Page 63 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“It’s for her sake,” he said.
The dragon growled a bit louder, darting a glare back. It wasn’t fully convinced yet and was still grouchy. Its tail movements had doubled in speed. Kassein crossed his arms.
“Should I ask someone else, then? Who? Someone from the palace?”
The dragon furiously growled, springing to its feet. Kassein didn’t flinch when the fangs came an inch from his face, only keeping his green glare on the dragon. The two of them were in an odd stand-off, the handful of guards on watch staring in nervous awe.
“The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back,” Kassein said.
Kein let out another couple of annoyed growls but finally decided to move. The dragon stepped past its owner, not without purposely bumping into him with its huge body and, after a couple more steps, finally took off. Kassein turned around to watch. The orange scales were particularly striking in this cloud-free sky, and the dragon stayed visible for a long while before it finally flew far enough to the west.
Although Kassein didn’t care about sending his dragon away, he hoped Kein wouldn’t take too long to find them. He needed the help more than he was willing to admit.
“Commander? May I ask where Kein went off to...?” asked Tievin, appearing tired, wrapped in another coat, and staring curiously into the distance.
He’d definitely noticed the dragon had taken an unusual direction, west. Kassein sighed and walked back to the tent.
“I followed your advice.”
Those four words rendered Tievin speechless.
He stopped walking behind the Prince, blinked twice, and looked around as if to find someone to confirm he wasn’t the only one who had heard that. The two men posted at the entrance of Kassein’s tent glanced at him, confused about this situation, and didn’t say a word. While Kassein had already walked back inside, Tievin glanced at the sky.
“Ancestors, be proud,” he sighed.
Then, he stepped inside the tent. He didn’t need to ask; from the direction Kein had taken, he knew who Kassein had sent his dragon to find, and while he was surprised by his choice, he found it to be a good one.
“I’ll organize everything for their arrival,” he said, glancing over to Alezya. “Also, since we’re out of the Lake water, should I send someone–”
“No.”
There it came again. Tievin took a deep breath, bracing himself for another tough discussion.
“Sir, for your safety–”
“I said no.”
“But I can send–”
“If you send someone, my mother will know.”
Tievin so badly wanted to roll his eyes. Gods forbid the Prince’s mother found out he’d used up all his vials... Still, withsuch a strong refusal, he didn’t dare press the matter further. Instead, he took a mental note to find a way to send someone to retrieve a vial without the Prince or his family knowing. It wouldn’t be an easy feat, but his most important job was to ensure the Prince’s safety. He’d rather have the Prince be very, very mad at him than risk his neck back in the Capital... and his father’s wrath.
“I understand,” he said. “Then, I’ll just take care of the accommodations.”
He left the tent. At least, with some luck, he would soon have someone else to help him convince the Prince... and Kassein was definitely going to have to be more flexible with that person here.
“Get them to have the breakfast ready early, and add some extra meat to it,” he told one of the men guarding outside. “...And tell them to double the surveillance rounds.”
Tievin still couldn’t shake off the feeling that Alezya’s arrival at the camp would stir things up badly with the tribes. There was something wrong about this whole situation, and his gut feeling had rarely been wrong. For once, he didn’t like that the Prince’s dragon had left the camp.
Perhaps he would have felt much safer with Kein around. Hopefully, the dragon would return soon, and it would be enough to double the manpower in the camp. At least the soldiers would be happy to have some serious business to get to...
Despite Tievin making sure breakfast would be ready early, Alezya only woke up a few hours later. Once again, she looked a bit confused and shaken up. She looked pale, her cheeks hollow, and her eyes red.
She kept glancing around as if trying to put the pieces together. She didn’t seem wary of him, thankfully, but she didlook completely confused as to where she was. Kassein knew she probably didn’t remember much about being dragged back to the camp by Kein, nor her feverish night. Thanks to the herbal medicine they had though, her fever had subsided already, and she was left looking restless and nervous.
“Alezya?” He called her name gently.
