Page 40 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
She’d seemed fine when his dragon was still at a distance, like when it was attacking its stupid mountain, but now, it seemed fair that she was nervous about the growls heard right outside the tent. He sighed.
After a hesitation, he grabbed the coat, and gently put it over her shoulders. Alezya was surprised, but she didn’t fight it.
Then, he paused, but offered her his arm. That gesture got her very confused once again. She glanced up at him.
He could tell she was nervous, but he waited, patiently.
After a while, she finally put her hand on his arm, just below a patch of orange dragon scales. Her skin felt fresh compared to his... He did his best not to react to it, and instead, he gently moved to slide his arm under hers, putting it behind her back, while his other arm went under her knees to lift her up. Alezya gasped, surprised to be carried like this.
Still, she held on to him by reflex, gripping his fur cape so as not to fall; not that he would have let her fall, of course. She weighed less than he’d thought; even the fur coat on her shoulders seemed heavier than the woman herself.
He glanced down at Alezya to make sure he wasn’t holding her in a way that was hurting her more, but to his surprise, she just seemed completely flustered. She was blushing, and avoiding his gaze. ...She was embarrassed to be carried like this?
Kassein suddenly found himself a bit shy too, and stopped looking at her. Instead, he walked outside, giving her a glimpseof what was going on out there, as well as her first breath of fresh air since he’d brought her to the camp.
Alezya immediately yelped a second time, and held on even tighter to him, frightened. Unfortunately for her, Kein had been waiting right outside the tent.
While Kassein had gone inside, the orange dragon had moved to stand right outside the tent’s entrance, its snout and blood-covered maw and fangs the first thing Alezya had seen. Now, she was absolutely terrified, and shaking in Kassein’s arms.
Interestingly, though, despite her desperately holding onto him, Kassein found her once again surprisingly brave, as she still had an eye on Kein, rather than hiding her face and completely turning her back on the dragon like most people would.
She was still terrified though, as anyone would be when a blood-covered dragon stood inches away from them.
“Back off, you imbecile.”
Kein growled in disapproval, showing its fangs even more.
Stubborn as always, the dragon hadn’t let go of its prey, and the dead snow leopard had half its body dragging in the snow, coloring it red under them. If it wasn’t for all the blood from the fresh hunt, maybe Alezya wouldn’t have been so scared, but his dragon wasn’t looking its best like this.
“You’re scaring her,” Kassein retorted to the dragon’s growls.
This time, Kein calmed down a bit. Its silver eyes shifted slightly, and although it wouldn’t stop growling, the dragon very slowly backed away from the two of them, its large paws leaving huge holes in the snow.
It also lowered its body, half-crouching in the snow. The dragon that should have towered above them was now at Kassein’s eye level.
It growled a bit, but this time, its growls were less threatening, and more like a heavy, loud, but peaceful sound, like an echo inside a rock cave. Kassein redirected his eyes toward Alezya, who was still shaking.
As soon as the dragon had moved its silver eyes toward her, she’d looked away.
“Alezya.”
He gently called her name, as if to tell her it was alright. She looked up at him, obviously still scared and confused, but she had already understood. After taking a couple of seconds to gather her bravery, she turned her eyes back to Kein.
Once again, she didn’t just stare at the dragon with nothing but terror in her eyes. In fact, as he watched her, Kassein found that same defiance she’d shown with him. As if she was daring the dragon to attack them.
That woman was truly something, he thought. What kind of woman didn’t cower in the face of a dragon? He’d seen warriors run away without a second of doubt when Kein had appeared in the sky, but that woman could withstand the dragon’s gaze and glare back like so? He pinched his lips in a faint line, hardly suppressing a smile. She was truly something.
Kein suddenly growled, making Alezya jump, and retreat a bit, her body leaning against Kassein’s shoulder, the only way she could back away from the dragon.
“Behave,” Kassein warned him.
This was not something his dragon would normally be willing to do. By now, the two of them should have been tearing each other apart, soaked in the other’s blood, and wreaking havoc on this place. The fact that Kein was almost calmly growling and staying still like this was already a miracle in itself. Kassein could guess the gazes of some dumbfounded soldiers on them, although they were all standing at a careful distance.
“Alezya.”
He called her again to get her attention back on him.
There was a strange satisfaction anytime she reacted to him saying her name which he couldn’t quite understand. Still, her eyes went back to him, although she was obviously reluctant to stop watching the dragon.
