Page 232 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
When they landed, he gently lifted Alezya off his dragon, carrying her against his torso. While he had tried to do so as gently as possible, she still felt the change in position and woke up, slowly opening her eyes and letting out a yawn.
“Kassein?” she mumbled.
“We’re here. The Onyx Castle. You’ll see Lumie.”
That was enough to wake Alezya up completely, and he let her stand up, although he kept a hold of her hand. He had intended to take her straight to see the egg after landing in the gardens, but they were both caught off guard as they found Lorey seated gracefully on a stone bench with Kiera standing next to her, engaged in what appeared to be an intense discussion. Lumie was playing with a toy at Lorey’s feet, a tiny dragon plushie that looked familiar to Kassein.
“Lumie!”
As soon as she saw Lumie, Alezya ran ahead of him to her child. Lumie barely had time to look up before she was scooped into her mother’s arms. As soon as she realized who was holding her, the toddler let out excited giggles.
“Ama! Ama!” she kept chanting, patting her mother’s face.
Alezya was in tears, and it definitely pulled some strings in Kassein’s heart. He walked up to them, putting an arm around Alezya’s waist and pulling her into him while he pressed a kiss on Lumie’s white curls. She was whispering something to her daughter, rubbing her wet cheeks against Lumie’s and smiling,looking happier than he had ever seen her. He felt her lean into him while she hugged her baby, and that faint movement made him happier than anything she could have said; Alezya quietly acknowledging his presence while she celebrated her reunion with her baby was a feeling beyond compare. He rubbed her back for a few more seconds before he looked up at his sister and Lorey.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too,” Kiera scoffed.
“The camp,” he growled.
“The camp is fine,” his sister rolled her eyes. “As incredible as it sounds, grown men can take care of themselves without any female supervision for a couple of hours, Kassein. I left the generals in charge. I also visited Tievin, by the way, and he said Herken’s doing just fine.”
“And the dragons?”
“Kiki took the kids to hunt far away,” Lorey explained. “They should be back shortly. Speaking of baby dragons...”
While Kein had naturally gone to check on the remaining egg, Niiru had followed in its shadow and was now taking curious sniffs at the remains of the broken egg.
“You found that missing brat,” Kiera noted.
“It was with Alezya?” Lorey guessed. “...Did you tell her, Kassein? That she is very likely pregnant?”
“I did,” he said, ”but I’m not sure she believed me. She said something about medicinal herbs and you.”
Lorey frowned, her eyes going to Alezya.
“Oh, gods. She was taking this herb,” Lorey said after a hesitation, her eyes opening wide. “The one to stop bleeding? When I took her to your mother’s greenhouse at the camp, I saw Alezya sneak some in her bandages. I don’t think she even knew I noticed, but I thought she was taking it for her injuries, so Ididn’t say anything. Now I think she might have been using it for a different purpose...”
“To stop her menstruation? Why would she do that? She was only with Kassein,” Kiera frowned.
“Exactly. Maybe she wasn’t willing to have a child. I can’t fault her, given her circumstances...”
Kassein felt like he had gotten punched in the gut. Alezya didn’t want the child?
He looked down at her, and she had calmed a little, although she was still holding Lumie tightly in her arms. Now, the baby girl was looking far more curious about Niiru, who was playing around in the garden, dashing through the grass, gnawing on Kein’s tail, or making loops around their legs. While he was still lost in his thoughts, feeling somewhat upset, Kiera suddenly burst out into loud laughter. He could already guess what his sister was going to say, so he closed his eyes with a sigh, their reactions leaving Lorey utterly confused.
“What is so funny?”
“She took this herb to try and prevent herself from having a baby with Kassein?” Kiera kept laughing.
“Yes, or at least that’s what I think, but— Will you stop laughing? That isnotfunny, Kiera.”
“Lorey, honey. Who’s the most knowledgeable person we know about herbs?”
“...Your mother?” Lorey frowned.
“Exactly. The same mother who had eight of our dad’s children.Eight, Lorey. Eight of our dad’s massive babies. Do you really think our mother wanted to have another child the same year she gave birth to Darsan?Darsan? Darsan and his big head?”
