Page 145 of The War God’s Favorite

“His name is Krai,” said Cassandra. “He’s my friend, and sort of my bodyguard too, as you can see.”

“He just destroyed my house!”

“Yeah, he tends to do that when you kidnap his favorite toy,” sneered Shareen.

“Kidnap? You’re the ones who took my sister away!Snaira!”

Shareen frowned, annoyed, and turned to Cassandra.

“Whatever she is calling me, I do hope that chick knows being your little sister doesn’t give her an extra life, Cassandra.”

“Missandra, please, calm down. We should go back to the Palace, now. We have caused enough trouble. I don’t want His Highness worrying about where I am, either. And we need to talk where we can both be safe, alright? I need you to trust me, just this once.”

“Hinue, I don’t want you going back there.”

For a second, she recognized the eyes of the little Missandra, the little sister she had been separated from many, many years ago. It was heartbreaking to see that scared expression of hers again. Despite everything, Cassandra understood her younger sister’s concerns. She had survived all on her own until now. She was scared, just like Cassandra had been, before she had met and learned more about Kairen. Moreover, the terrifying rumors about the Imperial Family that Missandra had probably heard were sadly true, for most of them.

She took Missandra’s cheeks between her hands, trying to have her focus on her instead of the Imperial Princess or dragon.

“I promise it will be fine,” she said in their native tongue. “I just need you to trust your big sister this time, alright? We just found each other, Missandra, I am not risking losing you again. Come with me to the Imperial Palace, I’ll explain everything.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am,Linue. Now, come.”

As they arrived back at the Imperial Palace, the doors opened wide thanks to Shareen’s purple outfit and Cassandra’s pink dress, but her younger sister couldn’t stop frowning and being wary of everyone they crossed paths with. She stuck right behind Cassandra, checking everything around them as if she was ready to hide, fight, or run away at any moment.

Shareen walked ahead, as usual, to head back to her apartments, not far from her brother’s. She was still pissed about getting drugged in the middle of the street, enough that she didn’t even want to mention that incident.

Cassandra, however, had other worries in mind. For some reason, she wasn’t feeling too good about her sister being in the Palace. Missandra would be an easy target for anyone who wanted to harm her, and she clearly remembered Phetra’s evil ways. The cruel Princess couldn’t attack Cassandra as long as she wore an Imperial Title and the symbolic pink dress, but Missandra, on the other hand, was a mere commoner. She could be killed without blinking.

As soon as she and Shareen had come back, an Imperial Servant had informed them that the War God was still in a session with the Emperor. Hence, instead of going back to her Prince’s apartments, Cassandra decided to go to the one place she thought would be safer.

Her apartments in the Palace had nothing to do with her own Diamond Palace, but Kareen was still ruling over the place like a Goddess over her temple. The servants, used to seeing Cassandra go in and out on a daily basis, didn’t even question her. Surprisingly enough, the War God’s concubine had less trouble meeting with the Imperial Concubine than the Emperor himself.

“Where are we going?” asked Missandra in a whisper.

“Don’t worry, Little Sister, everything is fine.”

Behind them, Dahlia was following the sisters closely, still very confused to hear them speak another language. She knew that the Third Prince’s concubine had grown up outside of the Empire’s borders, but she had never heard about the southern tribes or their culture. It was a very unexpected reminder of the Lady’s unique background.

“Cassandra, dearest! What are you doing here?” said Kareen, surprised to see the young woman come in at that time.

Cassandra bowed politely.

“Sorry, Lady Kareen, I hoped I could stay here with my sister until His Highness is back?”

The Imperial Concubine glanced at Missandra after her sentence, not hiding her surprise to see Cassandra’s sibling there. She had heard Cassandra mention a younger sister a couple of times, but she had no idea she had been searching for her since she was back in the Capital.

Seeing Cassandra’s worried expression, and her younger sister looking terrified behind her, the Imperial Concubine understood quickly what was going on. She gestured for a servant to approach.

“You two must have quite a lot to catch up on. Feel free to use the tea room.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Just like that, the servant led Cassandra and Missandra into a different room. Kareen watched the women go, well aware of why her grandson’s mother had chosen to come here. She immediately gave instructions for Missandra, too, to be monitored closely, and for Kairen to be informed.

Meanwhile, Cassandra and Missandra were finally alone in another room.

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