Page 110 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
He’d never felt such an agonizing need to care for somebody else before, but there he was, desperate to convey his devotion, to make her feel safe most of all. Since they didn’t have the words yet for that, he gently caressed her, kissed her hands, her lips, and her cheeks until she seemed to calm down, the worry fading from her expression. Alezya was left staring at him with something soft in her eyes, and returned his kiss a bit more confidently than before, caressing his cleanly shaven cheek.
Another growl of his dragon came from outside, but this time, his sister’s dragon growled in response.
“Lorey and Kiera are back,” he told Alezya, who gave him a nod.
They slowly stood up, both in a strange daze, but he took the dirty bowl of water and her hand and guided her outside, just in time to find Lorey and Kiera hopping off her dragon as he tossed the bowl’s contents in the snow. His sister’s eyes went from Alezya to Kassein, squinting.
“...What were you two doing in my tent?”
“Teaching her words.”
“Words? ...You sure you only taught herwords?” Kiera scoffed.
Next to Kassein, Alezya’s cheeks were flushed again as if she’d understood something in Kiera’s mocking tone, and she looked away, standing almost a step behind him as if to hide herself from the two other women’s eyes. Kassein gave his sister a smug smile.
“You—!” Kiera exclaimed.
“How were the hot springs?” he retorted.
“It’s time for lunch.” Lorey pulled her partner away before she could argue. “Let’s go and eat. Nice shave, Your Highness.”
Kassein let out a rare twitch from the corner of his lips, and his sister made a gross sound in response. He let Kiera and her partner walk away first before he turned to Alezya,putting another reassuring kiss against her temple. She was still blushing, but she gave him a little shy smile and followed him to the fire pit, her body sticking close to his as she wrapped her free hand around his arm to hold on to. They had all barely sat on the dragons again for lunch when Tievin arrived, out of breath and almost tripping on his long coat, looking at them dumbfounded.
“Commander?!” he exclaimed.
“...What is it, Tievin?” Lorey asked as Kiera and Kassein stared back at him in moody silence.
“Y-you asked me to round up all the generals and captains earlier? At the training grounds? ...Didn’t you?!”
Kassein had forgotten entirely. He exchanged a look with his sister, who’d likely just remembered as well, and gave him an amused snort.
“See what I meant about thinking with your head?” she mocked him.
“You were there too,” he grunted before wolfing down the remainder of his lunch and standing up.
“I’m not the one who gave the order.” She shrugged. “Who cares if I forgot? You’re the one who got sidetracked in my tent.”
He answered with a scowl and put a kiss on Alezya’s forehead before he stepped away.
“Keep Alezya with you,” he told them.
“We will, Your Highness,” Lorey assured him.
Then, he followed Tievin, who looked stunned that Kassein had forgotten all about his order. However, he obviously wouldn’t dare voice it out loud, instead walking ahead with his notepad clutched to his chest and a stiffer walk than usual.
“It took me a while to gather everyone,” he finally spat with a slightly haughty tone. “As you know, the camp is large, exceedingly large, Commander. And not all of your generals and captains are in predictable spaces, but still. They have been waiting for almost an hour now, sir.”
“Not too long, then,” Kassein retorted.
And under Tievin’s flabbergasted expression, he walked inside the tent that covered the training grounds.
As expected, it had been cleaned since his and his sister’s earlier bloodshed, but now, all three generals and the captains were gathered with nervous expressions, likely heightened by the unusual wait. As soon as he appeared, an ominous silence fell, and every single man in attendance straightened. Without Alezya, Kassein’s expression had returned to casting that dark, threatening aura around him that had them all tense. Even as he sat down on one of the benches while they were all standing, they all felt like he was towering above them like a menacing storm cloud.
“What does it take for you to keep them in line?” he hissed in a low voice.
There was no need to mention who nor what he was referring to; the sight of him and his dragon having killed a couple men earlier in the most gruesome manner had probably traumatized the few onlookers enough for the gory details to have already toured the camp. An uneasy feeling crossed the ranks until one of the generals spoke up.
“It is difficult to keep some of the most troublesome units in check... Commander in Chief,” Kauser argued. “Those men do not take orders well, and no matter how much we discipline them—”
