Page 185 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
Alezya glared at the hole above her, and sure enough, the sunlight was suddenly partially obscured by a man’s head. Minutes later, something was thrown, and she pressed herself against the wall to avoid it.
She waited a few seconds until they were gone to get it. It was roughly packed, but she found some dried meat as well as some raw fruits and vegetables. There was more than she had expected, but she had no idea how often they would be checking on her, and they wanted to keep her alive.
Alezya ate some but kept the rest packed away for later in case they forgot about her or something; she wouldn’t have put it past her father to starve her to try and make her more... malleable. She knew his ways all too well. If anything, she was certain he had no intention of simply letting her rot here. Having a daughter who could summon a dragon at will would be too tempting to pass up.
She wondered if he planned to get her out of there eventually or if this were a punishment she was supposed to endure until she was on the verge of death. With Lumie gone, that would be his only way to manipulate her...
There was no water, but with all the ice around, that wouldn’t be an issue. Now that she wasn’t expecting any more visitors for several hours at least, she decided to find a spot inthe sun and try to warm up while saving her energy. She couldn’t climb out, but she sure hoped to have enough strength left to put up a fight once she got out of there. She still had a chance to get away, and she would absolutely try.
Alezya wanted it. The future with Kassein, with Lumie, everything.
She didn’t care about being greedy anymore; for once, she had her mind set to hold on to her chance at happiness until the end.
“Kriii.”
She jumped awake with no idea how long she’d dozed off, looking up for the source of that strange sound.
It sounded like something creaking, and for a second, Alezya worried that the crevice was going to collapse by itself, and a couple of pounds of snow falling without warning seemed to confirm her suspicion.
But then, something leaped down, just a few feet away from her, and she jumped back, scared. The snow was sent flying left and right, and then, a dark mass of black scales appeared with undeniable wings, a tail, and two amber eyes. Alezya’s jaw dropped. A miniature dragon?
She watched, astonished, as the small creature hopped around, surprisingly light and agile, coming toward her with a bounce in its step.
“No,” she muttered. “Wait, wait.”
She didn’t know this dragon. It looked like a miniature Kein but with black scales and big orange eyes. It was so small, too. The little baskets she had seen in Kassein’s childhood room flashed in her mind, and she knew how small young dragons could be, but seeing one in the flesh felt completely different.
Kein was impressively large, heavy, and imposing. This tiny dragon looked like she could carry it in her arms. It looked soyoung and... innocent, the way younger animals always looked way cuter than adults.
“Who are you?” she whispered, confused.
Was one of Kassein’s siblings still a child? She remembered him mentioning some of his siblings had children with baby dragons. Was that one of them? But she had never met the children before.
And most importantly, what was a baby dragon doing by itself in the mountains? Where was the mom dragon?
Alezya looked up nervously, expecting some giant black beast to come and claim its spawn any second, but the sky was clear and bright above them, and things seemed... quiet.
That was until the little dragon let out another of its cute, high-pitched growls and tried to approach her again. It was fearless, but Alezya wasn’t, and she retreated until her back hit the end of the cave.
The tiny black dragon followed her excitedly, its tail swishing and its baby dragon feet still hopping around like it was having fun.
Alezya watched, helpless and confused, as the little black-scaled creature was making tiny loops around her legs, lovingly rubbing its body against her ankles.
“Alright... Seems like we could be friends, then?” she muttered.
The dragon replied with another excited little growl that hardly sounded like a growl at all; it was far too adorable of a sound.
Alezya forced herself to take a deep breath, and then, slowly, she sank down to sit, not taking her eyes off the dragon to see what it would do.
Sure enough, as soon as she was down, it climbed onto her lap, curling itself on her legs despite already being almost too big. The dragon was heavier than it looked, but it was as warmas Kein, and immediately, Alezya felt grateful for its presence. Now, being too cold would hardly be an issue anymore if her new friend stayed by her side.
Feeling a bit curious, Alezya lifted a hand, and the black dragon eyed it, making her freeze.
“If you bite me, we’re not going to be friends,” she warned. “No biting.”
She wished she had learned the word for “bite” in the Dragon Clan’s language, but she had no choice but to be careful and trust the small dragon. If it had been a foreign adult dragon, she would have been much more freaked out and scared, but this one was so tiny and looked so much like a miniature Kein; there was a strange sense of familiarity to it. That and the fact that it had made itself at home immediately on her lap.
Inch by inch, Alezya lowered her hand toward the tiny dragon’s back until she touched the hot scales and slowly caressed it. The dragon let out a tiny shiver of appreciation, closing its eyes and slightly lifting its wings before it put its head back down on her lap. Alezya smiled.
