Page 150 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
While Kein landed obediently right where instructed, the dragon seemed upset about the human female getting off its back, and its orange head kept following her movements with nervous or upset little growls.
Alezya gave it a sad smile, petting its neck.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I need you to stay close. Can you stick around for me until I call you?”
The dragon let out another growl, which she took as reassuring.
Now that she was back on familiar soil, fresh snow, and far too close to her home mountain, dread began to fill Alezya. Shewished Kassein was there to hold her in his strong, warm arms, but instead, she pressed her palms and her body against his dragon, feeling the hot orange scales warm her up.
She was nervous. She’d had to go back twice before already, and each time had hurt more than the last. It was a cruel truth she tried to push aside, but deep down, she knew she might not survive this one.
Alezya let Kein’s body warm her for a few more seconds while she gathered the courage she needed to go back. The dragon’s near-unbearable heat and thoughts of her baby waiting for her finally willed her to pull away and turn in the direction she had to take.
“See you later, friend,” she whispered to Kein, hoping the dragon would stick around long enough to enact her plan.
Alezya heard Kein’s pained growls as she walked away, but the dragon didn’t take off until a few seconds later, and while she was still a long way from home, she could see the orange body making lazy circles above her, no doubt following her hike with its curious silver eyes.
Thanks to the predator in the sky, none of the ones hiding in the mountain crossed her path while Alezya made it back to her clan’s territory.
It was a long journey, but she didn’t hurry, knowing she had hours until the nightmare began. She missed Kein’s warmth already as her feet were numb from the bite of the snow, and although she was used to the pain from the cold, it was nothing compared to what her heart was enduring.
She kept Kassein and Lumie in mind, alternating between hoping one would forgive her and the other one was safe. She had been away from her child for too long, and she missed Kassein already.
She willed herself to keep going, thinking the sooner this would be over, the better, whatever the final outcome.
She felt like the same woman who had left this place twice, only stronger, bolder. And, if she was honest, loved. There was something immeasurably powerful about knowing that someone was waiting for her. Someone who loved her, adored her, and made her feel at home in his arms. Her father’s spiteful words wouldn’t hurt anymore; Kassein’s love was like an invisible dragon-scaled shield she wore to battle.
Thus, when she finally stepped foot inside one of the familiar tunnels, she kept her head high as she made her way past the stone walls and back to the depths of her home clan.
It didn’t take long for her path to cross with a sentinel, who took a second to recognize her and another second to realize she was alive. He might as well have seen a ghost because the man’s eyes opened wide in shock, and he darted in the opposite direction without a word.
Alezya let out an involuntary grin. She probably was like some sort of vengeful spirit, coming back every time despite their best attempts to get rid of her. Since she had been sent to the Dragon Clan, most of her people had probably not expected her to be able to return so freely. Her father must have been the only one to wish for her return, although it was for the most selfish reasons. Even if he had sent her on some horrible mission this time, he might not have actually expected her to come back alive, and certainly not this healthy nor wearing such a nice, warm coat.
This time, she was the one in a position of power, and her father had no idea.
When Alezya emerged in one of their main caves, her father and some of his men were waiting for her, slightly out of breath as they had visibly arrived from another tunnel seconds prior.
She felt her stomach clench in anger, fear, and disgust. Every inch of her body wanted her out of there before something terrible happened again. The trauma of her past experience was lingering like a promised nightmare to strike again.
She stood steps away from them, unwilling to approach any further, taking in the men almost cornering her already while her back touched one of the cave’s walls. It was hard and cold.
“She really returned,” her father hissed with a victorious grin.
Alezya tried to keep a neutral expression. She hadn’t seen her father smile her way in a long time, but it was all for the wrong reasons. He was expecting to be victorious, for her to return pregnant with Kassein’s child, to be crawling back to save her daughter’s life.
For some reason, Alezya felt the urge to cover her womb with her hand, although there was no need for it. It just felt gross to see her father stare at it like he was ready to gut her for his prize.
“Where is Lumie?” she asked, silently praying her baby was fine.
“Are you pregnant?” Her father squinted his eyes.
Alezya nodded stiffly. She was hoping the herb had worked, and she couldn’t act too certain about her condition; she had only been with Kassein for a few weeks, and even if her clan believed she’d slept with him since she’d returned to the Dragon Clan, she would have gotten pregnant recently, nothing for her to be too confident about.
“Check her.”
Alezya realized the Healer had just arrived at the end of the little group that had just come out of the tunnel. The elder marched toward her without an ounce of pity toward the young woman who had been sent like a slave to breed with theirenemy. She grabbed and pulled Alezya’s wrist out of her coat unceremoniously, and everyone held their breath.
Alezya silently prayed it would work. She knew how strong the herb was, but if anything had gone wrong, if her father had the slightest doubt, she and Lumie could be killed on the spot...
