Page 286 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“Thank you,” she muttered. “We... We buried him two days ago. It was... It was a beautiful ceremony.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.”
Ekata shook her head, taking Alezya’s hands in hers.
“Don’t. Ekut... My brother died for the sake of future generations, and he died on the battlefield, a hero of our clan. I’ll make sure he is remembered for many years to come as he deserves.”
“He deserves it,” Alezya nodded. “...How about you? How are you?”
“Well, aside from the funeral, it’s been... quite intense, actually,” Ekata sighed. “How much do you know?”
“Almost nothing,” Alezya said, pouting in Kassein’s direction. “He’s kept me away from it all while I recovered. I know his father came and helped with the negotiations...?”
“Oh, that,” Ekata nodded. “I wish you had seen it! Once they saw that the Dragon Clan Chief could speak our language, the clan chiefs tripped over themselves to finalize agreements. It has been insane. Well, many clan chiefs who were against us died in the war, but their successors were surprisingly eager to make peace with everyone, especially the Dragon Clan.”
“Lesson learned?”
“More than that, I think many were... doubtful about Darak from the start. Once everyone realized he was dead, that he’d even hidden from his clan, and that most of his so-called warriors hadn’t even taken part in the battle, people just... got furious. A lot of them are using him as a scapegoat to reduce their share of the blame, for sure, but at least they were quick to agree to our terms. The others who were most against peace with the Dragon Clan are dead anyway, so... they didn’t have a choice but to agree.”
“What are the terms, then? Just peace?”
“Oh, it’s so much better than that!” Ekata beamed. “That skinny guy, Tievin, he showed us a map of the mountains. Like a real, very large map, with all the mountains on it! It was fascinating. He showed us routes we could use, where we should create more, and spoke about trading things, not only betweenour clans but with the Dragon Clan as well. He drew routes to their clan too, and now, there are people from several clans going there, down the mountains, for the first time in their lives.”
“Did you see it’s just... a bit of their clan?”
Ekata sighed.
“Yeah, I realized that when I saw his map. I’m not the only one. I think a lot of clan leaders were shocked when he explained that what we thought was their territory was just a little bit of it. He even explained how far the place you were resting was, and everyone was stunned. I suppose the journey is faster if you have a dragon, but for us, it just means the world beyond our mountains is... so, so much bigger than we thought!”
She was almost beaming, and Alezya smiled. She had felt the same way when she had stared at the mountains for hours and at the horizon toward the south. Now, many children of the clans would grow up with the same vision, of a world much, much bigger that was waiting for them. Sure, the Dragon Clan was still too grand and too intimidating, a world of mysteries, but still, at the very least, no one would have to grow up confined in a cave anymore. With the threat of dragon attacks gone, they would be free to live outside, run down the hills, or stand at the tops of a cliffs.
“Lady Alezya.”
Alezya turned to find Tievin, looking tired but strangely surrounded by young children who were playing and tugging on his robes, trying to get a reaction out of him while he clung onto one of his usual paper pads.
“Tievin,” she smiled. “Lady?”
“I learned the word fromLady Cassandra,” he nodded. “I will learn.”
“Thank you.Thank you for helping the clans,” Alezya said.
He let out a long sigh, glancing around at the kids who were laughing at his reactions.
“Yes,” he shrugged.
“You look tired,” Kassein told his second without an ounce of apology in his tone.
Alezya laughed while Tievin gave hisAqayira pissed-off look.
“Yes, I am, Aqayir,” he groaned. “I am very, very much tired while you rested at Kalat Unshreik with Lady Alezya. Very, very tired.”
With a pout, he went to make a theatrical exit, but he spun so fast while the children held onto his cloak that he nearly fell on his face, making all the children bark in laughter. Alezya bit her lip too and turned to Kassein with an admonishing look.
“Be nice to Tievin,” she said.
Kassein shrugged.
“Mom said he needs a wife.”
