Page 69 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Alezya was stunned by the large square patches of soil covered in herbs, a lot of them she’d never seen before.

They had built wooden squares and filled them with soil to grow those herbs, some even standing on wooden legs, or exposed to the sunlight; this habitation had been made so parts of its ceiling could be opened and closed to let the sunlight in!

She wasn’t just happy to find medicinal herbs, she was genuinely stunned by the Dragon Clan’s ingenuity in growing them.

Now she almost felt like a fool for keeping track of where the ones her clan used grew to go back to those with much difficulty every time.

Their clan’s Healer would have been green with envy at the sight of this.

Alezya wasn’t just there to admire the plants, however.

She quickly began looking around for the ones she recognized, and the ones she needed in particular.

Still, she couldn’t help but admire how well-kept and grown all those herbs were in this awful climate.

She identified a few of the most helpful herbs she knew, used for fevers and headaches, and was almost annoyed at how many she’d risked her life for when they were now within her reach.

She kept looking around, followed by Dajan who was still chatting for some reason.

That man clearly had no problem taking a foreigner to what was clearly a very important part of their clan’s well-being.

Was he going to be in trouble for showing her this?

Or perhaps he was particularly trusting, or oblivious?

Alezya was a bit confused, but she felt grateful.

Thanks to his trust, she could look for the herbs she needed for her plan.

And soon, she found them. The first plant she was absolutely sure of, but the second one.

.. She observed the plant, a bit flustered by the slight differences from the one she knew.

The shape of the leaves was the same, a wide leaf with five points, but instead of being an all-green color, this one had strange pinkish borders.

Was it because it was grown on the ground rather than on the mountain?

Or could it be some poisonous difference… ? It smelled the same too.

While Dajan wasn’t looking, Alezya quickly put a leaf in her mouth, silently praying she wasn’t poisoning herself.

The taste was the exact same as the one she knew!

This was probably safe to use. After all, the Dragon Clan also grew and used it.

.. They wouldn’t have bothered to cultivate something deadly.

Quickly, she stole as many leaves as she could unnoticed, rolling them under the bandages of her forearm.

When Dajan looked at her again, Alezya pretended to be innocently smelling the plants, or pointing at the most common ones.

She hated being a thief, but this time, she had no choice.

This was the best idea she had been able to come up with so far to protect herself and Kassein from her father’s horrible plan.

Dajan gave her a proper tour of the place, and Alezya looked around for more herbs that she knew, wondering even more about the ones she had never seen before.

Identifying herbs and their uses correctly was a life skill she had always been proud of, and now, she was dying to know about the ones that she was sure no one she knew had ever had access to.

She hadn’t thought their clan would have such advanced knowledge of medicine.

Their strength had always seemed to be in their numbers and warriors, and a part of her had always found them barbaric for that.

Now, she was genuinely shocked about this new aspect of Kassein’s people.

She’d had no idea they had a similar knowledge of herbal medicine as her clan had, if not better.

It even made her wonder if the answer to Lumie’s unique condition was there.

She had never thought her child’s uniquely pale skin color needed to be changed, but it was a fact that her baby couldn’t endure the sunlight.

Was there a miracle among those plants that would help Lumie suffer less under the daylight?

If they had something that could make her baby girl’s life a bit less painful, she would do anything to have it.

.. Once again, Alezya swore to herself to learn their language faster so she could ask Lorey about it.

It seemed Dajan was really happy to show her around because they spent quite some time touring the square patches of growing herbs. Alezya tried to take note of as many as she could to remember them in the future, but while she did, another question came to mind: who was growing them?

The men outside were clearly just guarding the precious plants, but there was no one else in the habitation in charge of it.

Did they have a healer in charge of this place?

But she hadn’t seen any woman around, or did the Dragon Clan warriors all know what those were?

From Dajan’s actions, it didn’t look like it, for he didn’t seem more enthusiastic about one kind of herb than another.

Alezya felt annoyed for feeling irritated about the prospect of another woman being in the camp once again... She already couldn’t help but double-check Kassein’s reactions to Lorey. There was a difference between how she wanted to act and what her willful heart made her do.

She’d felt happy about their proximity during dinner the previous night and how he didn’t mind sharing his food with her, but then, Lorey had come to him to chat, and that discussion between them had made Alezya more nervous than ever.

.. Some of the words she had recognized, in particular, had made her heart jump a couple of times.

Woman and child. Lorey hadn’t looked at Alezya, but she’d said her name.

Worse, Alezya had felt Kassein’s body stiffen unmistakably around her.

Now more than ever, Alezya was getting nervous. She had a feeling that Kassein knew, and it was making her feel scared.

What if she lost his trust and protection?

Then, she’d really be considered a prisoner here.

And all those men, and their stares... She shivered just thinking about it.

She couldn’t have that. She needed to stay safe, to get back to Lumie.

.. and also, she genuinely didn’t want to lose Kassein.

She could betray him for her child’s sake, but a part of her hoped she wouldn’t have to lose him.

Alezya knew her own heart all too well, and a silly part of her couldn’t help but entertain some hope.

He was almost too painfully easy to read.

How would he react once he knew the truth?

If he ever asked about Lumie, could she be honest?

How would he take it...? She didn’t want to think about it.

She shook her head and ignored Dajan to walk out of this place, seeking fresh air.

Once she stepped out, it wasn’t enough. The stares of the men guarding this habitation made her uncomfortable, and Alezya hurried to Kein’s side, where the dragon’s warm skin would make her feel safe.

Only when she finally put her hand on the hot scales was she able to relax; she had a plan.

It wasn’t a full-fledged plan, and it was risky, but it was better than nothing.

.. and if it worked, she might be able to protect both Kassein and Lumie.

Quickly, she took some of the herbs, crushed them in her hand, and ate them.

The taste was bitter, and the texture was hard to chew and swallow, but Alezya forced it down.

When Dajan appeared again, she asked him for hot water, worried the herbs wouldn’t sit well with her stomach.

.. She needed to get them to work. She had stolen enough to take them daily for a few days, but she’d need to come back to this place again.

Would Kassein allow it? It hadn’t seemed like a big deal for Dajan to bring her here, and now, she knew how to ask.

.. Tibin eushib . Those two fateful words might be her salvation.

Dajan came back with the hot water, and Alezya was grateful to be able to wash away the awful taste of those herbs. She handed him back the cup, feeling a bit uncomfortable from the mix of herbs and plain hot water in her stomach, but grateful.

“ Shkran ,” she thanked him in his language.

She was glad she remembered enough to be at least polite... She needed a few people around Kassein to keep a good opinion of her, at least.

Dajan smiled but kept the cup in his hands and stayed there, staring at her with eyes full of expectation. Was she supposed to say something?

Then, Alezya realized he was just waiting to see what she wanted to do next.

She had come here, now what? She gave him an awkward nod and turned around to walk back toward the camp, Kein still stuck to her like an oversized dog.

This time, the dragon properly walked side by side with her, Alezya keeping a hand on its warm neck.

It had been a little while since she’d gotten up now, and as the sun was rising in the sky, the camp was waking up all the same.

They walked by a lot more men, and while Kein seemed to intimidate them, Alezya couldn’t help but note how a lot of eyes followed her every move.

Any woman with any sense of self-preservation could tell when she was lusted after, and right now, she felt like a piece of meat wandering amongst hungry dogs.

A lot of the warriors turned their eyes as soon as they saw the dragon guarding her, but Alezya still couldn’t help but feel their eyes on her back.

All the gawking made her walk even closer to the dragon’s side and hurry a bit.