Page 55 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
She didn’t answer her father, waiting to hear what he wanted to know. She could guess most of it.
“No one has ever set foot on the enemy’s territory and come back alive,” he continued.
“And unharmed, at that,” one of the elders added.
Alezya darted a glare their way but quickly came back to her father. She still didn’t speak. If they wanted answers, they had to stop using their slithering ways to corner her and actually get to it.
Moreover, she wasn’t sure she could control the nervousness in her voice, so she would rather use it sparingly.
“My men have been watching you,” her father continued, his eyes narrowing. “Not only were you taken to their habitations, but you spent a long time with their leader. That man and you stood next to the dragon, and yet you were unharmed.”
Alezya could guess her father was dying to know how she’d achieved that. She stood still, waiting, making her father even more impatient.
“...Tell us,” he pressed her. “What happened down there? How did you manage to stand next to that man? What did you learn?”
She took a deep breath.
“It seems like you didn’t hear me the first two times, Father. I want to see my daughter.”
“You insolent bitch!”
There it was. His facade hadn’t held up long, and he was already back to the furious glaring and calling her names.
Alezya didn’t flinch; she’d expected as much. Moreover, she knew she had the upper hand and she wouldn’t let them bully her into thinking otherwise. He could beat her and insult her all he wanted, she wouldn’t give them a shred of information before she had Lumie. As her mom, she couldn’t be weak now and hand them the bit of information she had like that. She had to be stronger, she couldn’t afford to fail her again.
“If you dare show insolence again,” one of the elders hissed, “we’ll kill that thing you dared to give birth to!”
“Then I’ll kill myself too,” Alezya immediately retorted, “and none of us will get what we want.”
She’d said this in such a cold and composed voice, they immediately understood she was dead serious. Her father’s eyes were murderous, but he didn’t get mad anymore; he knew Alezya would not back down.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and glanced at her cousin’s husband.
“...Go get her,” he said, as if the words were burning his mouth.
Much to Alezya’s relief, her cousin’s husband left. As soon as he was gone, her father looked back at her.
“Now. Tell us–”
“I’m not telling you anything until I see my child,” Alezya cut him off, empowered by her win.
As if she’d trust his words so easily. It should only be a matter of minutes before her cousin’s husband came back anyway, and she wasn’t going to give them anything until she confirmed for herself that Lumie was fine. Her father wasn’t so happy about her strong refusal though.
He glared at her even more, but it was one of the elders who translated what most of them thought.
“You’re a disgrace to this clan,” the older man hissed. “You should be grateful we didn’t banish a depraved witch like you! It should be an honor to serve this clan, but you keep being nothing but an arrogant slut! The gods will punish you for being such a wretched creature!”
“The gods let me give birth to my child and have kept both me and her safe so far,” Alezya scoffed. “Not only that, but I faced a dragon three times and survived. What do your gods say about that?”
“You women have a way,” another one hissed. “A wretched, sullied woman will only get tainted more. It is obvious how yougot the enemy’s favor. Shame on you for using your body, and for refusing to serve your father’s cause!”
Alezya wanted to laugh. Of course, in their mind, the only thing she could have done to earn anyone’s kindness was prostitute herself. They were already so convinced she’d slept around during her marriage, what else could they have had in mind?
Not only that, but they could all see the expensive-looking coat she wore and the shiny fabric in her hair. In their eyes, the only way for a woman to ever earn those was to actively curry a man’s favor. Though it was true she’d been gifted those by Kassein, she knew it said more about his character than it did hers.
Finally, her cousin’s husband came back, and much to her relief, he was carrying Lumie. She’d never been so grateful in her entire life. Her daughter was well and sleeping in his arms.
Alezya immediately teared up, overcome by incommensurable relief. She looked fine, her little body gently moving along with her breathing, her mouth in a cute little “o” as it always did when she slept. It had only been a few days, but Alezya felt like it had been forever since she’d seen her child. Had she grown a bit? Was her white hair a little bit longer?
