined the fight before, Kassein’s sword was still hung on his back, ready for use.
He lifted his hand, threatening to take the handle.
Kein’s growling got louder.
Then, a yelp coming from the tent got both dragon and man to suddenly turn their heads. Kassein didn’t wait more than a second to lower his hand and head inside; that was definitely Alezya’s voice.
He walked inside the tent, mentally fortifying himself in case she was naked or almost naked again. This time, however, she wasn’t; in fact, Alezya had already finished dressing herself, except for the coat that was still next to her on the bed.
Kassein walked up to her, wondering what was wrong, but she had her eyes on the entrance and was visibly nervous, not in pain or anything.
“What is it?” he asked when he reached her.
“ M-mike ha menissa bahira? ”
Kassein was stunned. This was the first time Alezya had tried to actually speak to him, and in her own language too. He was so shocked, he forgot her scared expression for a moment and just stared at her.
He hadn’t understood a word of that, naturally, but hearing her use her mother tongue was making him strangely happy.
“Can you repeat that?”
She looked at him and noticed the strangely happy expression on his face. She got impatient, and pointed at the door, visibly running out of patience and not in the mood to indulge him.
“ Kassein! Mike tyo ho? ” she insisted.
Kassein followed her finger, glancing at the entrance. She was probably getting nervous because of Kein’s growls.
She’d seemed fine when his dragon was still at a distance, like when it was attacking its stupid mountain, but now, it seemed fair that she was nervous about the growls heard right outside the tent. He sighed.
After a hesitation, he grabbed the coat, and gently put it over her shoulders. Alezya was surprised, but she didn’t fight it.
Then, he paused, but offered her his arm. That gesture got her very confused once again. She glanced up at him.
He could tell she was nervous, but he waited, patiently.
After a while, she finally put her hand on his arm, just below a patch of orange dragon scales.
Her skin felt fresh compared to his... He did his best not to react to it, and instead, he gently moved to slide his arm under hers, putting it behind her back, while his other arm went under her knees to lift her up.
Alezya gasped, surprised to be carried like this.
Still, she held on to him by reflex, gripping his fur cape so as not to fall; not that he would have let her fall, of course. She weighed less than he’d thought; even the fur coat on her shoulders seemed heavier than the woman herself.
He glanced down at Alezya to make sure he wasn’t holding her in a way that was hurting her more, but to his surprise, she just seemed completely flustered. She was blushing, and avoiding his gaze. ...She was embarrassed to be carried like this?
Kassein suddenly found himself a bit shy too, and stopped looking at her. Instead, he walked outside, giving her a glimpse of what was going on out there, as well as her first breath of fresh air since he’d brought her to the camp.
Alezya immediately yelped a second time, and held on even tighter to him, frightened. Unfortunately for her, Kein had been waiting right outside the tent.
While Kassein had gone inside, the orange dragon had moved to stand right outside the tent’s entrance, its snout and blood-covered maw and fangs the first thing Alezya had seen. Now, she was absolutely terrified, and shaking in Kassein’s arms.
Interestingly, though, despite her desperately holding onto him, Kassein found her once again surprisingly brave, as she still had an eye on Kein, rather than hiding her face and completely turning her back on the dragon like most people would.
She was still terrified though, as anyone would be when a blood-covered dragon stood inches away from them.
“Back off, you imbecile.”
Kein growled in disapproval, showing its fangs even more.
Stubborn as always, the dragon hadn’t let go of its prey, and the dead snow leopard had half its body dragging in the snow, coloring it red under them. If it wasn’t for all the blood from the fresh hunt, maybe Alezya wouldn’t have been so scared, but his dragon wasn’t looking its best like this.
“You’re scaring her,” Kassein retorted to the dragon’s growls.
This time, Kein calmed down a bit. Its silver eyes shifted slightly, and although it wouldn’t stop growling, the dragon very slowly backed away from the two of them, its large paws leaving huge holes in the snow.
It also lowered its body, half-crouching in the snow. The dragon that should have towered above them was now at Kassein’s eye level.
It growled a bit, but this time, its growls were less threatening, and more like a heavy, loud, but peaceful sound, like an echo inside a rock cave. Kassein redirected his eyes toward Alezya, who was still shaking.
As soon as the dragon had moved its silver eyes toward her, she’d looked away.
“Alezya.”
He gently called her name, as if to tell her it was alright. She looked up at him, obviously still scared and confused, but she had already understood. After taking a couple of seconds to gather her bravery, she turned her eyes back to Kein.
Once again, she didn’t just stare at the dragon with nothing but terror in her eyes. In fact, as he watched her, Kassein found that same defiance she’d shown with him. As if she was daring the dragon to attack them.
That woman was truly something, he thought.
What kind of woman didn’t cower in the face of a dragon?
He’d seen warriors run away without a second of doubt when Kein had appeared in the sky, but that woman could withstand the dragon’s gaze and glare back like so?
He pinched his lips in a faint line, hardly suppressing a smile. She was truly something.
Kein suddenly growled, making Alezya jump, and retreat a bit, her body leaning against Kassein’s shoulder, the only way she could back away from the dragon.
“Behave,” Kassein warned him.
This was not something his dragon would normally be willing to do.
By now, the two of them should have been tearing each other apart, soaked in the other’s blood, and wreaking havoc on this place.
The fact that Kein was almost calmly growling and staying still like this was already a miracle in itself.
Kassein could guess the gazes of some dumbfounded soldiers on them, although they were all standing at a careful distance.
“Alezya.”
He called her again to get her attention back on him.
There was a strange satisfaction anytime she reacted to him saying her name which he couldn’t quite understand. Still, her eyes went back to him, although she was obviously reluctant to stop watching the dragon.
Kassein gestured at Kein with a little movement of his chin.
“Kein,” he simply said.
He hadn’t expected to be introducing his dragon already.
Once again, Alezya had that slightly confused expression, and her eyes went to the dragon, frowning.
“ Kein? ” she repeated.
The dragon immediately reacted to her saying its name.
Kein lifted its head and tilted it, its silver eyes clearly on Alezya, causing her to be scared again.
“... Kein, ” she muttered. “ Dryagaan. ”
Another word from her language. Kassein had no idea what it meant, but from the way she’d said it, she was perhaps trying to match his dragon’s name with her vocabulary.
Meanwhile, his dragon reacted to its name again, letting out a short growl.
It tried to approach again, but slowly this time.
Alezya didn’t yelp or scream as the dragon’s warm snout approached her, sending hot whiffs of air her way.
Instead, she froze and stared, nervous but trying to hold it all in.
Kein approached its snout so close it almost touched her, and then, it lifted its head, as if to show the prey still caught between its fangs.
The poor state of what had once been a beautiful snow leopard was absolutely gruesome. Kein suddenly opened its gigantic maw and dropped that thing at their feet.
Then, it stepped back and pushed the dead body toward Kassein’s feet, although it was obviously staring at Alezya.
“...Are you for real?” Kassein grumbled. “In that state?”
Kein immediately furiously growled back at its owner, its silver eyes clearly shifting target. Between them, a confused Alezya had her eyes on the dead body.
After a couple of seconds, Kassein sighed and gently let her down, making sure she didn’t step in the blood. If she’d been able to stand in the bath, she could probably stand a few seconds on the snow.