Page 259 of The War God’s Favorite

“Father probably sent at least half of it from what I saw,” said Shareen.

“Then let’s assume half of the Imperial Army is still in the Imperial Palace with that little rat. Vrehan may have acted impulsively but he definitely knows Krai and Kairen will be his biggest problem. If you get there, expect a trap.”

“Mother, you can’t ask us to wait for the Eastern Army to get here!”

“They are already on the way,” retorted Kareen. “Who do you think I am? I sent a message as soon as you left to get your brother! They will meet you in the Capital.”

The brother and sister exchanged a glance and a nod.

“So we are good to go, right? The army will meet us there.”

“Yes, but do you children even know what to do once we get there?”

“We? Mother, you’re coming?” asked Shareen, shocked.

“Of course! What, you think this old lady will stand on the sidelines while your old man is in danger? You’re taking me for being more heartless than I am!”

She honestly had nothing to answer to that. So, instead, she pointed at Phetra.

“What about her? Do we kill her now? Has she said everything she had to?”

“Well, probably not,” said Kareen, standing up. “At least, I know how Vrehan managed to come here without your father’s approval. That little snake. He left the Palace with this annoying sister of his under the pretense of accompanying her to her wedding! Of course, they changed their course to come here and pretend they were arresting Cassandra under the Emperor’s order. I can’t believe I got fooled by those two. I bet they scattered information back at the Imperial Palace that they were already half-way there!”

She grabbed Phetra’s hair, dragging her mercilessly.

“The little bitch...” hissed Kareen. “She spilled all the names of the people Vrehan corrupted in the Imperial Palace, so I will have to do a thorough cleaning once we get there. She’s also the one who smuggled the poison that killed Sephir, though she didn’t know it was going to be used on her father as well.”

“So she knows the remedy?”

“That idiot? She can’t even tell the difference between blood and wine! She just did Vrehan’s dirty work, as always. Probably ordered from some market.”

“What about that abortion potion?”

“She kept saying it wasn’t intended for Cassie. Pretty sure she’s lying about that, but... In any case, she may be more useful once we get to the Imperial Palace and argue with her brother. She probably knows more dirt on him than she’ll say for now. She will talk once he abandons her for real. Who knows...”

Shareen shook her head. She had enough of all that. Kairen was the first to step out, calling his dragon to come. Krai was just as impatient and kept growling furiously. Both the Black Dragon and its Master wanted to hurry back into the Capital, as there was no time to lose. Cassandra was in danger, especially if she had decided to try and go save the Emperor from Vrehan’s clutches.

Kairen helped his Mother get on the Black Dragon, forcefully pulling Phetra on, too. Truth was, both Roun and Krai attempted to kill her until their Masters had them stop and keep their fangs away. The Black Dragon was unhappy about carrying that woman, but Kairen put her like a sandbag at the rear, on her stomach, the most uncomfortable position possible. She could still see Roun growling at her, as Shareen, Anour, and Evin were mounting the Green Dragon. Then, both dragons took off.

With each dragon carrying more people than usual, the flight took a little longer. As Kareen had predicted, the two big dragons’ appearance in the sky caused quite a commotion. Many soldiers pointed at them, and just like the information spilled by Phetra, catapults and giant crossbows appeared all over the Imperial Palace’s roof. Both dragons growled, but before they were within reach, they dove towards the south of the Capital. Evin’s directions were only necessary for Roun, Krai and Kairen knew exactly where to go. By mere luck, the residence was far enough from the Imperial Palace, and both dragons landed in the garden under the servants’ shocked eyes. They could already hear the yells of soldiers outside, ordering the men to gather, most likely Vrehan’s militia.

Shareen and Kairen each jumped down from the dragons first and ran in opposite directions. While the sister took her swords out to go and guard the entrance of the residence, the Prince ran inside.

Kairen couldn’t tell if he was imagining it, but the cries of a baby were guiding him inside the residence. His heart was thumping like crazy in his chest, as he could only focus on that sound. He finally found a door, and stopped in front of it, almost out of breath. He was suddenly scared to open that door. He listened to the voices inside, almost covered by the baby’s screams.

“By the Gods, won’t he stop crying. He’s been at it for hours and hours, no one has slept a wink since...”

“His mother left! Poor thing... He probably doesn’t understand.”

Kairen opened the door wide with a bang. The two women turned to face him, scared by the noise and the sudden appearance of that tall man at the door. However, it was hard not to know who that man was. Tall, with his tanned skin, black hair, and black eyes. And that strange hair.

Kairen barely noticed the two women. His eyes fell right on the baby that was there, his eyes all teary and his little fists clenched. He stepped forward, a bit at a loss. This was not how he had imagined their first meeting. None of this was what he wanted, not when his mother wasn’t there. The baby had a little hiccup from all his crying earlier. However, his wailing had stopped, and he was only making an upset pout, his eyes riveted on the big man that was coming towards him.

That baby felt ridiculously small compared to Kairen. However, there was no doubt. He had a little patch of dark hair, and skin barely one tone lighter than his own. Kairen hesitated. Then, he slowly took out the little dragon plushie he had on him all this time. The baby’s eyes went right for the toy. He opened his hands and stretched a bit to grasp it, holding on tightly to the little plushie his mother had sewn back in shape.

It was a strange situation, but the beginning of a smile appeared on the War God’s lips. He gently took his son into his arms, though one hand would have been enough to carry all of him. The baby whined a little bit, squeezing the toy with an upset expression.

“Let’s go get your mother back.”

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