Page 193 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“You know of the Lumiata Clan?” Alezya exclaimed, stunned to hear that name.
“Of course we do. Or we used to,” Ekata corrected. “A decade ago, there wasn’t a single clan who didn’t know about the Lumiata, the matriarchal clan. They held such precious knowledge that no clan dared to harm them. Most even sought their help when diseases hit them or when their women were close to labor. ...All of the clans took a hit when the Lumiata suddenly disappeared years ago. We looked for them, as most clans did. Even a decade later, no one knows what happened to them... Many used to think they relocated, but none of the clans they used to trade with found signs of them anymore. There were some rumors the dragon had killed them, but many more of us suspect Darak did something.”
“...My mother was of the Lumiata,” Alezya admitted in a low voice, suddenly missing the necklace, her only physical memory of her mom.
The woman slowly nodded.
“We know who you are. Your mother... The Lumiata never married into another clan, and they never moved in with their partners. When your father took in a pregnant Lumiata woman, we all knew something was off. Your father claimed he was inlove with your mother, and the Lumiata said an arrangement had been made... Everyone could tell something was going on. I’m sorry, but whatever bound your mother to Darak, it wasn’t love.”
“...I can imagine that,” Alezya admitted with a tight throat.
She knew far too well the wretched depths her father was willing to go to get what he wanted, and she felt all the more sorry for her mother, who had more than likely been forced to carry his child.
“What do you think my father wanted with the Lumiata?” Alezya asked.
She knew her father’s greed. As much as she had no doubt he was the type to take anything he wanted, including a woman, Alezya still knew him to be a cunning man. He wouldn’t have risked making an enemy of so many clans only because of something like lust.
The woman exchanged a look with her brother before returning to Alezya.
“This is only a guess, but... we both know how obsessed the Deklaan Clan is with defeating the Dragon Clan. We knew the Lumiata were wise women who held incredible knowledge about medicine, the lands, life, and even the skies, warning other clans of snowstorms and thunderstorms long before they hit. According to our elders, the Lumiata weren’t born in the mountains nor came from the sea like our clan; they had come from the rivers and settled in the mountains long after our ancestors. They came from the land, the same way the Dragon Clan had before they settled so close. Many rumors were going around that the Lumiata knew more about the dragons than any other clan, and we knew it had to be true to some extent; they were never attacked and never afraid to move locations when a dragon was roaming in the area. It was as if they knew something was... protecting them. I would bet anything thatDarak, your father, thought he would be able to steal some of their secrets by marrying one of them.”
“We think his plan was foiled when they refused to let him live with them,” one of the elders left of Ekut suddenly spoke. “The Lumiata rarely allowed men to live with them, and it was far less likely for a Lumiata woman to go to the men’s clan. Some of their women never even lived with the father of their child. And in all cases, if they had a daughter, the daughter was always sent to live with the Lumiata Clan, whereas if it was a son...”
“He lived with his father’s clan,” Alezya muttered. “But my father never sent me to the Lumiata Clan, did he?”
“Not just you,” the older woman said. “Your mother wasn’t able to return to her people either. Our clan was too far to know what happened at the time, but now, we know that there were many meetings between your father and the Lumiata. We think he wasn’t letting your mother return, or your mother refused to return without–”
“Without me.”
Alezya let out a heavy sigh. It was a huge blow, much worse than she would have thought. She had very few memories of her mom, but she knew she had been a kind, loving woman.
And now, she knew that her mom had fought as hard as she could to return to her home clan while refusing to abandon her child, precisely like Alezya had done with Lumie. Suddenly, she felt more kindred than ever with the mother that she hardly remembered anymore.
No wonder her father had hated her so much; she probably reminded him of the previous woman who had defied him...
“...My father killed my mother,” Alezya suddenly spat.
Her words triggered a collective gasp around her, but she wasn’t looking at them; she was glaring into the fire, remembering her father’s taunting voice, the grin she couldimagine on his face when he’d slapped her with that earth-shattering revelation.
“...I knew it,” Ekata hissed. “That wretched bastard... I always knew Darak was the worst of them! The Deklaan clan chiefs have always been sick with arrogance, but that bastard... I’d bet you he did something to the Lumiata too!”
“We don’t know that,” her brother said. “I don’t think he could have exterminated another clan on his own without anyone knowing.”
“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes. “We know how Darak is, and he isn’t the only one who hated the Lumiata as much as he envied them. I bet he convinced some other clans who thought the same that they had to get rid of the Lumiata. Look at last night! The Exkiu bastard was ready to slaughter the girl on the spot. The Exkiu Clan’s previous leader hated the Lumiata just as much, and to whom did Darak marry his daughter, of all people? The son of that bastard!”
“Even if that’s right, that has little to do with us,” Ekut said, far calmer and resigned. “And even if it did, there is little we can do. We cannot avenge the Lumiata, even if he did what you think he did, that’s... that’s out of our hands. It’s done now.”
Alezya felt a strange mix of sorrow and annoyance toward that man.
She could understand he was trying to think with the best interests of his clan in mind, and it was no easy feat when they were talking about actual war with a clan that had most likely already annihilated another under their noses.
Still, Alezya didn’t like this. She couldn’t let her father go unscathed after what he had done to her mother and what he had very likely done to her clan. She needed to make him pay, and she wasn’t going to be able to do anything if she couldn’t find allies.
“It’s done?” his sister scoffed. “We can’t simply ignore what the Deklaan Clan did like cowards!”
“We’re not sure what they did, Sister. Even if we had proof–”
“Even if we had proof, they would deny it,” she hissed, “but no clan is blind nor deaf. We all know the same thing, and that is that the Deklaan Clan is dangerous. How many clans would believe us if we told them what they did to the girl’s mother? Be real, Brother. We both know there are a lot of clans who would be happy if the Deklaan Clan got wiped out tomorrow. Even more so after what happened last night.”
