Page 283 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“You’ve met my husband already,” she said, “but you were asleep every time I came.”
“You’re a healer,” Alezya remembered. “They... told me.”
The woman nodded.
“I am Cassandra.”
“You’re not... like the others of the Dragon Clan.”
Alezya wasn’t sure how to say it without sounding offensive, but that woman looked different from her husband and the two of her children Alezya knew. She looked different from the men at the camp too, and as different as Alezya was from all of them. Cassandra smiled.
“I am from a different clan,” she explained. “The Rain Clan.”
“...The Rain Clan? From the mountains too?”
“No,” Kassein’s mother gently shook her head. “I came from somewhere more south. East of the Dragon Clan’s territory.”
“Is that why you speak our tongue?”
“No. My language is different too. But we met another clan from the north, the Lumiata Clan. They taught us–”
“The Lumiata?” Alezya exclaimed, nearly sitting up. “You met the Lumiata? When?”
Cassandra rose, gently pushing her to lean back before she answered.
“Yes,” she said as she tucked the blanket around her. “They descended from the mountains, one bad winter, many years ago. They knew a bit of our language, and taught us theirs, and once we understood, they said they were in danger and wanted to find another land to live on. We gave them a safe route to the west, but I do not know where they went next. ...Do you know them?”
“...My mother was a Lumiata,” Alezya said. “She is dead, and… I thought her clan was dead too.”
“I think some of them stayed behind in the mountains,” Cassandra nodded, “but others left... after they spent the winter here.”
Alezya felt tears spring to her eyes. For some reason, knowing that some of her mother’s clan had survived broughther a wave of relief she didn’t know she needed; her father hadn’t killed them all, after all… Had they sensed the danger coming? Had they fled after knowing what had happened to her mom?
“Kiera likes to explore the west,” Cassandra smiled. “Would you like to find them?”
Alezya took a few seconds to actually think about it, but eventually, she slowly shook her head.
“No,” she said. “Well... Maybe one day, but not now. For now, I want to stay… To stay here for a bit. With Kassein. I want... I want to be happy here.”
She felt a bit shy announcing this to Kassein’s mother, but to her relief, Cassandra smiled gently.
“That sounds like a wonderful plan,” she said. “You can teach Kassein your language. From what I heard, he needs it.”
Alezya laughed, amused.
“...I will. Are you staying here?”
“Not long,” Cassandra shook her head. “Just to be sure you’ll recover. We were on our way to visit our daughter in the east, but Darsan said his little brother might need us here, so we flew back north first.”
“He told me this was your home.”
“It used to be,” she nodded, looking around the walls. “This is where we raised our children... But now that we’re older, it should belong to them. We live a bit farther south-east, with Kassein’s grandmother. We visit our children east, south, or north when we get bored.”
Alezya suddenly remembered that the woman had birthed eight children. Was it even possible to look so beautiful and young after eight children? Alezya hoped she would get to ask her a few questions before she left...
“Do you know what happened?” Alezya asked. “In the mountains?”
“I do. It sounds like you’re a very brave young woman.”
