Page 89 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
As if to prove her words, a soldier just happened to be bringing more food to them. The man was keeping his head lowered in respect, so he didn’t notice all the eyes on him when he dropped a new plate full of meat skewers between the two dragons before leaving with an empty one, hurrying to get out oftheir fangs’ reach. Kassein’s eyes went to Alezya. Sure enough, she’d stopped eating to keep an eye on the man coming near, looking a bit stiffer and her fist clenched slightly tighter on her second skewer. Only after he’d left did she seem to relax, and actually notice all the eyes on her.
“See?” Lorey said with a calm tone to reassure Alezya. “And this is when you’re nearby, Kassein. When you were gone earlier and we crossed the camp, she wouldn’t let go of me and acted wary of anyone we walked near. She couldn’t possibly know some of your men are criminals. I think whatever happened to her, she’s developed a fear of men, or at least, some defensive instinct.”
Kassein didn’t say anything, his eyes riveted on a confused Alezya.
After a second, he left his position for a second to bring her a skewer and one for himself. She waited until he sat back behind her before taking her first bite, her eyes going to the dragons, whose bickering seemed to intrigue her. More meat had been brought for them, and the duo was back to their shenanigans, trying to steal each other’s food.
“It could be a result of being beaten up by them,” Kiera finally said.
“I don’t think so,” Lorey replied. “One doesn’t develop a fear of men after being beaten up by a handful she knew. She’d hate and resent them, but she wouldn’t associate the foreign soldiers with those who attacked her. No, I have a feeling that her fear of men comes from a place deeper than that.”
She looked at Kassein as if there was some more serious meaning that she was implying. He frowned slightly, his eyes going to Alezya.
For the first time, he finally understood what his sister and her partner meant by saying he didn’tknowAlezya. He only knew what had happened to her recently, and he was gettingto know her, but... that was it. He didn’t know anything about her past, and he didn’t know what her personality was when she actually had a voice. So far, she’d been dependent on his protection and care just to ensure her survival. ...Was he making her dependent on him? Would she have acted the same if she had been in a position where she didn’t need him? If she had been born in the Empire, if he wasn’t a prince exiled for his crimes...
Kassein’s thoughts were quickly spiraling, and it was Alezya’s hand on his knee that eventually brought him back.
She had her big black eyes on him, full of questions. Strangely, seeing her nervously scrutinizing his reactions brought him a bit of self-assurance. It didn’t matter what could have been, for none of it reflected their reality. Whatever had happened to her in the past, in the present moment, Alezya was here with him, and somehow, she relied on Kassein rather than fearing him like she did other men. If it would take time for him to actually get to understand and know her, he was alright with that.
There was already a lot said between them, not with words but with their gazes and actions. That was enough for him... for now.
He brushed Alezya’s shoulder with his thumb to reassure her, and then glanced up, ready to show his determination to Lorey, but to his surprise, that woman already had a faint smile on her lips.
“...This woman aside,” said Kiera, “you still have the matter of the tribes on your hands. Have you made any progress at all?”
“I’ve pushed the army this far and taken back most of the land,” Kassein grunted. “What else do you expect from me?”
“Kassein,” his sister protested. “Are you just going to stay like this? Kassian is–”
“Don’t. Say. His. Name,” he hissed, glaring again.
His sister responded with just as much anger, dropping her spoon back in her bowl.
“Do you intend to stay exiled here forever?” she insisted. “You know they’re all missing you out there!”
“They’re not,” Kassein said. “Don’t give me that crap, Kiera. If any of them missed me, they’d have come here a long time ago. Nobody’s even visited the Onyx Castle in years.”
“Because they want you to have it, you stubborn brat! Now that Kassian’s the Emperor, of course Mother and Father want to remain near the Capital! We knew they’d end up there eventually! Most of our siblings are there, and our parents aren’t getting any younger. Ever since Cessi and Darsan moved to the Eastern Kingdom, except for me and you, the other four live in the Capital. Do you know Grandmother even said I could have the Diamond Palace since I’m the only one interested in the west? She’s getting too old to travel between the two palaces and she’s already made it clear who’s going to inherit hers.”
“Get to your point.”
“Our parents aren’t getting any younger, Kassein. You need to stop your tantrum and fix things with our older— with Kassian. Yes, you can glare but I’ll call him by his name if I want to! ...I don’t know about Kassian’s stubborn ass, but Father wantedyouto have the Onyx Castle. I’m sure of it. Who else? Sadara’s definitely staying in the Capital, and both Sepheus and Shenan are on their way to becoming scholars. You’re the only one left who would be fit to inherit it.”
Kassein didn’t respond this time, only looking pensive. His eyes went back to Alezya. She was paying attention to their conversation, visibly nervous from not understanding what he and his sister were arguing about. Kassein sighed.
He really had no answer for that. He wasn’t as optimistic as Kiera was about their parents’ hope for him, if they even had any left.
“...I doubt it,” he finally muttered.
“Kassein. It’s our childhood home. You should be happy they want you to have it!”
“It’s an old abandoned place collecting dust and snow right now.”
“It was still our home,” Kiera insisted, with a gentler tone this time. “...Do you remember? When we were kids, every time we had to go to the Capital for Imperial duties, we all couldn’t wait to go home, back to the Onyx Castle. Despite having a whole wing to ourselves, we never felt at home in the Imperial Palace. That place was too big, and our rooms were too far apart. We’d refuse to sleep apart and gather in one bed... and Sepheus cried his eyes out every time we had to leave the older ones behind because they weren’t coming home with us. Still a crybaby, isn’t he?”
Finally, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Growing up with seven siblings sure made for a lot of memories. They all had different personalities, different hobbies, and different aspirations, but they’d truly grown up as a tight-knit little tribe. Kassein, being one of the youngest, didn’t remember as much as Kiera did. Only Sepheus was younger than him, by almost two years, while their older siblings were over ten years older than him. They had always admired Kassian, their oldest brother, Darsan, the rowdy second-born, and Cessilia, their gentle older sister. However, now, Cessilia and Darsan lived far away in the Eastern Kingdom with their families, and Kassian was busy with his duties as the new Emperor.
