Page 41 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
Kassein gestured at Kein with a little movement of his chin.
“Kein,” he simply said.
He hadn’t expected to be introducing his dragon already.
Once again, Alezya had that slightly confused expression, and her eyes went to the dragon, frowning.
“Kein?” she repeated.
The dragon immediately reacted to her saying its name.
Kein lifted its head and tilted it, its silver eyes clearly on Alezya, causing her to be scared again.
“...Kein,” she muttered. “Dryagaan.”
Another word from her language. Kassein had no idea what it meant, but from the way she’d said it, she was perhaps trying to match his dragon’s name with her vocabulary.
Meanwhile, his dragon reacted to its name again, letting out a short growl. It tried to approach again, but slowly this time. Alezya didn’t yelp or scream as the dragon’s warm snout approached her, sending hot whiffs of air her way. Instead, she froze and stared, nervous but trying to hold it all in. Kein approached its snout so close it almost touched her, and then, it lifted its head, as if to show the prey still caught between its fangs.
The poor state of what had once been a beautiful snow leopard was absolutely gruesome. Kein suddenly opened its gigantic maw and dropped that thing at their feet.
Then, it stepped back and pushed the dead body toward Kassein’s feet, although it was obviously staring at Alezya.
“...Are you for real?” Kassein grumbled. “In that state?”
Kein immediately furiously growled back at its owner, its silver eyes clearly shifting target. Between them, a confused Alezya had her eyes on the dead body.
After a couple of seconds, Kassein sighed and gently let her down, making sure she didn’t step in the blood. If she’d been able to stand in the bath, she could probably stand a few seconds on the snow.
He made sure she was stable on her own, although he still held her firmly by her waist in case she stumbled or something; he didn’t trust the state of her feet. Alezya did struggle to stay up, but that was most likely the fright that had left her legs weak.
Moreover, she did look at the dragon and its “present” for her, but slowly, her gaze shifted to their surroundings. It was her first time seeing the camp herself, so Kassein let her look around, take in the environment.
She looked at all the tents scattered around, the few soldiers who’d stopped to watch this strange scene, and farther away, the snow-covered forest. Then, her eyes turned toward the mountains. Like a large rock wall, the mountains this woman had come from were now standing tall before her, at an angle she’d most likely never seen them from before.
Kassein watched Alezya’s expression intently during this moment.
And that’s when he saw it, again. Her tears, pearling quietly at the corner of her eyes, and that unspeakable expression on her face. There was despair, hope, sadness, and longing in her eyes, and it broke Kassein’s heart a bit. ...At first, he’d thought she missed her old home, but no.
There had to be something else. Somebody else. She was missing someone. He knew the signs all too well.
She kept staring at those mountains, scouring them for a sign, clearly looking for something. It had to be someone veryimportant for her to look up so long when there was a gigantic beast right in front of her.
“...Alezya?”
He’d called her gently, but she jumped, her watery eyes going back to him. She was clearly distressed and a bit embarrassed to have cried in front of him from the way she awkwardly rubbed her eyes.
Kassein grabbed her wrists to stop her before she undid her bandages, and looked into her eyes, with a serious expression.
“You need to go back up there, don’t you?”
Of course, she had no idea what he’d just said. She just stared at him with a lost expression, a bit upset. After a hesitation, Kassein followed his impulse to put his hand against her cheek. If she seemed surprised by his gesture at first, Alezya didn’t push him away. Instead, she kept her dark eyes staring at him, listening to his words.
“I’ll help you go back,” Kassein promised. “I’ll help you go back up there, to your people.”
He didn’t know what had happened to her, but if she wanted to go back, he’d help her.
Suddenly, Kein growled furiously behind her, its claws angrily digging into the ground. Its violent burst of anger made Alezya jump, but Kassein immediately stepped between them, shielding her with his body.
