Page 53 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

For once, Alezya felt thankful for the language barrier between them.

If it wasn’t for that, she would have had the difficult choice of whether to tell him the truth or not.

.. Would she have confided in him, telling him the whole truth and asking for help, if she could?

Or would she have kept it all to herself and acted like she hadn’t been married before, like she wasn’t part of some horrible scheme for her daughter’s sake?

“...Kassein,” she muttered.

She got his attention, and he slightly lifted his eyebrows, staring at her even more intensely.

How she wished she could read into those deep green eyes and know his thoughts.

She held on to his hand, a bit tighter. Don’t let me go , she wanted to beg him.

Let me trust someone, one more time... but Alezya couldn’t believe her own hopes.

She knew she didn’t have that luxury, for if she was wrong, Lumie would be the one to pay the price, and she couldn’t have that.

What was she to do? Use Kassein, like her father wanted?

But she knew she’d have two children to protect, and she didn’t want to flee, carrying the child of an innocent man who’d shown nothing but kindness to her.

Moreover, she knew nothing of his world, and if she was honest, she knew too little of him too. Once they got closer, if they got closer, would he simply let her go?

She couldn’t abandon Lumie, so she would have to go back, no matter what.

And once she got back, what would she do?

Her father would only use her like some vessel while she grew his revenge plan in her womb?

She tried to think of a way, any possible way she could fight back and protect her child, or children.

It was insane to plan as far ahead as having to protect a child she’d conceive with Kassein, but Alezya knew she had to think about it now.

She knew that her father wouldn’t be fooled, and he’d definitely have the clan’s Healer confirm if she was pregnant or not.

He was definitely not going to take her word for it.

Alezya knew he would check, and she couldn’t think of any way to possibly fool them.

They wouldn’t allow her back until they were sure she’d accomplished her part of their horrible plan.

Whether she would lie with Kassein or not would have so much weight on Lumie’s fate.

Worse, she knew it wasn’t madness nor that far-fetched, not with the way Kassein looked at her, cared for her.

.. and yet, she knew how dangerous it would be to fall in love with him.

Her own heart was barely listening to her anymore, would she be able to do anything if she gave in to him even more?

Her only certainty was that she would never, ever abandon Lumie.

But what of Kassein? What would she do if they got any closer than this?

She would potentially put him through so much.

.. and he had no idea. He couldn’t have known she was some viper sent by her father to use him.

.. Could she be that cruel, that selfish?

She was so desperate to protect Lumie, and yet, her heart was already aching for him.

She couldn’t possibly protect them both, and she refused to leave her fate in his hands either.

She’d been deceived by men too many times, she couldn’t believe in him so easily.

Alezya knew how kind Kassein was now, but the man she had been married to had once been kind too.

.. and she didn’t have it in her to take any more risks.

And even if, by some miracle, Kassein truly was as good of a man as he’d been acting all along, would he be willing to take on all the risks that would come with it? Did she have what it would take to protect him too?

“Alezya.”

He had simply whispered her name, but without knowing, Kassein made her heart ache even more.

Why? Why was he so kind and caring? Things would have been so much simpler if he was just another heartless brute.

.. Alezya let out a long sigh. Her head ached a bit, and she felt sore in various places.

She moved her body closer to the edge of the bed, closer to him, holding on tight to his hand.

Just don’t let go , she wanted to say. But she didn’t have the words for it. ..

Should she give it a try? Just to learn a bit about his world.

She despised that her hateful father would have seen an opportunity from it, while Alezya was just trying to find ways to survive.

Somewhere in her heart, there was a faint hope that maybe, just maybe, that man would be the solution to end her suffering.

And once again, she shut that down. Hope was ever so quick to disappoint. She let herself drift to sleep while staring into Kassein’s eyes, wondering if that man had any secrets of his own.

She awoke later, and the pain in her leg had gotten worse.

Alezya grimaced and tried to glance around but from how dark it was, she could only assume it was nighttime.

She painfully moved, trying to massage her leg or find a position where it wouldn’t hurt so much.

She turned and found Kassein asleep beneath the bed again.

So he hadn’t gone to sleep anywhere else. ..

Alezya was relieved. She had feared the other women’s arrival would change things, but for some reason, he still found it suitable to sleep beside her on that fur rug. Not only that, but he seemed peacefully asleep, using his arm as a cushion, his body on its flank, turned toward the bed.

Had he fallen asleep while looking at her too?

She leaned over the edge of the bed, ignoring her sore body, trying to stare at him.

He seemed so peaceful while sleeping... probably the sleep of someone who feared few things in this world.

Alezya wouldn’t have been able to sleep so deeply if it wasn’t for her body being exhausted.

She’d spent the last two years on edge, desperate to protect Lumie, keep her from any harm, surviving while being ostracized to gather food and other things they needed to survive. ..

She let her thoughts drift toward the mountain again.

Was Lumie alright, in her cousin’s care?

Zenia and Suolk could probably provide better for a child that wasn’t their own than Alezya had for her own baby.

.. She felt guilt choke her up again. Her baby was probably living a better life now that she was a hostage of their clan than while she’d lived with her mom since she was born.

She felt the tears come up again, and she chastised herself for it.

She had to stop crying... The crying would solve nothing.

She needed to get stronger, for Lumie’s sake.

She needed a plan. She needed her baby back.

Her father wouldn’t give her child back until he believed she was pregnant with Kassein’s child.

She didn’t care what would happen to her, but she needed Lumie to be safe, and out of her father’s reach.

“...Alezya?”

Kassein had opened an eye. He found her eyes over him, and she greeted him with a faint smile.

Ignoring the pain, she extended her arm, and boldly caressed his spiky cheek with her fingertips.

His skin was so warm... How could he be so warm while sleeping on the floor?

Did that have to do with the dragon, like the scales on his skin?

Someone like Kassein surely wouldn’t have had any issue keeping a child safe from her father, Alezya thought. But could she really trust Kassein?

Either way, she had to make her father’s spies think she was going along with the plan. She was already sleeping in his habitation; it wouldn’t be so hard to show she was close to him. At least for now, she could trick them into believing she was playing their game...

He put his hand over hers on his cheek and closed his eyes again.

He seemed tired, and she found him looking a bit childish like this. She wondered if he was younger or older than she was. He didn’t seem very old... but it was hard to tell, with his kind. She wasn’t familiar with the people of the Dragon Clan, and they were so different in so many ways.

Soon enough, Kassein’s breathing eased into a peaceful sleep again, still holding her hand.

The position wasn’t too painful for either of them, so Alezya didn’t feel like taking her hand back.

In fact, the warm touch of Kassein’s skin was soothing to her too.

She really wished she’d never have to let go of that hand.

.. She had to get better, soon. She had to understand him and his world better.

Their hands still linked, Alezya laid her head down on the very edge of the bed, an eye on him, and fell back asleep.

The next morning, Alezya woke up all alone, and thankfully, not due to any pain but naturally. It clearly was the morning... How long had she slept?

She felt rested, and a whole lot better. Kassein was gone, and his spot on the floor was cold. The habitation was empty, but things weren’t quiet outside. She could hear activities going on, the voices of men, and the faint wind against the fabric walls.

Alezya took a little while to sit up and assess the pain throughout her body.

She was healing, and faster than the norm again.

What kind of medicine did the Dragon Clan have that she could possibly recover so fast?

Was it really fine for Kassein to be wasting their medical resources on her?

Back in her clan, herbal medicine was one of the most valuable things she could exchange.

.. but maybe here, they had plenty of it, enough that he could use some on one of the enemy’s women. ..