Page 94 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Kassein stood outside, basking in the sunlight for a few seconds, taking in deep breaths of icy wind. The previous night had felt like a rebirth, a new world of possibilities opening under his feet.

Now, he didn’t simply want Alezya; he needed her. He needed that woman like most men needed air and water. Some part of him was already thinking about the next time he would get to see her, to touch her, to smell her, like this was his new way of measuring time.

Finally, Kassein willed himself to move, if only to glance at his orange dragon at the side of the tent.

Kein let out a warning growl; his dragon didn’t appreciate being bothered during its slumber and barely lifted its head from its curled position, eyeing Kassein with a nasty silver-colored glare.

“Watch her,” Kassein hissed.

His dragon growled back, and finally, the young Prince left to meet his sister.

It was early in the camp, but men were already working, carefully avoiding his path, scattering like scared rats as he approached.

Kassein didn’t care much for his men at the moment, but he did glare around, looking for the smallest signs of insubordination.

He wasn’t afraid to spill blood if that was what it took for them to behave.

Eventually, he crossed paths with Tievin, who was already glaring at the snow like the fresh new layer was personally offending him.

“Your Highness,” Tievin half-yawned. “Good day. There are quite a few matters that require your attention regarding the camp, if you have a minute. I’ve received numerous reports from the generals about sightings of the tribespeople, well, male ones, really, in the mountains.”

“Kiera mentioned it too,” Kassein spat.

Tievin stopped walking for a second, visibly taken aback.

Kassein’s usual replies were dismissive at best, and grunts if he was in a bad mood.

His sudden interest in the matter threw Tievin for a loop that had him blinking numerous times before he realized the Prince was now paces ahead.

He ran to catch up, tripping over his long coat a couple of times, and cleared his throat despite how out of breath the exercise had made him.

“W-well, this is most unusual,” Tievin fumbled.

“According to my notes, at least five different tribes seemed to have launched attempts to attack us, which leads me to think something is happening. A-according to my predecessors’ notes, there are also multiple accounts of such unreasonable attempts being more frequent in a regular pattern. ”

“A regular pattern?” Kassein frowned with a questioning look.

Tievin’s jaw dropped again.

He had never managed to get the Commander in Chief this interested in any matter related to the camp before. He would usually delegate to the generals or tell Tievin to “deal with it.”

The truth was, ever since his father, the War God Kairen, had stepped away from leading this camp, most things had been overseen by the generals sent here or, every now and then, some Grand Intendant like himself who merely relayed orders.

Kassein hadn’t been much more willing; he fought, killed, and did what had to be done, not out of a sense of duty or interest in the position forced on him, but more so to distract himself.

His brother had sent him here, and ever since, the Commander in Chief had been in self-imposed exile.

For him to actually show an inkling of interest was a first.

Thus, Tievin found himself tripping over his coat again before catching up and straightening in his layers of fur.

“Yes, sir,” he said with a higher-pitched voice than necessary.

“I-I-I may have, and I mean, I have been taking most arduous notes and asking the most ancient soldiers here, and it does seem that those attacks become much more frequent ahead of full moons. The records of the previous intendants are quite ill-managed and show an obvious lack of accuracy and thoroughness, but nevertheless, I am willing to consider them fairly reliable when it comes to the attacks over the years...”

This time, Kassein was the one to stop and glance up at the mountains with a confused frown.

“The full moon?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Tievin managed to say, catching his breath as he spoke.

“Full moons. There is nothing else of significance happening in the Empire on full moons except for the odd festival, but I’m assuming they might be of a particular importance to the tribespeople.

Our records show them being interdependent as much as they seem to fight, so various tribes trying to attack us ahead of any specific event might be some kind of rite on their side.

Quite the foolish one, I dare say, but it must be important if so many would risk their lives to make a scratch on our army.

A lot more of them are sighted in the heights ahead of the full moons too.

A significant increase compared to the usual, according to my own observations since we have been here as well as my most thorough predecessors. ..”

Kassein didn’t like the sound of that.

The more he got to know Alezya, the more it was starting to dawn on him that the tribes had been an itch the Empire had never bothered to scratch.

The Northern Mountains belonged to the Empire, according to every map he’d been shown as a child.

The east had been split off as the Eastern Kingdom his sister and her husband reigned over, and the west contained miles and miles of unexplored lands Kiera and her partner loved to roam, only to report more tribes living there just like the one their mother was from.

But what about the mountains? When was the last time someone from the Empire had tried or been given a chance to learn their language?

When had they last tried to climb those mountains and meet those people?

Kassein had memories of him and his brothers riding dragons above those mountains.

That was it. Alezya’s home had never been more than a child’s playground, a landscape at the end of the continent.

And now, there was something he didn’t like about that, something in his gut that refused to settle.

“...When is the next one?” he asked Tievin, his green eyes scouring the mountains, trying to spot one of the tribespeople himself.

“The next full moon?” Tievin coughed. “W-well, it should start tomorrow night, sir.”

Tomorrow night. What was this sense of foreboding that washed over Kassein?

He had been in the north for countless full moons before, so why did this one feel ominous?

Was it because of Alezya? Was her presence pushing him to question the Northern tribes more than usual?

Was the full moon important to her too? Was she familiar with the rites the tribes seemed to practice?

It was more likely than not, although tribeswomen were never spotted before. ..

“...Capture them.”

Tievin blinked, doubting his own ears.

“Your–I mean, Commander? Di-did you just say...?”

“I said capture them,” Kassein repeated, his eyes still riveted on the mountains. “The next ones who attack, I want as many of them as possible made prisoners.”

“May I ask why, Commander?” Tievin frowned. “I mean, we do have structures for retaining prisoners, but this is most...”

Kassein wasn’t quite sure why he had given that order either. At least, not yet. He had the beginning of an idea, something that looked like it might later sprout into some bigger plan.

They had killed tribesmen for decades, centuries perhaps, without trying to interact with them.

If he believed the tales he’d been told, his ancestors had tried, but the tribesmen had been set on trying to kill anyone from the Dragon Empire.

They had never been capable of having any kind of dialogue due to generations-old hatred and a language barrier that stood like a wall between their civilizations.

.. but Alezya was proof that things could change.

That communication was possible, and perhaps, one woman had set the first stone to pave a very different future.

Kassian had exiled him to do some impossible task, Kassein had always been sure of it. ...What if it wasn’t?

He had never cared about satisfying his brother’s demand or proving him wrong. Kassein cared a lot more about the woman sleeping in his tent and what kind of future could lie ahead.

Would she be capable of loving a man who had murdered dozens of her people? Would she one day miss her tribe and go back? Would this desolate place ever be enough for her?

Kassein owned nothing but a mad dragon, but he stood, wishing to offer that woman the world. He didn’t care for his brother’s throne or his Empire, but Alezya deserved everything. He wanted to give her all that he had, everything she needed, anything she wanted.

“Commander?”

He ignored Tievin’s questioning and resumed walking.

He was still due to meet his sister, but now, he didn’t care about training. Instead, as soon as he found her in one of the clearings they had been using to train on the sunny days, he walked up to her with determination.

“Did a dragon take a dump in your boots?” she scoffed at his frown.

“I want to negotiate.”

“I usually take a bribe first.”

“With the barbarians.”

His sister’s smile dropped, and she glanced toward Lorey.

As usual, her companion was nearby, and she had been seated on Kiki’s long body like it was a tree trunk, drinking from a cup. But now, her surprised expression was on Kassein.

A few seconds of silence passed, only interrupted by Tievin’s loud panting. Lorey gave him a brief look, but it was Kiera who closed her mouth, blinked, and then reopened it first.

“Say what?” she spat. “With the Northern tribes? The ones who have been a pain in our Imperial Butts for generations?”

“...Is this because of Alezya?” Lorey guessed first.

Kassein gave her a short but firm nod. Meanwhile, his sister rolled her eyes back hard.