Page 57 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“Oh, I already know that. But our plan will not rely on any immediate attack. No, we have been patiently waiting for an opportunity, and today will only mark the very beginning of our greatest plan yet. We’ve fought their kind countless times, and we’ve never won. It is obvious our only strategy can rely on information and preparation. You’re right; we will never have the numbers. Even if we rally all the clans, we’d barely be able to fight that monster, his dragon, and his men on equal footing. But we’re not counting on that. I am counting on time, and evening our chances. And our chances will only ever be equal to them if we too have a dragon on our side.”
Alezya scoffed.
“Have you finally gone mad? Do you expect me to rally a dragon to your cause? Perhaps you want me to capture it and deliver it to you? Do you even hear yourself?”
“You’re the one who’s not hearing,” her father retorted. “I told you our plan would take a long time. It may take a couple of decades, but it will all be worth it. From what we know, those people, their family, are the only ones bound to those dragons. One child, one dragon.”
That’s when the truth finally hit her. No, perhaps her mind had refused to even understand such a horrible design. She couldn’t believe it, and her mind went numb for a couple of seconds, her ears ringing. Even for a despicable man like her father, it was such a horrible, wretched plan. She felt sick just thinking about it, and yet, she had to confirm.
She wanted to be sure of the horror he was suggesting.
“You want me... to conceive a child for you?” she muttered. “For you to use... their dragon?”
“You’re saying this like it’s impossible,” her father chuckled, “but their leader is already pleased with you. He gave you suchpresents, and let you approach his dragon. A cunning woman like you will have no issues opening your legs to get what you want from him. After all, it wouldn’t be your first time carrying a monster, would it?”
“...You’re mad,” she muttered, in shock. “You all are! You think I’ll conceive a child for you to use for your designs?! You think I’ll stand by and watch you use my child for your gain? I’m not just some cow you can breed and use the offspring for! First, you threaten me with my child’s life, and now you want me to carry another one? For you to use against their own genitor? Have you all gone absolutely mad?!”
“What you think of it is irrelevant,” her father retorted. “As a child of this clan, it is your duty to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your people. You’ve already seduced their leader with your cunning ways, it shouldn’t be long before you bear his child. Weren’t you so willing to get your daughter back before? All we’re asking is a child for a child. As soon as we’ve confirmed you’re pregnant with that monster’s seed, we will give your bastard back to you. Isn’t this a fair trade, given all the shame you’ve brought upon this clan?”
“I don’t give a damn about your pride! Those are children we are talking about!” Alezya shouted. “Actual babies; young, defenseless children that you’re all willing to use for your gain? You’re not just insane, you’re the most vile people!”
Her shouting woke up Lumie, who began crying in her cousin’s husband’s arms. Alezya’s heart broke. She’d made her daughter cry, and she couldn’t even go to console her!
She exchanged another glance with her cousin’s husband. She had rarely if ever interacted with him, but she remembered his name was Suolk. As Lumie was crying, he began rocking her a bit, bouncing on his feet to try and ease her a bit. As he was one step behind the circle, none of the other men had their eyes on him nor did they notice him patting the toddler’s back.
A bit reassured, Alezya turned her burning eyes to her father. He was still very much annoyed with her.
“This is a war,” he said. “Sacrifices ought to be made, and a child that will allow us to have a dragon will be our best weapon against those people. Your opinion is irrelevant, Alezya.”
“...I won’t do it,” she said. “You can’t ask me to do that.”
“Oh, this is not a request, child,” he retorted. “This is an order, and you’re a fool if you believe you have any choice. You want your child back? Then you’ll come back here pregnant. The only thing that’s up to you is how long that will take. The more stubborn you are, the longer you’ll be away from your child.”
“...I’m not going back,” Alezya cried. “Not to do such a thing.”
“You will.”
Chapter 6
He watched Alezya’s figure for a long time as she gradually disappeared into the heights of her homeland. Kassein didn’t take his gaze off her, not until she was completely out of sight.
Only then did he let out a heavy sigh and turn around. It was a lonely trip back. He’d never minded being alone before, but now, he was hating it. It was so early in the morning, the land was just waking up and only the birds had begun their day, singing cheerfully somewhere above his head. It was a rare beautiful day, the opposite of his current mood.
He didn’t linger, tracing the path in the snow back to the camp.
He knew he was being observed. Not just then, but these days, he felt constant gazes turned toward the camp. It wasn’t completely new, but it sure felt like a lot more than before. Perhaps the tribes were getting bolder after seeing that one of their women had survived a few days in the camp, but they were still keeping a distance, and Kassein didn’t like it at all. He still didn’t feel good about letting Alezya go back either.
She had supposedly gone back to her people, yet she hadn’t seemed that happy to go, although her determination was there. He wished he had accompanied her further to understand what was going on. Being sidelined was the worst feeling...
He tried to brush those thoughts away as he reached the camp with a heavy heart. She was gone now, and she wasn’t coming back.
His men welcomed him back, but their greetings fell on deaf ears. Tievin raised an eyebrow, scouring the plain behind him with narrowed eyes, but didn’t say anything, and slowly walked behind him for a little while until they were alone.
“Did you see anyone from her tribe? Did they come to collect her?”
“No.”
Kassein’s cold, annoyed tone conveyed how he felt about it.
