Page 8 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Once she was done cleansing her wounds and putting some herbal medicine on them, she focused on her clothes.

She was probably the worst embroiderer out of all the women in her clan, but she knew just enough to stitch up the ripped fabric.

She got to work, cursing that dragon for damaging her only outfit and all the times she stabbed her own fingers.

Still, Alezya kept replaying the scene in her head, unable to understand how she was still alive. It was as if something within her had deeply changed after meeting a dragon face-to-face and surviving.

Somehow, she felt as if she’d been given a second chance at life. She left her clothes to dry in one corner of their cave and wrapped herself in one of those large furs, around Lumie’s little basket, putting her hand on her daughter’s round belly.

She couldn’t find sleep for a long while; the image of that dragon’s mirror-like eyes stayed engraved in her mind.

The sun was already high in the sky when she woke up to Lumie’s hungry cries. Mechanically, she sat up and placed her baby against her to drink, grabbing their last berries for them to share as breakfast.

Alezya grimaced as each movement uncovered some muscle soreness from the strain of her climb the previous day.

She dared to open the hole, peeking outside.

It was a clear day, no clouds and no dragon to be seen.

Yesterday’s events felt unreal; she would have even thought it was all a dream if it wasn’t for her injuries.

“Alezya!”

Her father’s voice.

She just darted a glare toward the entrance of their cave, but Lumie started crying, afraid.

She’d better get there and see what he was mad about this time.

The sooner this would be over, the sooner her daughter would be able to calm down.

She placed Lumie in the little pen and got dressed, ignoring the repeated calls of her father growing impatient.

Strangely, she had never felt more confident to face that man. What was an angry man compared to a dragon…?

Still, as soon as she crawled out of their refuge, she felt her nervousness come back. She had to be careful, for this wasn’t just about her, but she had to watch out for Lumie’s safety at all times as well.

Alezya quickly walked toward her father’s voice, its echoes almost way too easy to follow. Something felt wrong when she got there, though.

Not only was her father waiting for her, but the clan’s Herbalist, a few of the elders, and her cousin’s husband, all of them with dark expressions on.

“I’ve been calling for you for a while!” her father angrily greeted her.

“Well, I’m here,” Alezya retorted with a glare.

She took him by surprise with just that.

Usually, she wouldn’t have dared to look him in the eye for so long. Instead, not only did she glare back, but she did the same toward all the people around. Alezya had no sympathy for any of them and they had none for her either; she didn’t owe it to them to act polite or anything.

She was even more tense as she knew this kind of gathering was highly unusual and felt threatening.

“What is this about?” she asked first.

“We heard you said you saw the dragon last night?” said one of the elders. “An orange dragon?”

“Didn’t the spotters see it too? Why do you need to confirm it with me?”

“They did. However, they were careful to hide and only saw it from afar... They saw it attack a woman.”

So that was what they were all curious about.

The spotters had seen the scene, they’d seen her survive, and no one could explain it. No wonder all those elders felt uneasy and suddenly wary of her; Alezya’s experience was completely unheard of.

She crossed her arms, nervous about what they were going to do with that information.

“And?” she asked coldly.

“Was that woman you?” Her father squinted his eyes.

Alezya directed her glare back to him. She could see him thinking deeply about this, probably wondering how he was going to be able to use her next. She knew she had to be careful with her answer; she couldn’t predict their reactions to this unheard of situation. She was already trapped.

“...So what if it was me?”

He slapped her.

Alezya took it silently despite the painful burn on her cheek. Instead, she didn’t hesitate to turn her glare back to him, making her father even more enraged. He could keep hitting her all he wanted, she wasn’t going to back down so easily. Not when she was being cornered like this.

“Answer our questions, girl,” hissed one of the elders.

“I am no girl,” Alezya retorted. “I have a daughter of my own.”

“You’re an unmarried wench,” scoffed another elder.

“This unmarried wench still won’t answer unless I know what the hell you want with me,” Alezya retorted, fierce. “Yes, I survived after that dragon attacked me. What of it?”

Those men all exchanged glances. Of course they would be surprised.

The dragons and their masters were the clan’s archenemy, why would one have let a Northern clanswoman go?

Alezya was as baffled as them, but after being able to survive the previous night, she hadn’t thought too deeply about it.

As if she could possibly ever understand a dragon, a creature akin to a living deity. ..

“Why did that dragon let you go?” one of the elders sternly asked her. “What did you do?”

“How would I know?” she retorted, growing impatient. “I barely managed to escape, how would I possibly know what possessed that dragon to let me live? It’s not like it talked or anything!”

They exchanged glances, annoyed with both her tone and her answer, or lack thereof. Although, she could tell they were strangely cautious.

With her tone even more rebellious than usual, her father should have already hit her once or twice more by now. Alezya could endure the beating, but those men acting differently than expected were making her nervous.

“What did you say to it?” Zenia’s husband asked. “Did you say anything?”

“I told that dragon I had my child waiting for me, and that I’d curse it if she became an orphan! What’s the use of this? I doubt it understood a word I said, perhaps it was just fed up! What’s the point of your questions anyway? I was lucky to survive, why does it matter what I said?!”

Some of them exchanged glances, making her even more nervous. Why did it matter what she said? She had answered thinking it was completely irrelevant, but she realized she had been wrong. What did those men know that she didn’t? She didn’t like this at all.

“...Just as we thought,” said one of the oldest men. “This is another sign from the gods.”

Alezya squinted her dark eyes. A sign from the gods was precisely the sort of nonsense those people often used to justify forcing their ways regardless of others’ opinions.

She didn’t give a damn about the sign from the gods, for she believed the gods couldn’t possibly be bothered with these petty people.

But she got even more nervous. She didn’t think anything they were going to say next was going to be good news for her.

“We’ve never had someone survive an encounter with the dragon,” muttered Zenia’s husband.

Alezya glared at him. She regretted ever saying anything.

Of course they’d twist it for their own gain. She should have known better than to trust her cousin, even for the clan’s sake. No doubt her husband had been the one to snitch the identity of the woman the orange dragon had spared. He probably hadn’t even thought twice about it.

“This will be perfect for the next clans’ gathering,” nodded her father. “We can prove our willingness with the sacrifice, and use this to turn things around.”

“What are you talking about?” Alezya asked, growing nervous. “What sacrifice?”

“You should be grateful for this opportunity,” one of the elders told her.

“Your ex-husband would most likely be willing to take you back if you prove your willingness. This is a unique position you will be in, a small sacrifice for the sake of the clans. You could erase all your mistakes and start over, child. We are being more than benevolent already, considering your past offenses.”

Whatever they were going to promise her, Alezya already knew she was about to get offered some deal she was going to hate.

She glared at her cousin’s husband. This was their fault!

She had been kind enough to look for medicinal herbs for their son at the risk of her own life, and it hadn’t even taken a day before they sold her out!

“Grab the child.”

“W-what?” Alezya mumbled, all blood leaving her face.

They wanted Lumie? For what? Her mind was going numb as she was starting to piece it together. Her father looked at her like she was some foolish insect and a very stupid one at that.

“Give us that creature you call your child,” he insisted. “If the dragon spared it, it’s all the more reason for us to sacrifice it to the gods. I knew there was something off about that wretched spawn, and now we get to use it for our clan’s sake.”

“You should be grateful, child. With this sacrifice, your willingness to help your clan will be considered, and we will plead your case to the one that was once your husband.”

This had to be some sort of nightmare. Sacrificing Lumie? And to go back to that monster they called her husband, no less? Alezya felt like a piece of the mountain was cracking under her feet.

“...You can’t be serious?” she muttered. “You’d sacrifice a child...? Because of some stupid things I said to a dragon?”

“A woman does not need to know such things,” said one of the elders, “but the dragons are intelligent creatures. Our records prove they are capable of understanding words. Whatever the reason was for that orange dragon to spare your child, it’s all the more reason for us to get rid of it.

Why are you so surprised? Sacrificial rituals are common. ”

“Yes, with beasts and criminals!” Alezya retorted, now furious. “No one’s ever been mad enough to sacrifice a child!”

“That creature is an abomination,” her father hissed.

“She is my child,” she retorted immediately, her anger even more palpable than his.

One of the elders rolled their eyes as if she was just being difficult. Those mad men were seriously talking about sacrificing a child as if it was a natural thing!

“You’d gain your place back in the clan,” said her cousin’s husband, looking dumbfounded. “Alezya, this might be your only chance! Your crime would be forgiven!”

Alezya glared at him even more. She had committed no crime, and she certainly didn’t give a damn about her place in the clan.

Those were obvious lies. How could she go back to where she was, after everything that had already happened?

After being treated like this by her father, in front of the whole clan, for months?

There was no going back. And even if there had been a chance she’d believe that lie, she wouldn’t have cared.

There was nothing in this world that would possibly make her give up her own child, and certainly not to a bunch of men who were going to sacrifice her.

She didn’t know how much of that crap about the dragon they actually believed, and Alezya was far from being stupid.

Their real reason wasn’t to piss off the dragon, it was probably to make themselves look good in front of the other clans. Showing they weren’t afraid to burn a baby that was believed to be of some stranger’s blood was just to curry her ex-husband’s clan’s favor.

And Alezya wouldn’t let them have their way.

“No.”

A single word, that had barely left her lips, but she had already made her resolve.

No, she had decided a long time ago. No matter what happened, it was Lumie and her against the world.

Against this insane, cruel world. Some of the elders sighed and turned around, visibly already bored with this situation. Her father, however, just went red.

“What did you just say?”

“I said no,” she hissed. “You’re not having my child, and you’re not going to sacrifice her, Father.”

“How dare you–?!”

He raised his hand, but Alezya didn’t flinch.

She stood there, facing him, with anger in her eyes and not even batting an eyelash at the promised violence that was coming her way.

He slapped her, violently, but this time, she stood still.

Despite her ear ringing, despite the pain on her cheek.

She immediately raised her furious eyes back at him.

This was her way to tell him. He could hit her all he wanted, it wouldn’t be able to break her.

He could beat her all he wanted, he could hit her again and again until she was on the brink of death, but she would not, she would never, ever abandon her child.

“...You’re a foolish woman,” he muttered.

“Just like your mother. But your disobedience stops here, Alezya. If you don’t grab that thing and bring it to me, someone else will.

This is my clan, this is my mountain. You may defy me, but you won’t be able to hold on to that creature.

I was going to show some benevolence to you, but you persist to defy me.

Fine. There are two weeks until the gathering.

One way or another, I’ll have that creature by then. ”

He turned around and his eyes fell on her cousin’s husband.

“You. Spread the word. Whoever brings me that thing will be rewarded. Whoever helps her hide that creature, however, will be treated like traitors and punished.”

“...Understood.”

She knew there was no use trying to talk to her cousin’s husband or to anyone else in the clan, for that matter. Alezya had months to see how quickly they could turn on her for their own benefit.

There was no one that would be on her side. No one. She was already trapped. That’s why she knew she had to escape.