Page 215 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“What kind of dusty hole did you crawl into and why?”
“I found where Alezya lived,” he said.
He presented her with the toy, and Kiera’s expression fell, turning into genuine surprise.
“Damn,” she muttered. “So this was indeed her home... Her tribe sucks, by the way. Half their warriors fled along with their women, kids, and old people. I know we’re supposed to let them go, but really, they could have put up more of a fight. It seems like they just left some men here to die to slow us down. ...Well, what do you want us to do? Now that we know she isn’t here...”
“The plan stays the same,” Kassein said, more determined than ever. “We battle every tribe until we find her. Make sure the men don’t leave any cave or crevice unchecked either. If Kein couldn’t find her and she couldn’t come back, she might be imprisoned somewhere he can’t get to.”
“Let’s hope she hears you coming and decides to show up,” Kiera sighed. “This could take a while...”
“We’ll camp in the mountains,” Kassein said. “Our men knew this one was going to be a long campaign.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m used to sleeping in weird places, don’t worry. And Sazaran and Kauser are already making surewe have a secure route back, not for retreat but to be sure we can send injured men and bring whatever we need from the camp. Not that we’ve had many casualties or injuries; it looks like the dragons are scaring the tribespeople out faster than we can get to them, and I guess the word might be spreading fast that we’re invading their neighbors. We might have to move fast if we don’t want the next couple of mountains to be empty by the time we get there.”
Kassein nodded, and just like that, they gathered their men, and while some were left behind to finish searching the mountain and deal with the aftermath of the battle, most followed them to their next battlefield.
While he was disappointed that he hadn’t found Alezya, Kassein was even more convinced he had to bring her back.
Knowing she had been forced to live confined in a small cave infuriated him; by then, they had seen and explored enough of those caves to know the tribes actually had decent living spaces, carved the stone around them to create furniture, and had large caves to share.
The fact that Alezya’s scent had been confined to such a small space and faint everywhere else in her tribe’s stronghold told him all he needed to know, and it had Kassein grinding his teeth and tightening his fists just thinking about it.
That woman deserved a lot more; she deserved the world.
Kassein didn’t think he deserved her, but he was surely going to try to do what he could to make her believe he did. He was going to start by offering her to live in the Onyx Castle, where she would never have to run or worry about food or the cold ever again. He wanted to cover her in the best fur clothes, hunt that meat she loved so much every day and feed it to her, and even make new toys for Lumie to play with. He wanted to make a place where she would feel safe, be able to explore andtake dragon rides on Kein’s back if she wanted, and for her skin to never show a bruise or a cut ever again.
Kassein didn’t need to put much thought into the battle; the tribesmen were far more terrified of him than they were of his men or the young dragons, and most didn’t even seek to fight with him, and he didn’t pursue them.
Instead, he was more interested in exploring their habitat, getting a sense of who those people were and how they lived. It was strange to him how the inside of each mountain could be so different.
The one he had found Alezya’s cave in had felt bare and raw, with the minimal amount of resources, while the one they stood in now had not only plenty of fabrics and food but also many manufactured items and tools with complex designs, colorful paintings covering their walls, strange little objects gathered in corners which he guessed might be some sort of shrine, and outside, little patches of vegetables and fungi they grew.
That tribe was also the one who had left almost no man behind and fled immediately upon seeing his army coming.
Thus, he and his men would actually be leaving their mountain as they had found it and immediately moved on to the next one.
Again, the fourth mountain, the last one they would conquer for the day as the sun was setting, showed yet another different lifestyle; instead of paintings, those people seemed to be hanging lots of dried herbs in their tunnels, had countless hand-drawn maps of the area lined on the walls, and communal spaces with large beds probably meant for larger families to share. Their diet also seemed to revolve more around fishing in a lake they probably had access to, as he found countless fish skins hanging around and plenty of fishing tools too.
Kassein couldn’t remember having seen food other than a few baskets of fruits in Alezya’s home, and the lingering scent of meat. He remembered how much she had loved the meat soup; that was the first thing he’d feed her once he brought her back.
“Kassein,” his sister drawled, not for the first time. “Come on, you can’t keep daydreaming while your men do the grunt work. Not that there’s much need for assistance, but... are you going to keep carrying that?”
The fur blankets he’d taken from Alezya’s cave were on his shoulder, and he had kept Lumie’s toy in his free hand all this time without realizing.
Upon noticing that fact, he looked back up at his sister.
“...Can you handle the camp here tonight?”
“The men are already setting up in a clearing,” she shrugged. “We might have to schedule some serious rounds to ensure we’re not attacked in our sleep, but Sazaran’s on it. ...Why? Where are you going?”
“Back to the Onyx Castle. I’m taking Kiki, and I’ll be back before dawn for the next battle.”
“What?” his sister barked. “Hey! You can’t leave me to babysit your dragon, Dran’s evil spawn, and your entire army! I’m not a bloody babysitter, Kassein!”
“You said it yourself,” he said over his shoulder as he was already walking out. “We’re born leaders. It’s just for a night, you’ll be fine.”
“You selfish ass!”
