Page 210 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
Next, Kassein turned to the other two generals, Sazaran and Kauser.
“We will attack the mountains one by one until we find what I came for,” Kassein said. “We might have to camp up there for several days or send men back to the camp for supplies. We will alternate men who attack and those who rest to maximize each battle and secure a retreat route as we go. Defeat is not an option, but I want every soldier we bring to follow the rules, the same as before. No killing a man who surrenders, no killing those who choose to flee, and no harming any woman or child.”
“We are not thieves,” Kiera added with a warning glare, playing with one of her swords. “We’re not ransacking those mountains, merely showing those tribesmen what we’re capable of and why they’d be better off negotiating once we find the woman.”
“Commander,” Kauser cleared his throat, “are you sure the tribeswoman will be willing to... translate for us?”
Kassein immediately pinned him with a furious look.
He knew his men were aware that Alezya had left again and that they were looking for her. What he didn’t like was them questioning his motives or hers. But before he could speak, on his right, Tievin interrupted the heavy silence with an artificial cough.
“If I may, General Kauser, given her circumstances, Lady Alezya has proven incredible righteousness of character since the Commander in Chief met her,” he said. “I personally observed a lot of the lady’s actions in the camp, and nothing she has ever done should lead us to doubt her. She spent considerable amounts of time alone with Lady Lorey and never once did anything to harm her. That woman can also order the Commander’s dragon around, which, as you know, is aconsiderable feat. Yet she’s never once used Kein to attack, not even when she was harassed; according to every report we got, the dragon intervened of its own volition. Finally, even if we did choose not to trust her, there is no one here nor in those mountains that we know of that has managed the incredible endeavor of being able to speak both languages. It is most impressive that Lady Alezya has managed to learn so much of our language in such a short length of time. As far as the Commander in Chief is concerned, that woman currently represents his best chance at finally pacifying the Northern territories, which, as all of you gentlemen might need to remember, was our primary mission in moving to this land of despair and ice and everything wet and cold.”
A long, stunned silence followed his tirade.
Even Kassein was staring at the Intendant with a surprised look; Tievin was the last person he would have expected to speak up for Alezya.
After a while, Kiera broke into a big grin.
“Well said, Tiev. ...Now, why are you hiding behind the General?”
“Just in case,” Tievin grumbled from somewhere under General Sazaran’s shoulder, his glare hopping from one of the small dragons to another. “When are you leaving, Commander?”
“As soon as everyone’s ready,” Kassein replied.
“We will have the preparations finished within the hour, Commander in Chief,” Kauser said. “I’ll send a couple of units ahead to clear the way and ensure we don’t run into an ambush until our destination. Will you lead the attack from the ground?”
“Kiera and our dragons will lead the attack,” Kassein said. “Kein and I will keep looking from above while the triplets and Kiki will launch the attack when we give them the signal to.”
His sister grinned in approval; she probably didn’t get nearly as much fighting done while she explored the west, andhis sister seemed excited to be on the frontline, already playing with the swords she rarely parted from.
“And I’ll decide what to do with my own dragon and start brawling when I damn well feel like it,” Kiera snorted. “I can’t let my brother have all the fun, can I?”
The generals replied in solemn nods, and Kiera scoffed.
“I’ll lead the first charge with the kids, then,” she said, whistling to get the dragons’ attention. “Just make sure whoever is supposed to come with me doesn’t get their shins bitten or something.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” General Sazaran said. “Captain Dajan, Captain Leslo, your men are up for the scouting! Follow Princess Kiera’s lead! And... well, watch out for the younger dragons.”
Kiera left first, riding Kiki while she ran on the ground, the excited triplets on their heels and the men a careful distance behind. Meanwhile, Kassein turned back to his generals.
“Get to work,” he said. “Follow Kiera as soon as you’re ready. I’ll meet you up there.”
He didn’t wait for their nods to turn around and head for his tent.
The place had become cold in his absence as no fire had been lit in a while, and it made him miss Alezya’s presence all the more. Kassein didn’t waste time getting ready. He quickly got changed, selected the best weapons for the fights ahead, and, after a hesitation, grabbed one of Alezya’s new coats to take with him.
No matter how thin his hope was, he couldn’t let go of it, and if he found her, he wanted to take care of her the best he could.
Kassein stepped out of his tent and found Kein waiting for him.
He only took a second to pat his dragon’s neck before he climbed onto Kein’s back and took off. If it had been entirelyup to him, Kassein would have been scouring the skies all night. Yet, Lumie needed him too, and he was glad he had spent the night at the Onyx Castle with the little girl, no matter how restless he was about Alezya; she had sent her daughter to him, for him to care for. Even if he would have given everything to look for her, he had to honor her wish.
Moreover, Cessilia’s words from that morning were carved in his mind, and he kept thinking about them on a loop while taming his anxiety and anger the best he could, for now. But, for Alezya, he was trying his best to be a better man than he had been. He couldn’t put her or Lumie at any kind of risk, and that involved fighting with his dragon.
That one reason was good enough for both of them, it seemed. It was already a strange sensation to no longer feel the anger radiating off his dragon whenever he was near Kein.
There was nothing that would fully end the frustration, guilt, and self-resentment he’d carried all these years, but Cessilia’s forgiveness had allowed him to let go of a lot of it.
