Page 147 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
All three of them turned their heads to see Lorey, looking confused as she stepped inside the tent and glanced at the map sprawled on the table.
“Just planning to conquer some mountains,” Kiera shrugged. “Why?”
“Conquer the mountains?” Lorey blinked. “...Really?”
Kassein gave her a stern nod, and when she turned to Tievin, the Grand Intendant sighed and summarized everything she’d missed in a few sentences, from their hypothesis about the tribes, Kassein’s plan to conquer the mountains and claim the north as his own, the meeting with the generals, and finally, Kiera offering her help.
“I hope you don’t mind, honey,” Kiera sighed. “It looks like we’re set to stay here for a while.”
“I don’t, but... have you guys seen Alezya?”
They froze, the tension in the tent rising noticeably, all eyes going to Kassein as his jaw tensed.
“...She was in my tent.”
“She isn’t anymore,” Lorey announced with a sorry expression, “and... your dragon took off a little while ago too.”
“Kein?” He frowned.
“You have another dumb dragon we don’t know about?” Kiera rolled her eyes.
Kassein ignored her, feeling increasingly nervous.
He had told his dragon to watch over Alezya. While Kein had rarely listened to its owner’s wishes in recent years, there was one thing they had agreed on, and it was Alezya. She came first, especially her safety.
Kassein knew his dragon wouldn’t have left her, not willingly.
If Alezya wasn’t in his tent, she wasn’t with Lorey, and Kein had taken off... Was Alezya riding his dragon? If so, where to?
Kassein tightened his fist. He didn’t like this. He felt a minimal amount of relief knowing that she was with his dragon, but to think she had left when he wasn’t looking...
How long had passed since he’d left her in his bed? A few hours?
His throat tightened. Where could she have gone with his dragon? A dragon could cross from one end of the Empire to the other in a few hours... but he had to think Kein wouldn’t take her too far from him.
Perhaps she just needed some fresh air or to experience a ride again. After all, the weather was fair, and there was a full moon that night... or so he was trying to convince himself, ignoring the ominous feeling gnawing his insides.
“Shall we chase them?” Kiera grimaced. “Not that I think it would be a great idea to chase your insane dragon, but...”
“Let it be,” Kassein said half-heartedly. “...They’ll be back.”
Kiera raised an eyebrow that clearly meant she doubted it but didn’t pursue the matter any further.
Kassein forced himself to take a settling breath in.
He and Alezya trusted each other. After what had happened between them the previous night... he felt like they were marked forever by some invisible, unbreakable bond. She was his.
It was in a dragon’s blood to hoard his treasures, and he had no intention of letting her go. Wherever she’d gone, she’d come back to him, or he would go to her. Neither mattered.Once he conquered those mountains, Alezya would be free to go wherever she wanted, and she would still be within his grasp. The possessive feeling was sudden but not surprising.
Once again, Kassein had always known it was in their nature to be jealous and possessive, and he had seen his siblings and parents with their partners; he was almost relieved to have found his own half to feed that instinct.
“Are you sure?” Lorey whispered as if the other two couldn’t hear.
Instead of replying, Kassein turned to Tievin with a determined expression.
“Do we have everything we need to meet with my brother?”
Tievin hesitated, making some mental checklist in his head that included some grimacing, and eventually, nodded with a heavy sigh.
