Page 194 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“My father deserves to die,” Alezya said, drawing all the eyes back to herself. “Not only because of what he’s done to me and my mother, but because of what he did to the Lumiata and all the other clans by perpetually antagonizing the Dragon Clan. He’s blindsiding them all. Even the clans who are allied with him probably have no idea they will never win this war.”
“What did you see, child?” one of the elders asked.
“The Dragon Clan is beyond anything we think we know,” Alezya scoffed. “Far more. When I rode on the dragon, I saw land as far as my eyes could see. We’re... We’re so small compared to them. The men at the foot of the mountains are just a tiny piece of their clan. I saw more of their settlements, their black mountain. And there are far more dragons than what we know. The fact that we haven’t seen them all means they’re far from where we can see. If the Dragon Clan decided to, they could probably exterminate us all at dawn.”
A heavy silence followed Alezya’s words.
She wasn’t sure they’d believe her or not, but she knew what she had seen; there were hardly any women in the Dragon Clan, but she had seen some in settlements nearKalat Unshreik. There had to be a lot more living beyond that. If Kassein hadsix more siblings with dragons as big as Kein, they had to be far away for her people to have never seen them.
Her father’s dreams of victory were just blind delusions, and he was going to send many clans to their deaths with them.
The gathering the previous evening had been the eye-opener Alezya didn’t know she needed. She had always been oblivious, but now, she couldn’t remain passive.
“Alright,” Ekata said, with an insistent look to her brother. “You know the Dragon Clan better than anyone in the mountains now. What can you help us do?”
“I... I need to get back to them,” Alezya said, her throat tight with emotion. “Their Clan Chief, I could... I could tell him not all the clans want to fight him. That your clan has no intention of fighting.”
Alezya wouldn’t admit it to her newfound allies, but she was also dying to know if she could get back to Kassein and still be allowed by his side. With each minute she spent away from him, her anxiety got a bit worse that he wouldn’t forgive her for another betrayal.
She was hopeful that Lorey wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Lumie, and she knew Kassein wouldn’t take his anger out on a child, but she wasn’t confident she would also be spared.
As much as she never wanted to fear Kassein, and she firmly believed he was a good man, Alezya wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle being rejected by a man she actually loved this time.
“It’s not just us,” Ekut said, now looking hopeful. “There are a few other clans who would want that... guarantee. Many of us haven’t even dared to grow in size just so we wouldn’t have to send men to the border to have them die at the hands of the Dragon Clan. If we could be sure, somehow, that we will be able to travel outside without the risk of being attacked by a dragon, it would be... incredible for our clan and others.”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Alezya admitted, “but I know their Clan Chief might listen to me if I explain things. I just need to get back to him—I mean, to the Dragon Clan, but my father will never allow me to cross the border.”
Ekata frowned, exchanging another look around.
“Sadly, we’re not familiar with the mountains you come from,” she said, “but we can reach out to other clans who might; some of them we do trust.”
“Thank you,” Alezya said.
Ekata exchanged a long glance with her brother, who cleared his throat before he spoke.
“We... are also worried about the clans who will be unwilling to help us,” he said. “After you were taken away from the gathering last night and the Deklaan Clan left, many clans argued for a long time. As my sister said, many clans like ours believe in peace with the Dragon Clan, or at least we hope to find a way for their beasts to leave us alone. But some other clans were less... optimistic. Many clans are too afraid or have lost too many to the Dragon Clan. They don’t want peace, and worse, they believe your father does have the solution to end this war.”
“This is madness,” Alezya scoffed. “They don’t even realize... Kein is—I mean, the orange dragon is just one of their dragons. They could wipe us all out in a blink if they wanted, or at least make it so we’d never be able to see the light of day again.”
“We believe you,” Ekata said, “but not all the clans do. Many of them would much rather believe your father’s promises to end the Dragon Clan than think a woman can help them establish peace. Whether it’s pride, fear, or anger, some clans won’t listen to us, and certainly not to you. The Exkiu and Deklaan Clans hold far too much power. Your father sacrificed countless other clans’ men for his war, and they won’t be pacified so easily.”
“...Is there a way we can convince them?” Alezya muttered, horrified. “They... They will just keep sending men to their deaths!”
“It sounded worse than that last night,” Ekut groaned. “Some wanted to launch an all-out war against the Dragon Clan. There were... horrible ideas thrown around.”
“What kind of ideas?” Alezya asked, alarmed by the fact that he wouldn’t meet her gaze anymore.
Ekut looked nervously at his sister, so Ekata was the one to scoff.
“They... thought they might use you. Some wanted to use you as a hostage, others thought about using you as bait, and others wanted to kill you outright. Either way, I have to say it probably isn’t safe for you to go out there right now. That’s why we had our sentinels take a long but safe route home, to be sure you weren’t followed nor seen by prying eyes. We might be able to find you a way back, but we’ll need to reach out to other clans to see where they stand, decide if they can be trusted, and see how we can find a way back for you. Sadly, our clan has always been far from your home mountain, so we have no idea what it would look like to get you to the other side, but we can help you for part of the way.”
“I appreciate your help,” Alezya said.
She really did. If it wasn’t for the Munsa Clan’s men rescuing her, she might still be freezing in a crevice right now, or perhaps the target of other clans.
Her father was a fool to believe she was somewhat immune because she was pregnant, or perhaps he’d also hoped to keep her away from other clans by shoving her in a crevice while things went down.
It had certainly sounded like he expected to rally more clans to his mad plan in the upcoming days, using her as bait.
