Page 82 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“Sir,” said one of the soldiers, smartly addressing Tievin rather than their Commander in Chief, “the units who took part in the battle are now all done cleaning themselves and the quarantine zone is ready for them. As instructed, the medical unit has been installed nearby to keep them under watch for the next two weeks.”
“Well done,” Tievin nodded. “Make sure we keep an accurate record of all of them, and the progress of their health if there is any. No one is allowed out of the quarantine zone until they have gotten the medical unit’s approval, or it will be considered treason.”
“Yes, sir. General Herken already said he would take full responsibility for his brigades being involved!”
“Good.”
The soldier bowed and walked away. Tievin tightened his coat around himself with a tired expression. He wished he’d had the luxury of extending his bath too, like the ladies, but he didn’t. Instead, both he and Kassein had hurried through a thorough washing to get back into overseeing the aftermath of the battle and making sure no mistakes were committed. The Commander in Chief’s hair was still wet, and Tievin couldn’t suppress a shiver every time he saw his bare torso exposed to the wind. Those dragons and their immunity against the cold...
Kassein had changed completely but only bothered to put on clean leather pants and a fur cape, under which he was naked. The point of the fur cape over his bare skin, Tievin didn’t really understand. Perhaps to avoid the gazes of the soldiers who couldn’t help but gawk at the orange scales on his skin...
The orange scales got Tievin looking back toward the mountains.
If he had doubted the Commander in Chief’s silent anger, one just had to take a look at his dragon. After dropping the three women at the hot springs, Kein had come back for a vengeful attack on the tribes and was still going at it. The echoes of his furious growls were now reverberating between the mountains and all the way to the camp, where the men couldn’t help but send nervous glances, despite the dragon being far away. Tievin even felt a little bit sorry for those tribes. An attack from one of them had triggered the dragon’s anger to hunt them all... Those people better stay hidden for the next few hours.
This got him thinking about Alezya, that woman their Commander had been guarding so stubbornly. Another reason Tievin had suggested Kiera’s presence was that his sister would be much more efficient at convincing the Prince on any matter regarding that woman, and he had been right. She had been the first to raise some doubts about that woman, voicing what Tievin wouldn’t have risked his neck for.
Now, he hoped the Commander in Chief would perhaps be a little less blind and deaf to the risks of keeping that woman amongst them...
Although, it would be more difficult after she’d proven herself on this occasion. Tievin himself was quite confused. He had been wary of her, but that woman had been so quick to reveal the enemy’s wicked scheme. Had her morals prevailed? Or did she not care about a tribe that wasn’t her own? Or had she been worried for her own safety? If the tribes acted independently from one another as he’d theorized, this woman surely was only one tribe’s doing, and the others probably cared little for her. She had quite literally risked her life to warn them about the disease, but perhaps this had all been to save herself first and foremost.
Tievin glanced at the Commander in Chief’s perfectly still figure.
His dark green eyes were back to glaring at the mountains in the general direction his dragon was still wreaking havoc. It was clear he was getting a bit more smitten every day with that woman. While Tievin could understand a young man his age would easily find himself disarmed by the sudden presence of a woman after years of being exiled in the north, he could only see this was all going to be too troublesome... There was a reason women weren’t usually allowed here. More than one good reason, even. Several very good reasons.
“Your Highness, the tent for Her Highness and Lady Lorey is also ready, and their belongings have been moved,” Tievin said. “M-may I suggest again—”
“No.”
Kassein’s firm rebuttal tone had Tievin pinch his lips together to hold back his frustration.
“I am just saying, for a lady’s comfort, it might be better for her to—”
“No.”
Tievin mentally prayed for himself. Was there any way to change His Highness’ mind without risking his neck? He wasn’t foolish enough to attempt a third time, but really, how long was that woman going to be staying in the Commander’s tent? Not only was it improper for her to be sharing his accommodations, but the soldiers were starting to talk. No matter how much he tried to do some damage control, men confined in a military camp could be worse than bored widows when it came to gossip!
Tievin had hoped that Kiera would put some common sense into her brother’s head, but she hadn’t even commented on the situation, nor seemed to be alarmed by it. He massaged his eyelids. Really, he was now starting to wonder if he hadn’t made a terrible mistake in suggesting His Highness summon assistance. Now he was going to have to deal with the actions of two of them...
“Double the people guarding the wall, and have men surveying the mountain at all times,” Kassein suddenly said. “I want reports on everything that happens up there, any sighting of them.”
Tievin frowned. The Prince had never been this interested in whatever was going on in the mountain. He barely even cared about the attacks, unless he needed to relieve his nerves in battle...
He glanced at the mountain.
“Yes, Your Highness. Although, thanks to your dragon’s intervention, I doubt any of them will show themselves for a while...”
Kassein didn’t answer, but just then, Kein happened to appear in between two mountains, flying with what looked like some impatience.
Tievin almost felt sorry for those tribes, but at the very least, that dragon was finally getting slightly more useful than problematic. The orange beast was now just most likely attacking any human or animal who didn’t have the survival instinct to crawl into the nearest hole, having turned its wrath into a hunting game.
Kassein didn’t stare long at his dragon but turned around to walk further inside the camp, Tievin following behind him.
He knew all too well why he wasn’t willing to let Alezya out of his tent, and why, right now, he was pissed that his sister was keeping her away for so long. Not only that, but he was pissed at Lorey for having brought her out. Even if she was still healing fast thanks to his last vial of Lake water, she was still hurt. And she was a woman in a camp full of men. Men who hadn’t seen a woman in a long time... Hungry dogs.
“Which brigade failed to warn of the attack early?” he asked.
“Th-the twelfth brigade’s fifth and sixth units, sir,” Tievin said, glancing down at his notes. “General Sazaran’s. Theyweren’t supposed to be the ones in charge, but apparently, they were assigned to replace the first and second units after causing a ruckus during lunch. They might have been not as... dedicated as they should have been. I need to mention it is one of our problematic brigades, sir. Sent half a year ago, mostly on forced military duty. They are on their third warning for this week alone.”
