Page 81 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
The last sight she caught was Kassein’s eyes, half-anger and half-worry, turned toward them as he got smaller. Then, Keinflapped its wings, turned in another direction, and took them away from the battlefield.
Alezya couldn’t even grasp what was happening; she was flying!
She was flying and was merely held by Kiera’s strong hand, her body inelegantly thrown across the dragon’s back. It didn’t last long, thankfully for her panicked heart. They landed brutally, and she was dragged off the dragon’s back just as helplessly as she’d been thrown over it.
For a second, she genuinely wondered if they were angry and about to kill her off or something, for the last sequences of sudden actions had been so unpredictable and scary. She had known Kiera was strong, but she hadn’t been prepared to be suddenly passed and tossed around like a lifeless doll!
Fortunately, she soon found ground in Lorey, who grabbed her hand. While Alezya caught her breath and tried to steady her beating heart, she realized the two other women were hurriedly talking, a nervous tone in their voices. She wondered what was going on and, more importantly, where they were. She took a look around. It looked like they were in the mountains, but not anywhere she knew, and she hadn’t paid any attention during the trip to have any idea of the direction they had taken.
Moreover, this place was cold, but strangely... steamy? There was white steam all around them.
Not staying any longer after dropping the three of them off, Kein left without warning. Was it going back to Kassein, Alezya wondered. Not letting her watch the dragon’s flight, Lorey guided her on a smaller, rocky path that Kein couldn’t have landed on, and Alezya decided to trust her and follow her. It wasn’t as if she had any other choice, as Kiera was following right behind them, closing the walk.
Thankfully, they arrived at their destination not long after, and Alezya’s jaw dropped. Hot springs! They were in the midst of a hot springs area... and a large one too. No wonder it felt hot and steamy around there. She had been in a similar place, a very long time ago, while with her mother’s clan. Alezya didn’t have any time to reminisce about some happy memories when Lorey turned to her and, without warning, began to help her undress.
After a moment of shock, she finally understood: they wanted her to bathe and get rid of the disease! She nodded and began undressing herself obediently, taking over Lorey’s hands. To her surprise, as soon as she showed she’d undress by herself, Lorey did the same, and Kiera was pulling off the lower half of her battle gear without any embarrassment too. Although she’d been eager to comply, Alezya now felt a bit self-conscious; she hadn’t been in such an intimate environment with other women in a long while...
She slowed her movements and averted her gaze, until Lorey was the first one naked and to dip into one of the hot baths, with a relieved smile. Only then did Alezya feel a bit more confident, and followed after in the hot water.
At first, she grimaced a bit upon the sting of the hot water on her injuries, but this soon eased, and she relaxed naturally. The water was very hot, maybe a couple degrees away from unbearably hot… and quite pleasant, once she got used to it. Lorey smiled but quickly insisted on helping her rinse her hair and rub her skin. Then, Kiera joined in, and all shame gone, the three women got busy rinsing their bodies with hot water.
Alezya tried to take her thoughts away from there to lessen her embarrassment. Was Kassein alright? He had been exposed too, and he had stayed back there... Were they the first ones taken out of the dangerous area because they were women? How would they deal with the bodies?
She was still in shock at everything that had just happened. She knew the other clans always tried to attack the Dragon Clan, but to resort to this?
This was inhuman. To use criminals and disease? Had the other clans approved of this? Were they even aware that such underhanded methods were being used? If they were, how could they have let it happen...? She had been raised to respect the warriors above everything else, those who were praised for their honor and willingness to die for their clan. But this was... different, and odious. She wouldn’t stand for it. She knew that whichever clan had sent those men would have seen her actions too. If she was recognized as the woman of another clan, they would know there was a traitor who had foiled their plan.
Had she unwittingly stood with the Dragon Clan and triggered a war between two others? Alezya sighed, and while Lorey carefully helped her rinse her long black hair, she closed her eyes before diving her head underwater to try and drown those thoughts.
Things were just getting more and more complicated every minute she spent with the Dragon Clan... every minute she spent with Kassein.
Chapter 8
Standing with his arms crossed, Kassein was staring at the pile of burning bodies, clothes, and armor with a frown.
“The tribes are getting bolder,” Tievin commented with a soulless tone.
Kassein didn’t grant him a response. His anger could be felt, silent but deadly, and surprisingly efficient at keeping the surrounding soldiers’ heads down on their tasks. If anything had gone wrong, the outcome would have been much worse. If it wasn’t for Alezya letting them know that those men were infected, they would have had a disease ravaging their ranks... Another team would have cleaned after the battle, doubling the number of men possibly infected. The bodies would have been dragged back outside the wall, as usual, to let their tribe have the opportunity to get their bodies back if they wanted to. But this...?
He and Kiera would have most likely been spared thanks to their Dragon Blood which made them resistant and immune to most common diseases, but his men would have been at risk. Lorey, Tievin, and Alezya would have been exposed.
He had gotten too complacent. The endless victories against the tribes had made him soft. Or was it since Alezya’s arrival? No, she had fueled his anger more than anything. To think they dared to do such a thing to her, twice, he had no second thoughts about harming them back. But to think they wouldn’t be afraid to spread disease amongst them...
He took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger under control.
“...Why aren’t they back yet?” he groaned.
Tievin raised an eyebrow before checking the sky.
“I sent Kiki with towels and clean clothes a little while ago,” he said, “but you know how Princess Kiera is... If they are enjoying themselves, the ladies might stay longer. ...Isn’t it a good thing, Commander? It leaves you more time to take care of things here. Without hindrance.”
Kassein glared, and Tievin looked down. He’d better not name which one he thought of as a hindrance... however, he was right. Kassein had been in a hurry to send them to a safe place to take care of things here. All the men who had partaken in the battle had been isolated and sent for a thorough washing, the bodies were being burned a few paces outside the camp, and another unit was busy double-checking the area where the battle had occurred to make sure they hadn’t missed anything.He hadn’t even kept one of the bodies for the medical unit to examine; he didn’t want to take the smallest risk, not with his men...
He felt even more furious when he imagined what would have happened if his brother had come to hear of this. Ever since he’d taken the North Army all the way to the edge of the continent, he and the tribes had been in a stand-off, but despite the almost daily battles, he had few deaths to record and more men who were joining their ranks than the ones he lost. His army was growing at a steady pace.
He wondered if his brother ever got worried about what he could do with such an army under his command...
He turned around, heading back toward the camp to let the pile burn. Kassein didn’t even let his men outside; it was too risky for them, and there was no point in guarding a pile of burning bodies, thus the unit who had come along walked backpast the wall behind him, and they closed it again. He heard a few of them let out a faint sigh of relief once the wood touched the snow, closing off their camp.
