Page 130 of The War God’s Favorite

“Alright gentlemen, let’s play,” declared Shareen enthusiastically.

Cassandra turned around and saw they were only a few steps away from the entrance.

Even while the Princess was happily dueling with all the men present, Cassandra knew she wouldn’t be able to handle them all, especially since they were attempting to corner the trio. Dahlia had taken out a little dagger, but it wouldn’t do much against the sabers the criminals had.

The young concubine took two fingers to her mouth and whistled. After a few seconds, a large figure shadowed them. The thugs looked up, their faces turning white as a sheet.

“Cassandra! Why are you spoiling my fun?”

“I am tired. And besides, this is not a playground. I want to go back, My Lord will be expecting me.”

Krai landed next to her, growling immediately like a big cat would purr. A paw was squishing a man on the ground with a gruesome sound and a long scream, but the dragon didn’t seem to hear it. Instead, it was more curious about the men running around in utter fear. Krai gobbled one up, as if trying some new treat out of sheer curiosity. Meanwhile, Cassandra was climbing on its back, leaving Shareen to her little game. Another thug tried to throw his saber at Cassandra, but the dragon sent it flying away with a quick flap of its wing. Unfortunately for the man, his weapon came right back to him, stabbing through him, painfully.

“Fine, you party-wrecker, just go!” Shareen yelled. “But take that damn lizard with you before he eats them all!”

Chapter10

Krai must have easily been able to sense where its Master was because the dragon flew right back to the Palace without any instruction from Cassandra. She was still a bit afraid of flying, but she was also realizing how nice it was. One thing she’d never get tired of was the view of the Capital from above. She still hoped they’d go back to the north soon, though. She missed the quiet Onyx Castle and her friends. The Capital was too hot and humid.

The dragon landed with a loud growl in one of the big courts of the Palace, a square-shaped area made completely of stone. Kairen was waiting there, his eyes set on the young concubine as they arrived. He held out his arms, and Cassandra slid easily along the dragon’s scales until he grabbed her. She smiled and kissed him softly.

Kairen took a step back, still holding her, to pull her off his dragon. He seemed a bit concerned.

“Did you find anything?” he asked.

“A bit, yes, but we still haven’t found her,” Cassandra sighed.

“You look tired.”

She chuckled, putting her arms around his neck.

“My Lord, you keep saying that these days.”

“You really do look tired.”

“Fine…I’m hungry, actually. We didn’t even eat.”

Kairen stayed quiet for a little while, with his eyes so intently on her, he had Cassandra a bit confused. What was her Prince thinking about now? After a minute though, he seemed to decide on something and nodded.

“I have something for you. A present.”

“A present?” she repeated, intrigued.

Kairen had already gifted her lots of dresses and jewelry. Well, more like his father or mother had, but still. What else could she be getting now? Something for their baby, perhaps? But Cassandra wasn’t planning on raising the child here.

He turned around and carried her through the Palace. Even if she had no idea where they were going, Cassandra was patient enough not to ask. She enjoyed the little ride, caressing her Prince’s hairline and telling him about everything she and Shareen had learned. He didn’t react or say much, even to the part where they had encountered his half-sister, but Cassandra didn’t expect him to anyway.

After a bit more walking, he finally let her down in front of a large door she had never seen before, but by the looks of it, it was a brand new one. The redwood stood out from the stone walls, and there weren’t many windows nearby. However, they were definitely near Kairen’s apartments, making her think it was within his private area of the Palace.

“This is yours from now on,” he said.

He was handing her a key, with a complex shape and a unique redwood handle. Cassandra took it with a shy smile, even more intrigued now. She then turned to slowly open the door, her heart rate accelerating.

She didn’t expect what was behind the door and was rendered speechless in the doorway.

Green, green everywhere. Green leaves, herbs, and plants as far as her eyes could see. Cassandra took a few steps in, unable to close her mouth. There were four long tables with hundreds of different herbs on them in different colored pots. Under her feet was fresh grass. There were several patches of herbs and flowers growing here and there, in delimited areas. For a second, she had thought it was a greenhouse, but it didn’t exactly have a roof. Instead, above her head was a large pergola with ivy and other climbing, trailing plants covering most of the framework. The sun could still pass through, but the whole place was more fresh than what Cassandra usually experienced in the palace. The main reasons were the little fountains and rivers artificially planted that ran from one side to the other, refreshing the whole area. Actually, those fountains even had some flowers in them.

“Waterlilies,” she whispered with a smile.

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