The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 74

The Nephew’s Fate
All the way to Kareen’s apartments, Cassandra couldn’t shake off those worried feelings inside her heart. What if she had pushed it too far? What if Phetra took her revenge on Missandra, or even Dahlia? The girls were bickering non-stop behind her, but she just headed right to Lady Kareen’s apartments, trying to get there as fast as she could.
“This was foolish and reckless of you, Lady Missandra! What if Lady Cassandra gets blamed for what happened?
You went too far!”
“You didn’t do anything to help my sister!” Missandra retorted back. “So what, I should have let her be insulted? That woman had no right to come and pick on her! I can’t stand bitches and bullies!”
The girls just kept going at it until Cassandra reached Kareen’s place. Her argument somewhat made her panic even more and, when she finally spotted the Imperial Concubine, who was taking tea in her garden, Cassandra ran to her, falling at her feet, in tears.
“Cassandra, dear! What happened?”
But Cassandra had given too much of her strength in that little confrontation with Phetra, and for some reason, her nerves couldn’t take it. She had been so scared for her sister, for Dahlia, scared for herself and her baby and angry at once…
“Servants! Get some fresh water!”
“I’ll prepare…”
“Don’t you two dare move from here!” Roared Kareen, furious. “You two girls better not move an inch before telling me what in the world happened!”
Kareen was glaring at both Dahlia and Missandra, making the girls white with fear. The two of them were experiencing the Imperial Concubine’s wrath first-hand for the first time.
While several servants helped put Cassandra on a deckchair and brought her fresh water and dried fruits to help her recover from her emotions, Dahlia and Missandra told Kareen what had happened, bickering a bit in the process. She seemed to be caring for Cassandra more than listening, but Kareen wasn’t losing one word from them.
When they were done, Missandra was angry again, frowning while looking at Cassandra.
“I can’t believe that Princess dares to pick on my sister like this! She…”
Before she could end that sentence, Kareen stood and slapped her.
The noise resonated loud and clear in the little garden, making the servants run away like scared mice. Dahlia, too, had her eyes open wide in shock.
“I’m fed up with your reckless attitude!” Yelled the Imperial Concubine. “You are not in the Red District anymore! This isn’t some girl’s fight where you can talk back and get away with some light punishment! You are in the Imperial Palace! When are you going to realize that your childish attitude is putting your sister in danger?”
Missandra was completely speechless. She put a hand on her burning cheek, unable to say one word, staring at Kareen. The Imperial Concubine was absolutely infuriated with her.
“You can’t be stupid enough to provoke an Imperial Princess and think you’ll get away with it! Your sister has done her best to survive so far, you’re here for two days and you piss off an Imperial Princess! Do you think everyone here will let you get away with it as my children do? Kairen and Shareen are only putting up with your attitude for the love of Cassandra!”
“But she… that Princess is the one who came…”
“Yes, she did, and you should have let it for Cassandra to handle! If you hadn’t provoked her, Phetra wouldn’t have dared to pull out a weapon in my son’s apartments! Now you put a target on your back, and there is no
e we will be able to save you! Do you think it was smart to retort back if you’ll lose your head for it? This isn’t a child’s game! Stop acting like a brat and thinking you’ll always get away with that attitude! Whether you like it or not, this is a Dragon’s Den! Our Palace, our rules! Stop trying to apply your logic here, before you get us and your sister all killed!”
Missandra was on the verge of tears, now, and took a few steps back before running away, crying. Kareen gestured for a few servants to follow her, making sure she didn’t leave her apartments. She sighed, sitting back by Cassandra’s side.
“I didn’t say anything until now, Cassandra, but that sister of yours needed to hear it sooner or later.”
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” sighed Cassandra. “I should have been harsher with her earlier…”
“You just found your long-lost sister. It can’t be helped that you didn’t want to scold her too much. I hate having to fight with my children, too.”
Cassandra still felt sorry for Missandra. Somehow, she regretted forcing her younger sister to come to the Imperial Palace when she wasn’t prepared for it.
She couldn’t stop worrying. What if Phetra really managed to kill Missandra? She would never forgive herself.
“Do you think… Phetra will…?” She asked, not even able to bring the words to her lips.
“Don’t worry, Cassandra. That little bitch won’t get away with threatening you and my grandson this time. Just you wait until my son hears of this, he won’t sit still… Just because he seems so calm, those people shouldn’t forget he is the War God.”
Cassandra nodded, despite not feeling much better. However, she knew she needed to calm down. So much worrying was not good for her baby. Truth was, she had such a fright earlier… She tried to relax a bit, drinking the tea brought by the servants, but nothing could chase away the darkness in her heart. Kareen stayed by her side, caressing her arm gently.
To their surprise, Krai arrived first. The big black Dragon showed up all of a sudden, popping his head above one of Kareen’s walls with a growl.
“Where have you boy been!” Scolded Kareen.
Cassandra would never get used to the Imperial Concubine treating a humongous beast like Krai as she would a mischievous child… The Dragon ignored the mother, and scooted to Cassandra’s side, sniffing her frantically. She sighed and put her hand on his warm scales, feeling a bit better by its contact.
“Where is your master…” She sighed.
Krai growled softly, lying down next to her, though he was big enough for Cassandra to still caress his head. As she was waiting for her Prince to arrive, Cassandra remembered something she had meant to ask Kareen.
“Some of the first Prince’s concubines approached me earlier…”
“Did they?”
Cassandra explained their brief exchange to Kareen in a few words, looking for her opinion on the two Concubines. The Imperial Concubine stayed silent a few seconds, but she didn’t seem too surprised.
“I don’t think those two don’t have any ill intentions…” she said. “They are aware Sephir is weak, and could die in the upcoming years. If it happens, those women will need someone’s protection in the Imperial Palace. They are probably thinking you might be the next Empress, and are taking an early start on befriending you.”
“Why would anyone want to attack widows?” Asked Cassandra, confused. “No Concubine can get on the Empress throne without their Prince becoming Emperor first…”
“They may lose their Prince, but those two have children. When a new Emperor gets on the throne, he often gets rid of the potential competition as much and as fast as he can. That includes his brothers’ male descendants.
Those women are probably hoping you’ll watch out for their children if anything happens…”
Cassandra hadn’t thought of things that way. Kairen’s nephews were also potential rivals… If she remembered correctly, he had seven of them already. Prince Sephir had one son and two daughters so far, but he could still have more. Those concubines were probably seeking her protection just in case… However, Cassandra doubted Kairen himself would take any action against the children unless he had a good reason too.
Cassandra realized she had never seen any of the Princes’ children. Were they all staying with their mothers, out of harms’ way? Maybe in different locations than the Imperial Palace? She knew she wouldn’t want her son here unless she had no choice. It was too dangerous for a young heir. Moreover, just like her son, Kairen’s nephews probably each had young dragons, too…
“How many Dragons are there in total?” Asked Cassandra.
She had just realized, not only the young Princes’ dragons, but also, like Srai, some Dragons had probably outlived their masters as well!
Kareen seemed hesitant.
“As far as I know, about twenty… There are only seven adult dragons, that I know of for sure, but the old schmuck might be hiding more.”
Cassandra realized Kareen was right… The Emperor could have kept some of his dead brothers’ dragons, or some of his nephews’… No wonder the Dragon Empire was so strong compared to other countries. Not only they had Dragons, but their enemies couldn’t even know how many there really were! 2
She wondered if all the rumors she had heard about the army of Dragons were true. Cassandra couldn’t help but think it would be a truly beautiful sight to see all seven flying together…
“Cassandra!”
She sat up at the Prince’s call.
Kairen came in like a storm, headed right her way, looking half-worried, half-furious. Shareen was behind him, but Cassandra only got a quick glimpse of her. Her Prince immediately grabbed her in his arms, carrying her like she weighed nothing once again.
“Are you injured?” He asked while scanning her all over.
“No, no I’m fine, I just got a bit of a fright…”
“That sister knows when to get her in trouble,” said Kareen.
In a few words, Cassandra tried to explain what had happened, from the moment Phetra had appeared in her garden. At each sentence, the War God’s eyes darkened scaringly. Cassandra was worried he would get mad at Missandra, while she thought Kareen had already scolded and scared her enough.
“So?” Said Kareen. “What are you going to do now?”
“That bitch Phetra needs a lesson”, hissed Shareen. “A real one.”
“Wait, Missandra provoked her,” said Cassandra. “What if she gets punished?”
“Actually,” said Kareen, “your sister could use some punishment.”
Right after that, she walked off, leaving the siblings and Cassandra alone in the garden. She was worried.
“I know I shouldn’t have let Missandra provoke Phetra,” she said. “But I just couldn’t stop my sister, and things got out of hand so fast…”
“Don’t worry,” whispered her Prince. “You don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Cassandra could have argued she wasn’t alone, but in that case, it probably wasn’t what he actually meant. Kairen seemed relieved to see her fine, as he kept gently caressing her, refusing to let go of her for one second.
After another minute, Kareen suddenly returned, followed by Dahlia and Missandra. The younger sister looked deeply sorry, looking down and with her eyes all red and puffy. It broke Cassandra’s heart to see Missandra in such a state, but she couldn’t do anything at that point. She had no choice but to let the Imperial Family deal with it.
“Let’s go,” said Kairen.
“What? I am not going there!” suddenly claimed Missandra. “You said this woman would have me dead!”
“Missandra, enough!”
It was the first time Cassandra got mad at her or even raised her voice. The younger sister was speechless. However, she saw in Cassandra’s green, angry eyes that this time, she wouldn’t idly sit by and let her act however she wanted. Missandra finally understood. She had gotten too far, and she couldn’t oppose her sister or anyone there.
She nodded, defeated.