The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 69

The Feud
Several people couldn’t help but laugh at that sentence, though they were smart enough to hide it. Some others were more terrified, avoiding Kairen’s direction at all costs and their faces white as a sheet. Meanwhile, from his throne, the Emperor sighed.
“Make sure your dragons behave, will you? How can the party go on if there are no more guests!”
“Dragons tend to be wilful, father,” said Shareen with a sneer. “Who knows, if they get hungry they might come again looking for snacks.”
“Don’t make us laugh, Shareen,” suddenly growled the Second Prince. “As if he didn’t control the Black Dragon perfectly…”
Shareen didn’t appreciate the prince talking out against her. She immediately glared at him back.
“How about you teach us about controlling Dragons, brother? Call yours out now, let us all see how much of a Dragon-tamer you are!”
Right as she finished saying that, a loud growl echoed from somewhere in the Palace. It was further away, though. No matter where he was, the red Dragon was echoing his master’s anger. Cassandra couldn’t help but be a bit worried. What if he really called him all the way there? Wouldn’t he get in a fight with Krai, or injure people? Every time she had seen the red Dragon, he was securely caged, but what if he was actually freed? The animosity between the brothers would definitely have him target Kairen. She trusted Krai would respond immediately, but…
Just as she was lost in her thoughts and worrying, Kairen gently put his hand on hers. He wasn’t looking at her, still glaring in Varhen’s way, but his thumb was gently caressing her skin, helping her calm down a bit.
Varhen took a few seconds but then, to her surprise, a reptilian smile appeared on his face as he was still glaring at Shareen.
“Why would you need me to teach you anything about Dragons, Shareen? Women don’t need to know about dragon-taming.”
The insult was clear, and even Cassandra felt outraged. He was clearly looking down on the Princesses, because unlike their brothers, they had no Dragons of their own. Shareen became red in anger, but just as she was about to say something, the loudest growls were heard.
Though she wasn’t surprised to see Krai come back, though he had to half-stand on one of the roofs, Cassandra had not expected to see the Golden Dragon make an appearance too. However, Glahad was growling even more furiously, clearly glaring at Varhen with his ruby eyes. The arrival of the two biggest Imperial Dragons was enough to scare a lot of guests, who, for some reason, apparently thought the wisest place to hide at would be inside the buildings. Cassandra disagreed, as the walls looked about to collapse under the beasts’ weight…
Even Missandra and Dahlia had run back towards her, both of them hiding behind her seat, afraid. She couldn’t blame them. She probably would have been just as terrified if the War God hadn’t been holding her hand all this time. The Dragons’ angry growls were deafening, proportionally to their anger.
Shareen, who had paid no attention to the Dragons all this time, suddenly stood up and took out her sword, too, furious.
“I dare you to say such words again, Varhen.”
“Enough!”
The Emperor was standing up too, and glaring at the both of them.
“Enough of your feuds! This is the New Year Celebrations. I want no fight in front of our guests, not tonight, not tomorrow or for the next days! Varhen, Shareen, enough of you too! Both of you go back to your apartments for tonight!”
Shareen was about to protest, but her mother clicked her tongue. The two of them exchanged glances for a while, almost as if they were having a silent conversation until Shareen cried out in frustration. She violently swang her sword through the air in frustration, put it back and turned to leave without a word.
Cassandra felt bad for her, and couldn’t help but glare in Varhen’s way. The Prince was watching Shareen go, but hadn’t moved himself. He was also about to say something, but the War God opened his mouth first.
“Father told you to leave, Varhen.”
The ice and hatred in his voice was so intense, the whole area became as cold as the Onyx Castle for a few seconds. Cassandra wondered if the second brother would argue or fight Kairen…
However, after a long glare, he stood up silently and walked away in a strange silence. The air was tense, so much that absolutely no guest dared to say a word for a few minutes after the Prince was gone. Cassandra, who had been holding her breath unknowingly, took a long sigh. She felt sorry for Shareen, but couldn’t help but be grateful that Varhen was gone, at least for that night.
Just as the moment became awkward, the Emperor sat back, looking tired. Glahad and Krai, who obviously were faster to calm down, seemed unwilling to leave. Both Dragons were overlooking the area with curious eyes, their front paws in the roofs of the building. They looked like they were wondering if they would fit in the area if they climbed over. The answer was no. Even with the area cleared, there were still many food stalls and tables everywhere, ready to be crushed.
Moreover, the bravest guests were slowly coming back since the Dragons had stop growling like angry beasts. Cassandra, who had just been delivered a humongous portion of meat, grabbed one big chunk by the bone, and stood up, walking to Krai.
“Hinue! What are you doing…?” Asked Missandra, still following behind her, worried.
She kept sending glances back to Kairen, as if she was hoping he’d stop Cassandra or his Dragon, but Kairen wasn’t even looking their way. Meanwhile, his concubine was walking towards the building which Krai was on top of, his snout sniffing the piece of fuming meat with deep interest.
He growled softly, lowering his head as much as he could without climbing over, and Cassandra threw the meat at him. He caught it, happily eating his little snack with a satisfied expression. When he was done, including his lip licking, she smiled and extended her arm, making Missandra squeak.
“Hinue, are you crazy! This is a wild creature! He can eat you!”
“He won’t,” said Cassandra with a confident smile.
Indeed, Krai only touched her head with his snout, his eyes wide open, curious to what his favorite human was playing at. Cassandra scratched his scales a bit before stepping back and grabbing Missandra with her other hand.
“Oh, no, no, no,” said Missandra, “I am not going to like this…”
“It’s okay, he’s a good boy.”
Missandra did not believe a Dragon several times her size could be anything near a good boy! However, she only struggled a bit, while Cassandra confidently, pushed her in front, talking to the Dragon.
“This is my younger sister. Can you try not to eat her? Please?”
Krai was staring at the both of them, busy sniffing, curious. Of course, there was no way to know he understood. He tilted his head to the side and growled a bit, making a curious impression, as if he was chatting with her. His claw was scratching against the roof, though, so maybe he was just getting a bit impatient.
Cassandra smiled, but it was time for him to go before the building really collapse. She wasn’t sure the Imperial Palace was fully dragon-proof.
“See you tomorrow,” she said to the Dragon, before walking away, still holding Missandra’s hands.
Krai didn’t understand, as he was still on the roof, growling a bit and trying to get her attention. Cassandra ignored him and walked back to her seat, where she couldn’t see him. She washed her hand full of meat juice and whatever dirt Krai had on his scales while releasing Missandra with her other hand,
As soon as she let go, the younger sister’s legs went numb, and she fell on her knees with a sound of despair. Dahlia crouched down next to her.
“Are you okay…?” She asked.
“I am not! Those were the most terrifying minutes of my life…”
The young servant girl chuckled. It was the first time for Missandra to lose her fierce and feisty upfront like that. Cassandra laughed too and gave her a few minutes to regain her composure. Missandra kept pouting after that though, stating that her older sister had almost risked her life with the crazy idea to befriend a dragon…
After the previous events, the guests were slowly coming back under the Emperor’s impulse and tried to resume the party as if nothing happened, and two enormous Dragons heads weren’t hovering over them. Glahad and Krai soon got bored, though, and after a while longer, both of them left flying. It was a magnificent sight to watch the Golden Dragon actually spread his wings and fly, though. He was shining brightly in the night, while Krai was like a black shadow, hard to follow and drawing shapes in the dark blue sky.
The New Year Celebrations were supposed to last for a full week, all day and night long, but of course, people had to take breaks in between. At the Emperor’s party, most people tried their best to stay the longest possible, as not to offend the Host. The Emperor seemed to have incredible stamina despite his age, not showing any signs of fatigue.
Kareen, however, soon got bored and decided to leave. She was obviously upset after Shareen got kicked out, and no one managed to keep her any longer once she had made up her mind to go back to her apartments, much to the Emperor’s disappointment.
Other people would do their best to stay the longest and enjoy themselves, but everyone was bound to show fatigue at some point.
It was especially true for Cassandra, with her pregnancy taking a toll on her. Several hours after dark, despite her best attempts to stay entertained and eat and drink at a slow pace, she kept dozing off until Kairen didn’t let her argue anymore and decided to leave. She didn’t argue, as she was too tired. The Prince gently helped her up and took her back to his room, no one commenting on their departure. Cassandra felt bad for being among the earliest to leave the party, but it couldn’t be helped, she truly was too tired. She was falling half-asleep already just from being carried in his arms.
Kairen dismissed Dahlia and Missandra when they reached their room and landed her gently on the bed. Cassandra was too tired, she didn’t even feel him undress her and remover her jewelry. She was just relieved to be finally laying in a bed. She hadn’t realized her back pains were getting so terrible until then.
Finally, the War God laid next to her, wrapping her up in his embrace, and, once she felt her skin against hers, she let go and fell asleep for good.