Page 225 of The War God’s Favorite

Both Vrehan and his dragon screeched in pain. She saw the Red Dragon panic, moving recklessly, and suddenly, one of its claws brutally scratched her arm. Cassandra didn’t have time to scream in pain. Taking a deep breath, she dived right back in, and this time swam to the edge. She felt the border and jumped over.

This was the craziest thing she had ever done in her entire life. She felt the water rushing all around her, and for a second, she thought she was jumping to her death. She could literally smash herself on the soil or hit the surface brutally. However, as she arrived towards the end of her fall, she felt something pulling her dress, and her fall was slowed down. She couldn’t see, but she heard the baby dragon’s flapping wings, and they both dived into the river underneath a second later. Her fall hadn’t been nearly as brutal as she had imagined, but it took her a second to find her way up. She broke the surface, and caught a new, deep breath of fresh air, swimming away from the waterfall.

Cassandra hadn’t jumped into the unknown. She had visited Diamond City enough to know that the waterfall ended at a river, and that the river was large and big enough. Struggling a bit, she kept swimming, using the strength of the current to spare her strength a little. She had to get out of the water quickly, though. She could hear the dragon still screeching in pain, far above her head. It may have gone blind, but it still had its nose to find her.

After she felt like the river had taken her far enough, and she was out of strength, Cassandra swam to get out of the river. She was exhausted when she finally got on all four on the riverside. She heard the baby dragon jumping to her side, and sure enough, it walked up to her, rubbing its little head against her arm. That sensation made her smile. The Silver Dragon was so tiny, just a newborn, but it had just saved her life multiple times. She caressed its head. It was smaller than she had imagined, just the size of a big cat, plus its long tail. It was a bit leaner than Krai, and its wings were longer compared to its body size, too. Just as she was taking a minute to caress the baby dragon, and catch her breath, she felt a sharp pain between her ribs.

“Oh, God...” she whimpered.

She knew it would come soon, now that the baby dragon had hatched, but she didn’t expect it that soon! Cassandra took a deep breath and got up. She still wasn’t safe. She was on the outskirts of the Diamond City, but Vrehan would send for a search party soon enough, and she couldn’t stay around. Moreover, she had to find Missandra. She had no idea where the secret passage had taken her younger sister! Cassandra tried to think of where Missandra would go. Surely, she wouldn’t leave without her, but where could she wait for her?

The two sisters had gone to the Diamond City several times in those last weeks, they both knew this City well. Where could they meet up? As she started walking towards the City, out of strength, the rain started falling heavily. Cassandra was grateful. This would make her harder to find. However, she still had no idea where to go. Missandra had a few favorite shops inside the Diamond City, but there was no way Cassandra was going to find her in time if she had to search through all of them!

Cassandra kept walking until she reached the first houses, and hid against the walls, hoping the roofs could keep her safe from the rain. The Baby Dragon was following her closely, rubbing its back against her ankles so she could feel it being here from time to time.

However, Cassandra was out of strength. She was absolutely exhausted, devastated by Dahlia’s death, and desperate to find Missandra. Yet, just when she thought she was going to pass out, she heard a door opening nearby.

“By the Great Dragon! It’s really her!”

“What are you waiting for, go help her!”

A man ran to Cassandra’s side, and before she could even react, she was taken inside a house. The Baby Dragon followed her from afar, growling at the humans, but not sure if it should attack or not. It watched Cassandra being taken inside a large room and sat on a bed by the man who had taken her inside.

Cassandra was having a hard time understanding what was going on. She was on the verge of collapsing.

“My... Sister... I need to find my sister,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, we will look for her! Son, go spread the word!”

Cassandra heard a door open and close, and a young woman gently helped her lie down. She felt a wet towel on her forehead, and someone helped her take her dress off. She had no strength to resist while two women helped her change into some other clothes.

“Mother, she has a fever...”

“My baby...” said Cassandra.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” said one of the young women. “We will take good care of you, and we will find Lady Missandra, too. You’re safe with us. Please just rest, you are safe here.”

Cassandra nodded. She really was too weak to protest. So many things had happened, she just wanted to lie down. She could feel another contraction, which worried her. She had felt some in the past few days, but never as strong as this one. She knew it was a sign.

“My baby... I felt...”

“Did your water break? Mother! I think she’s in labor...”

Cassandra felt someone sit at the end of the bed and examine her. The Baby Dragon jumped next to her, between her shoulder and her face, and growled a bit, as a warning.

“She still has time, she doesn’t seem to be having too many contractions for now. You should rest, Your Highness. Try to sleep a little while we look for Lady Missandra. You’ll wake up when the labor starts for real.”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” repeated the woman next to her, gently caressing her wet hair.

“We will take care of you,” said the other, covering her with a blanket.

Just like that, Cassandra couldn’t resist anymore and fell asleep.

It was another sharp pain that woke Cassandra up. She frowned and opened her eyes, her hands going unconsciously to her belly. A part of her had to touch it, make sure her baby was still there. She was cold and afraid, but she could feel her belly. However, the first sensation that reassured her was the warm little body curled up against her cheek.

“Hinue! Are you awake?”

Missandra was next to her, holding her hand with a worried expression. Cassandra frowned, confused. It took her a few seconds to remember everything that had happened. She felt like she had slept too profoundly to reconnect with reality, as if she had just had a terrible nightmare, where dreams and reality merged.

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