Page 36 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
Which meant they wanted her to come back, the gods knew for what. She tightened her fist around that necklace. She hoped the dragon got them. She hoped Kein caught her father’s men and ripped them to pieces.
For a long while, Alezya was too mad and upset to move.
She didn’t care about what was happening around her, she didn’t care for all the men sending her glances, running in all directions, drawing weapons, and pointing fingers at the mountain.
All she could feel was the grasp she had on her necklace.
Her father had Lumie. That thought was horrible enough to send shivers down her spine, and yet, it was an incommensurable relief.
They’d found her daughter and sent her this, which meant chances were high that her daughter was alive.
Alezya found herself in a strange state of mind, overwhelmed by relief, and yet more angst rising than ever before.
She remained still, trapped in her thoughts. What did her father want by sending her this? Why had his men waited until she was alone to send her this? There was something bigger at work here.
There was no need to let her know her daughter was with them and still alive if Lumie was to be sacrificed soon.
Why would her father send her this, knowing she’d come back for her daughter?
After he had driven her to leave and almost gotten her killed, what could have gotten him to change his mind?
“Alezya.”
Kassein’s voice took her out of her spiral thinking.
She realized things had calmed down around them and nodded faintly as she stood up, trying to regain her composure.
It seemed like he’d sent most of his men away, and the dragon, Kein, was already back. To think she hadn’t noticed the large beast coming back spoke volumes about her state of mind...
In fact, she felt a bit faint. Without thinking, she grabbed Kassein’s arm to hold on, and he caught her before her legs gave out.
Effortlessly, Kassein put an arm under her and, while saying something to Tievin, who had run over with him, he carried her back inside his habitation. Alezya felt on the verge of passing out until she was sat back down on the bed. The chaos had been left outside, and it helped her calm down a bit.
Moreover, Kassein hadn’t let go of her, his hand still holding her forearm, as if he was worried she’d pass out any second.
“...She’s alive,” Alezya finally muttered.
It was as if she needed to say it herself to believe it. The thought hit her, and she chuckled nervously. She began crying while smiling, which was strange, but a perfect reflection of her state of mind.
“She’s alive,” she repeated, now sobbing. “My baby’s alive.”
She broke down in tears, covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking. It still felt unreal, and yet, she’d never been so grateful.
The tiny string of hope she’d been holding on to all this time was now a thick rope she could use to climb back up. The confirmation that Lumie was alive was all she’d needed, and now, she had it.
She kept crying, unleashing all the emotions she’d managed to restrain so far, feeling a distraught Kassein’s hands on her arms.
Of course he was confused. He had to be. She moved her hands down to only cover her nose and mouth and smiled at him, her smile carrying to her eyes. She wanted to let him know she was fine.
At least now, she was. She put her hands down, grabbing either side of the bed next to her, and smiling between her tears.
“Lumie’s alive.” She smiled. “She’s alive, Kassein. My Lumie.”
She needed to share her joy and relief, although he probably understood nothing of it. He simply stared at her, still completely confused. Aware she probably looked a bit crazy, Alezya wiped her tears and forced herself to calm down.
Despite the joy, she also couldn’t completely ignore everything that was still waiting ahead.
Her child was far from safe yet, and the fact that it was almost certain she had survived was a big relief, but it didn’t mean they were done and out of harm’s way.
But if her father had kept her alive, that meant there was a way.
He wouldn’t have waited for Alezya nor let her know he had her child if things were as simple as wanting to kill Lumie during the council gathering as he’d planned to.
Just that thought was enough to give her all the hope she’d been needing to carry on. She was going to go back and find a way to keep her baby safe, no matter what. No matter what her father wanted in exchange, she would do it. Absolutely nothing could be worth more than her baby’s safety. Nothing.
Just as she felt that wave of relief wash over her, Alezya stared into Kassein’s green eyes. It was like her heart had suddenly warmed up with the perspective of seeing her little girl again.
Suddenly, she felt grateful, incredibly grateful to him. If he hadn’t saved her, she wouldn’t have had a chance to see her baby again. She wouldn’t have survived long enough to get another chance to see her daughter. Both she and Lumie would have been condemned.
She had felt nothing but guilt for all he’d done for her before, but now, she was truly overwhelmed with gratitude.
He’d taken in a complete stranger, a woman meant to be his enemy and he had healed her, fed her, and made sure she was safe all along.
Kassein was the one man who’d made it all possible. He’d been kind, and much more.
Without thinking, she leaned forward to put her arms around his neck and hugged him.
She felt him freeze, probably even more confused now.
Alezya was well aware she ought to look crazy, suddenly hugging a complete stranger after crying and smiling so much out of the blue.
Still, she felt the need to hug him, just this once, to let him know how grateful she was.
How much she’d come to trust him and his kindness.
It lasted a few seconds before she released him. He was still completely stiff, and after a little while longer, she began to worry she’d stepped over some invisible line she shouldn’t have crossed.
“Kassein?”
She called his name, but he didn’t answer.
Instead, he suddenly stood up, stepped away from her, and walked out, leaving her there, utterly confused. Alezya waited, for a bit, but there was no sign of him coming back.
That’s when she started to really get anxious. Had she done something wrong? Perhaps she’d unknowingly broken some custom of theirs?
Now she regretted her impulsive move. She’d been so overtaken by her emotions, she hadn’t thought straight and just jumped at his neck...
She was feeling foolish. She sighed and took off her coat, leaving it to dry at the end of the bed. She hoped Kassein would come back so she could apologize.
However, he didn’t come back for a long time after that. Alezya waited until late, but only that man, Tievin, came much later to bring her some food for dinner.
As he stepped inside, she tried to ask him.
“Kassein?”
He glanced at her, and instead of answering, just shrugged and walked out.
Now she was upset. Did he not know, did he not care, or did he just not want to tell her?
She was tempted to go out and look for him, but it was now dark outside, and she was wary she’d face the dragon again. Although she had survived three out of three encounters with it, she didn’t want to push her luck and relive the experience again.
Thus, she ate in silence, feeling strangely lonely… She was listening for any sounds, any signs of Kassein coming back, but even long after she’d finished eating, nobody came to take the empty bowl away.
She sat on the bed, straightened her clothes, laid the coats on the bed, and combed her long hair with her fingers, thinking.
She had barely parted with her necklace since she’d gotten it back, and now that she was staring at this precious thing she’d set down on her lap, the darkness and loneliness were letting some dark thoughts creep in.
What if she was wrong? What if her father didn’t have Lumie, what if he’d only found the necklace?
No, it didn’t make sense. She was sure she’d attached it tightly around her daughter’s neck.
It was her only memento of her mother, the most prized possession she had, and the one thing she valued most after Lumie.
This little necklace couldn’t be a decoy either; it held the symbol of her mother’s birth clan, the Lumiata, and it couldn’t be copied easily.
Moreover, this pendant was old and bore the same imperfections she’d always known it to have. She knew it was definitely the necklace she’d left with Lumie...
Then, what could her father possibly want? The only thing she could think of was intel on the Dragon Clan. If his men had seen her here for quite some time, maybe the madman had decided that information about the enemy was more important than a child’s sacrifice.
Her father was obsessed with his pride and maintaining his status in front of the other clans.
Under the pretense of safekeeping peace with alliances and betrothals, the council gatherings were usually a way for those men to prove their clan was more worthy than the others, to show off their wealth and how powerful they were, and to prevent future wars.
Since everything was so scarce and each clan desperate for survival, wars happened anyway, but the clans carefully chose an enemy, and anyone who’d shown weakness at the council gathering was vulnerable.
Those gatherings were nothing more than a show to display wealth they didn’t have, show off new weapons they’d invented, gloat about the amount of prey they’d killed, and pretend their mountain was the biggest, most comfortable one.
Her father’s clan’s prestige relied a lot on their proximity to the Dragon Clan’s people. He pretended they were at the forefront of the fight against the Dragon Tyrant and its people, and would once in a while show off a weapon they’d supposedly gotten from the men they’d killed.