Page 35 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

As unbelievably kind as he’d been, she didn’t want him to know what she was going through.

In fact, she didn’t want to let him in more than she already had.

She was infinitely grateful for everything he’d done for her so far, but she didn’t want to get attached and she didn’t want him to know anything about what was truly going on.

Despite all this, she knew better than anyone how men could suddenly turn from kind to cruel overnight.

Even like this, when he was gently getting closer to her and putting his hand on hers, she didn’t want to rely on him any more than she’d already done.

He couldn’t ask, and he couldn’t understand.

Even if he’d had the language for it, he wouldn’t have understood the pain she was going through. He looked like a strong man, with no one relying on him to survive. She was all that Lumie had, the only one who could protect her child, and she’d failed. She’d failed as a mom.

Alezya kept silently crying, neither acknowledging nor pushing away Kassein’s hand on hers.

Her feet still hurt when she stood, but she didn’t care about the pain; it couldn’t compare to that of losing her child. She would have gone back bleeding without a second of hesitation if she’d been sure she’d make it to Lumie.

Except that she knew her own limits. She was feeling good enough to stand now, but Alezya knew the mountain wouldn’t be so kind. The climb would kill her if she went back now, but she just needed a bit more. Just a bit more time, and she’d be fine to go back.

She couldn’t understand the miracle by which she was healing so fast, but that was the miracle she needed.

She only wished she’d healed even faster.

Every minute was too precious to lose, and yet all she could do was be there, eat meat, and hope that would help her journey back, giving her the strength she needed to go back to her child.

Kassein was still looking concerned for her when voices outside made them both look in that direction.

He gave her another glance before standing up and going out.

Alezya let out a long breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She wiped her tears and took deep breaths, trying to suppress the sadness deep inside.

She had to be strong. She couldn’t allow herself to fall apart, not now. There was still hope. If Lumie was alive, she had survived so far. Yes. She had to believe her baby was fine and just waiting for her. That was the only thought she needed for now.

“Alezya?”

Kassein had returned, carrying something. He put a leather bag next to her on the bed and gestured very simply for her to understand that it was for her. What was it this time? He took her empty bowl from her, and left again, confusing her.

She opened the little bag. Undergarments! They were different from her own, but they were obviously meant for a woman. She immediately felt grateful. She was used to living scarcely, but putting dirty underwear back on was far from comfortable... Now she understood why he’d left.

She quickly cleaned herself again using the water from the washing basin and changed into them.

Not only that but there was also a new pair of leather pants, also meant for a woman, a pair of shoes, and some gloves, also her size.

They were incredibly well made and comfortable, with rabbit fur inside and leather outside.

She was at a loss for words. This was too much... She didn’t need to wear the clothes here, but they’d surely be a huge help when she had to climb her way back.

She kept them next to her and wondered if she was supposed to take the bag too. She could always put food supplies in it... Would Kassein let her take dried meat?

She glanced toward the entrance. She could hear male voices talking, and she recognized the voice of the skinny man from earlier, the one called Tievin. He and Kassein’s voices were audible for a while, although she had no idea what they could possibly be talking about...

After a while, it sounded like they walked away from the way their voices gradually diminished. Done with her food and getting dressed, Alezya hesitated. She was curious to go outside and check if those men were still spying... She probably wouldn’t risk anything by going out, right?

Kassein hadn’t chained her nor specified in any way that she shouldn’t go out. She’d been completely unrestrained, except for her injured feet. She couldn’t hear the growls from before, either. Did the dragon go away?

Despite being nervous about facing the orange dragon again, Alezya forced herself to ignore her doubts.

She put on the shoes, grimacing as they rubbed against her wounds, but it was bearable.

Then, she put on the thicker-looking of the coats and walked outside with great difficulty, one agonizing step after the other.

The soles of her feet felt like the flesh was exposed, burning at each contact, and her ankle was still weak, sending painful protests at each movement.

Still, Alezya stubbornly carried her body outside.

She hesitated only a handful of seconds before pushing the curtain that was the entrance.

For the first time, she ventured outside without Kassein by her side.

At a quick glance, the man with the orange scales was nowhere to be seen, but there were a handful of men in sight.

Most seemed busy with something and didn’t even notice her.

Alezya didn’t want to be noticed, so she quickly stepped away from the habitation and turned around to look at the mountain.

Before she could set eyes on the mountain though, something else came into her line of sight, something far too big and too significant to ignore. The orange dragon.

She’d been mistaken to think it was gone simply because she couldn’t hear it. The dragon was still there, its humongous body surrounding the place she’d just walked out of. Alezya gasped and immediately covered her mouth.

Even if it hadn’t heard that, the dragon was already watching her. Although it was hard to say, with its pupils as large as silver trays, she could feel the beast’s stare was on her. It let a hot whiff out of its nostrils, and as soon as it moved, Alezya took a step away, unable to hold it.

The dragon’s head moved toward her and sniffed a couple of times. Then, it let out a soft growl.

The fact that she couldn’t move, frozen by fear, combined with the dragon’s apparent calm, forced Alezya to stand still for a few seconds.

At least, during those seconds, she was somehow able to breathe and calm down a little.

The dragon wasn’t going to attack her, or it would have already.

She was no expert on dragons, but she knew most beasts didn’t stay lying down when prey was right in front of them, and that dragon’s humongous body was still lying in the snow with no visible intent to attack.

Even if it did, her body stood far enough from its fangs that she’d have time to move before it was up and she was within reach... or so she really hoped.

“Stay... still.”

She had gathered all her courage to utter those two words, with no idea if that dragon would understand or obey them.

Still, it was a bit reassuring to her that Kein, if that was really the dragon’s name, remained still and calm.

She forced herself to push the fear away, and finally moved her eyes from the dragon toward the mountain.

Immediately, her hawk-like gaze found them. Two silhouettes, perched high in the mountain, higher than before. She glared at them. What did they want? Why stay posted there, just to check on her? If they already knew she was alive, why would they stay there?

Just then, she saw one of them draw a weapon, and she stepped back. They were aiming at her.

Alezya didn’t have time to think before a loud growl echoed throughout the area. Kein too had noticed the intruders, and was not happy to see them either.

Something flew by Alezya’s cheek, and a sting immediately followed. She grimaced, but before she could make sense of it, the earth trembled beneath her and violent gusts of wind knocked her off her feet.

Her body hit the snow painfully, and she had just enough time to open her eyes to see the orange dragon taking off, its wings throwing layers of snow around below it.

She covered her eyes, trying to protect herself.

“Alezya!”

Less than two seconds after that, Kassein appeared next to her, shielding her. She had no idea how he’d arrived so fast, but she could hear many voices around them, his men visibly unsettled by the dragon, or perhaps they’d seen the clansmen too.

Kassein helped her up. The snowstorm provoked by Kein had died already, while the dragon was furiously attacking the mountain.

That’s when Alezya started to piece things together. She touched her cheek, feeling the cut there. Kassein’s green eyes were on her injury too, frowning again.

She ignored it and looked around. She found an arrow, planted in the ground right next to where she’d been lying moments ago... and that wasn’t all. Her heart dropped.

“ Alezya? Ku ti bikhyan? ”

She didn’t listen to him, she actually barely heard him.

She fell down on her knees and dug the snow around that arrow to reveal the object attached to it. Her heart sank even lower when she confirmed what it was. Her mother’s necklace.

There was no doubt. It was one of a kind, the only necklace she had of her mother’s, the one she’d left with Lumie before parting with her.

Next to her, Kassein seemed to be shouting orders to his men, but she didn’t care; she didn’t care about anything but the precious necklace she was clenching, held tight in her fist. She darted her glare back to the mountain.

This was a message. They had her daughter.

They had Lumie, and they wanted her to know.