Page 87 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

The snowstorm had stopped when they woke up the following day.

Alezya woke up first this time, and she found herself still in Kassein’s arms, both of them almost in the same position they’d fallen asleep in, except that her body, probably attracted to his heat, had tried to climb Kassein’s, leaving her with her leg across his and her arm around his torso.

She would have been a bit more ashamed if she hadn’t been so cold; even with the blankets covering her, Alezya could feel the habitation had gotten really chilly overnight, and her face sticking out of the blankets was cold.

She shivered and curled up even closer to his body.

“Good morning,” he whispered, using her language.

She smiled. His pronunciation wasn’t the best, but she liked how his raspy throat made the greeting even sexier. She put a kiss on his shoulder and felt him tug the blanket around her, although she was already as covered as possible.

Because they had slept so much already the previous day and not done much, they were up early, as the light that came into the habitation was definitely that of sunrise. She could hear Kein’s snores and some morning birds taking advantage of the dragon’s slumber to get chirpy.

Alezya pressed her cheek against Kassein’s skin as he combed her hair with his fingers, thinking of how they only had a few days left together.

She hated it, but she had to return to her clan before the next gathering, and she had to get Lumie out of there.

.. A knot of anxiety formed in her stomach, and maybe Kassein had felt her tense or something because he put another kiss on her forehead gently.

“ I like your hair, ” he whispered.

That made her smile. He touched, caressed, and combed her hair any chance he got.

Her long hair was one of her favorite things about herself too, and she had noticed no one in the Dragon Clan seemed to have this very straight, very dark, and very long hair.

Being complimented about it made her want to take care of her hair even more.

She kissed his jawline, again amused by his beard, which was protesting the frequent shaves by growing back spikier every morning.

“ Breakfast? ”

“ Breakfast ,” he nodded.

They got up together, cleaned up, and dressed to venture out, but almost nothing was done without them touching each other in some way.

Alezya let Kassein braid her hair, and although she was gutted she had lost that piece of fabric he’d gifted her, she was still content with the little string of leather he used to tie it this time.

She stopped him from shaving himself, as she was starting to like the little stubble, and helped him put on each piece of his war gear, the arm braces, shoulder pieces, and his cape, even though he could have done all of it on his own.

As Alezya was about to step outside, he grabbed her hand and swung her back so that she collided with his bare chest, making her laugh.

“ Kiss me ,” he demanded.

She smiled. How could the mere fact that they understood each other more and could talk like this make her so happy? Those words of his were enough to trigger little swarms of butterflies in her stomach.

She cupped his face with her hands and got on her toes, pulling his face toward her to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her into his embrace.

She never wanted to leave this man. Alezya had never known so much bliss as the time she had spent with Kassein, and the only thing that prevented her from being truly happy was Lumie’s absence.

No matter how hard she was falling for Kassein, everything was tainted by how worried she was about her baby.

She kept reminding herself how Suolk and her cousin were clearly in charge of caring for her, how they had a child of their own and would know what to do, and how her father was not going to do anything so long as he needed Alezya to return pregnant.

.. So much was hanging in the balance, but for her, nothing mattered but Lumie.

She was only allowing herself to enjoy this, basking in the sunshine of Kassein’s affection, because she knew she had to brace for the inevitable storm that was coming.

They stepped out of the leather shelter together, and she insisted on greeting Kein, who was waiting for them outside. The orange dragon had become such a companion to Alezya that she found herself patting its hot snout fearlessly.

She glanced up the mountain, but there was no sign of her father’s spies. She redirected her eyes to Kein. Maybe she had the key to her plan right here. Her idea was a bit mad, but madder things had happened in the last few days.

With Kein in tow, they walked hand in hand toward the large fire pit his men had lit up again in the middle of the area.

Many men silently greeted them, and those who did out loud, Alezya was glad she understood their greetings to their Aqayir .

Her father would die of envy; no one in any clan had ever understood as much as she could now of their archenemy’s language.

“ Good morning ,” greeted Lorey and Tievin, who were with Kiki by the fire, both already eating breakfast.

“ Good morning ,” Alezya greeted them in return, a bit proudly.

Lorey replied with a smile, and soon, one of the men ran to bring them food. Alezya could never get enough of the Dragon Clan’s food, and as soon as they sat on Kein, she began devouring her fruits and eggs.

“ Where is Kiera? ”

Alezya didn’t understand Lorey’s reply, but from the little head movement, she guessed Kiera had probably gone hunting in the forest near the camp.

Lorey added something else that ended with Kassein’s name, and he sighed.

He finished his food in record time, got up, and put a quick kiss on Alezya’s lips.

“ Bye ,” he said, using another greeting she’d just learned the previous day.

“ Bye ,” she replied.

She didn’t know where he was going but guessed he was meeting his sister because he left with a sullen expression.

Alezya heard a chuckle and turned back to an amused Lorey and, from Tievin’s grimace, suddenly realized she had just kissed their leader so brazenly in front of them. She blushed helplessly.

“ Are you happy? ” Lorey asked, tilting her head.

“... Yes ,” Alezya muttered.

“ Kassein looks happy, ” Lorey nodded toward the direction he had disappeared. “ He wasn’t happy before .”

“ Why ?”

“ His brother is angry, ” Lorey said, kind enough to use simple words Alezya could understand, “and Kassein is angry with his brother too. ”

Alezya remembered the bedrooms and the one of his older sister... Was it about what had happened to his older sister? She was tempted to ask more, but Lorey wasn’t Kassein’s family, and she didn’t want to pry when he hadn’t pressed her for answers either.

“ Kassein is... thanks, ” she said, not knowing the word for “kind” yet. “ I thank Kassein. ”

Whatever argument that brother had with Kassein, Alezya already found it unfair; she had witnessed for herself how kind Kassein was, and she couldn’t understand what a brother could have against this kind man.

Tievin hadn’t said anything but was eyeing both women while eating his breakfast. Alezya had noticed that the scrawny man was reluctant to approach either dragon, and sure enough, when she put her empty bowl aside and petted Kein’s neck, he opened wide, surprised eyes.

She smiled, a bit proud. She was getting closer to the orange dragon than many of the Dragon Clan.

“ Alezya? ” Lorey called her eyes back to her. “ Let’s go? Where? ”

She frowned for a second before understanding Lorey was asking her what she wanted to do that day.

“ Medicinal herbs ,” she said, trying not to act nervous. “ I like to see the herbs. ”

She was glad she’d learned the word for herbs with Dajan and confirmed it with Lorey two days prior; Kassein’s home mountain had an impressive field and lots of plants surrounding it, so Alezya had used this unique chance to act innocent and confirm the translation for medicinal herbs with Lorey during one of her breaks from sparring with Kiera.

Lorey nodded, and they both got up, leaving Tievin behind while they made their way through the area.

With Kiki and Kein following them, it was clear no warrior would be foolish enough to approach them. While they walked, Alezya proudly told Lorey about the new words she’d learned from Kassein, using gestures to demonstrate.

She realized Kassein was an even kinder teacher than Lorey was, because the young woman gently corrected her pronunciation a couple of times, and rearranged her sentences so they were more fluid too.

Overall, Alezya was still glad their language was fairly straightforward and didn’t seem to have as many rules as hers.

Moreover, she was trying to chat more and use it more to become as fluent as possible, and Lorey was kind enough to entertain her.

“ Where are Kassein and Kiera? ” she asked after a while.

“ Aslayid ,” Lorey said, mimicking a knife gesture. “ They are getting more meat. ”

Hunting , Alezya understood. She nodded.

They continued the conversation, Lorey using the topic to expand Alezya’s vocabulary on activities like hunting, fishing, and herb picking with many gestures to be sure to convey the meaning.

“ Dragons... They hear dragon words too? ” Alezya asked after a while, her hand naturally resting on Kein’s orange scales as the dragon walked by her side.

“ Yes ,” Lorey nodded. “ But dragons... Dragons are dragons. Dragons aren’t men. They do dragons. A dragon wants to hunt, it hunts. If a dragon is unhappy, it doesn’t listen .”

“ Kein is a good dragon ,” Alezya said, scratching Kein’s scales and getting a growl of appreciation.

Lorey gave her a strange look.

“Kein likes Alezya ,” she just said, eyeing the dragon with a mixed expression.

Alezya wasn’t sure how to respond. Was Kein really giving her special treatment, then?