Page 214 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
If his strength could be used to protect and defend rather than intimidate and kill, that would already be more than enough for him.
They finally reached the next mountain, and this time, Kassein didn’t let his sister lead the battle on her own; they split up in one of the tunnels, and as soon as he encountered people from that tribe, the fighting began.
Not only was Kassein attacked merely a few steps after walking inside, but he heard the echoes of his men encountering various opponents all around too.
This time, the tribe had probably seen them coming and decided to put up more of a fight, but they were no match for him.
Moreover, the three dragons were already doing what they had been brought here for, dashing through the tunnels, causing panic amongst the enemy rank, and spreading chaos in every corner of the mountain; their favorite game seemed to be running as fast as they could through the loops of tunnels with excited growls, but to the tribespeople, it seemed to be the most terrifying occurrence ever.
After another corner, Kassein emerged in a larger cave, half a dozen of his men on his heels, and found an equal group of warriors waiting for them, looking prepared to fight.
Just then, Bora happened to be dashing from one tunnel again, and one of the tribesmen tried to take a swing at the young dragon. While Bora froze at the sudden attack, Kassein stepped in, blocking the weapon with a furious glare; he had brought the young dragons to help, but he wouldn’t let any harm come to them. Seeing it was safe, his niece’s pink dragon growled furiously and attacked the man’s leg in retribution.
Blood flew, and the battle started with Kassein’s men spreading to take on their opponents.
Perhaps alarmed by Bora’s growls, Vele and Leni also stopped racing to join the fight, and soon enough, their opponents were trying to run away before they lost limbs to their fangs. Kassein killed two men, and stopped, letting his men finish the fight there.
Just as he was looking around to assess the fight, something caught his attention. He froze, and turned his head, his heartbeat picking up a frantic rhythm.
“Alezya,” he muttered under his breath.
It was faint, but he recognized her smell.
He would have recognized her smell anywhere. Leaving his men to finish that fight, Kassein rushed down one of the tunnels, pushing or punching people out of his way, following the scent with growing hope.
She was near. He could smell Alezya’s faint scent, and the more he walked, the stronger it got.
Kassein was vaguely aware that he walked past ongoing battles, fleeing tribesmen, and had young dragons on his heels, but he couldn’t stop nor care about anything else.
He kept rushing through the tunnels, turning back when he got to dead ends, re-entering when he unexpectedly stumbled upon openings and cliffs.
Alezya’s smell was like a siren call he was desperate to find the source of, even if the stronger it got, the harder it was for him to find it.
Eventually, he reached a corridor that seemed narrower than the others, and he could almost physically feel the pull to its end. He had to bend so as not to hit his head, but he kept going, confused about this smaller area.
Finally, he reached its end, which forced him to crawl to the little cave that was waiting for him there. His heart dropped with disappointment upon finding it empty.
Leni, who was the last baby dragon following him, dashed inside, sniffing around curiously. Kassein looked around the tiny space with a heavy heart and growing anger.
He hadn’t found Alezya, but he had found where she once lived.
It was evident by how her smell filled the space. He forced his large frame inside and sat in the narrow space, inspecting every inch of it, trying to find the faintest traces of Alezya’s presence.
A little basket that smelled like berries was knocked over in a corner. A pile of ragged fur blankets that smelled like Lumie, carefully arranged. A small toy made of carved wood and rags. The large cover blocked an impressive opening, which was a window on the outside of the mountain.
Upon lifting it, Kassein spotted a little spot of dried blood on the outside, and his anger rose another notch; Alezya had fled through this impossible, almost vertical exit.
He glanced around the cave, which wasn’t even tall enough for her to stand up in, and it was so narrow he could touch bothends with his extended arms. While Leni climbed into the pile of fur blankets that would have once been Lumie’s bed, Kassein took the little toy.
He glanced around and decided to take the two best-looking fur blankets too.
“Leni, let’s go.”
The young dragon followed after him as Kassein left the cave, again having to crawl and contort his massive frame to get out.
When he emerged, Bora and Vele appeared, following his sister.
Kiera grimaced.
