Page 195 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“If my father manages to convince other clans and launch some war, it will be a massacre,” she muttered.
She had never given much thought about other clans before, but now, Alezya was forced to admit that she couldn’t not care anymore, not when she had proof that she could potentially save other clans and hundreds of people in the process. Some of those clans might be wishing for war, but she was ready to bet a lot of them were misguided by fear, ignorance, and her father’s empty promises.
She couldn’t help but think of men like Suolk, good men who might be forced to partake in a meaningless war they’d lose their lives in. Many men might have been awful, like her father or Vasilias, but now, Alezya was willing to believe most men who would be coerced into battle did not deserve that fate.
“We will try to convince as many as we can and find you a safe path to the Dragon Clan. You’re more than welcome to stay among us in the meantime,” Ekata said. “You’ve had a long day traveling here. Share a meal with us, and then you can rest. I promise you’ll be safe here while we figure things out.”
Her brother didn’t seem as willing to welcome Alezya, judging by his ongoing frown and contrite expression. Alezya could guess why: there was no guarantee another clan wouldn’t try and fight them to get to her. Even if the Munsa Clan sentinels had been careful, they had been outside long enough that another clan’s sentinel might have spotted them.
Alezya could hardly believe how things had escalated overnight; until then, she’d thought the clans got along well enough to make decisions together, but after the previous gathering, it was clear that things were much more unequal than she’d thought. A war could start between the clans at any given moment, let alone with the Dragon Clan.
It also baffled her how much power her father could wield simply because of all his lies and manipulations. They weren’tthe great clan they pretended to be; if anything, they seemed almost outdated compared to others. They didn’t have the best weapons, clothing, tools, or craftsmanship.
Simply from watching the Munsa Clan, Alezya could see how their culture was different and more evolved than hers. They had nice traps for their food, well-designed outfits for their environment, countless fabrics on the floor and walls to protect their feet and skin, impressive nets and weaving techniques, accessories for the women, varied weapons for their men, and the children were running around freely, playing with nice toys and watched over by the whole community.
That would have never happened back home. The Deklaan Clan was stuck in its caves and rudimentary ways, its natural growth stunted by endless battles. Alezya remembered how her cousin had begged her to fetch herbs, how she struggled to find her food, how every resource was painfully sought for and hoarded.
Their clan wasn’t doing as well as they wanted to make it seem, and she couldn’t fathom how her father could stand proud amongst so many other clans who were more advanced and claimed he knew better.
His vile way of weaponizing their position and insight toward the Dragon Clan would have been almost admirable if it wasn’t so despicable.
Alezya nearly felt regretful she’d given him so much more ammunition. She hadn’t realized how much he could use her bond with the Dragon Clan to manipulate other clans even more.
Her father had brought most of his valid, adult men to the gathering, but from what she’d heard, he had recruited and sacrificed far more into helpless battles.
With all those thoughts in mind, Alezya gratefully accepted the meal she was given, which was rather welcome based on how hungry she was.
For a while, she chatted with Ekata, finding herself drawn to the female Clan Chief’s outgoing and no-nonsense personality, which reminded her of Kiera but with a much more feminine and graceful energy. Ekut was pretty silent until they started to dive into how long Alezya had spent with the Dragon Clan and what she had experienced.
When she described how she’d learned their language, he stopped staring at his bowl to look up at her with a frown.
“How... You learned so much in just a few days?”
“Their language is rather simple,” Alezya nodded, “and I am good at memorizing things.”
“Still, it’s... impressive,” Ekut finally said.
Alezya smiled politely, unaccustomed to compliments. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been sincerely praised for anything but her beauty. Lorey had been cheerful anytime she’d mastered new words, but it had felt more like she was praising a child. Being actually praised for something that had nothing to do with her appearance felt pretty good.
Another squeal of laughter erupted behind them, and Alezya turned around to see Niiru, still playing around with the children.
Now, some adults had apparently released fish, and the young dragon was chasing them around in the water, amusing the kids as he splashed them at each dive.
“...And that small dragon?” Ekata asked. “Did the Dragon Clan give it to you or something? Why is it small?”
“It’s a baby dragon,” Alezya said, “but I have no idea why it is staying with me. It should have a... mom dragon, but I haven’t seen it. Maybe it got lost and smelled a bigger dragon on me. I genuinely don’t know.”
She had no clue why Niiru had come to her, but as she watched the young dragon happily eating little fish the children threw its way, Alezya knew she would watch over the young dragon just like Kein had watched over her. She owed it this much.
“We’ll give you a space to sleep in,” Ekata said. “You ought to be exhausted. Come with me.”
As soon as Alezya got up to follow her, Niiru left the children and the body of water to run to her, following her into new tunnels. They were far better decorated than the bare walls of her own clan.
The Munsa Clan had hung countless decorations on the walls, covered most floors with layers of soft sand or a woven fabric she didn’t recognize, and there were little shiny decorations hanging everywhere, mostly to reflect the light, she assumed.
Ekata took her to a little nook where someone had prepared a decent bed, a little washing basin with a bar of fragrant paste, and a neat pile of clean female clothing, and they had also brought her a new cloak.
While she was more than grateful for the piece of clothing, Alezya felt a pang of sadness, reminiscing about the warm fur coats Kassein always wrapped her in. She missed him and Lumie terribly, and she felt far from them.
