“Cassandra.”
“Just a little sip on my tongue,” she promised. “For the taste.”
Despite his frowning, he let her take a little bit, as promised. He was afraid his mother’s bad habits would slowly transfer onto the young concubine somehow. Hence, Kairen was quick to take the glass out of her hands and finish it in one go. Cassandra didn’t even protest. Her thoughts were already elsewhere.
“The baby... Maybe we should find him a name already.”
“You can pick whatever you want.”
“Really?”
Kairen nodded. He didn’t really care, and trusted Cassandra fully. The young concubine wasn’t surprised or disappointed. She slowly smiled, trying to think. She would have loved to give the baby a name from the Rain Tribe, but this was a future dragon Prince they were talking about. She couldn’t risk picking something too odd. What about a Dragon Empire name then? She quite liked them.
“How did your mother pick your name? And Shareen’s? Do you know?”
“She just took hers and twisted it. concubines like to give names similar to theirs to their children.”
Cassandra could understand. Among the many, many children of the Emperor, this was a way to remind him of themselves through their children. She doubted Kareen had exactly the same idea, though. It was probably her own possessiveness over her children rather than her relationship to the Emperor that had prevailed.
“Kairen?”
“Hm?”
“What about... your siblings? The others? Do you know their names?”
He nodded.
“My mother has them buried here. I saw their names on the stones. Suiren, Shaneen, Kassen.”
Cassandra felt her heart pinch a bit at each name. She couldn’t forget the painful words of the Imperial Concubine over her children’s deaths. There was one question she had been curious about, though.
“How is Srai still alive? I thought a dragon died after his tamer passed, but there are exceptions, aren’t there?”
“He was old enough. Newborn dragons are more fragile. Most die with us if we die young.”
Cassandra nodded. That explained why Srai had been the only one to survive. According to Kareen, the young Suiren, her firstborn, had died at six. Apparently, it was enough for his dragon to survive, even disabled. But her second and fourth children had died as infants. She put protective hands around her belly. How did the abandoned dragons feel? Missing a part of themselves.She couldn’t imagine Krai without Kairen, or the other way around. Would her baby be as close to his dragon? She couldn’t wait to meet both of them. Her two babies, the human and the dragon one. Cassandra silently promised herself: with or without Kairen, she would protect their child. She would do anything for him.
“Cassandra.”
He gently pulled her into his embrace, taking her away from her deep thinking. Cassandra chuckled, putting her half-emptied bowl to the side, and snuggled against him.
“I’m tired,” she said.
“Then sleep. If the rain calms down, we will have our Ceremony tomorrow morning.”
“I hope so.”
Cassandra had no problem falling asleep that evening. She was soothed by the sounds of the downpour outside, the wind shimmering in the leaves, and the slow breathing of he Prince against her ear. A peaceful sleep after a nice evening outing, and a long, warm bath was just the best.
Chapter16
When she woke up the next morning, her senses immediately picked up the sound of the downpour, still ongoing outside. She smiled and turned around to face Kairen. However, she was surprised to find her Prince still deep asleep. This was a first! He would usually wake up the second she moved. Yet, Kairen was still obviously sleeping, with his slow, steady breath and serene expression. Cassandra bit her lip, only too happy to secretly witness such a precious moment.
He looked a bit younger when he wasn’t frowning or glaring with those dark obsidian eyes of his. She loved being able to scrutinize him from up close. She often forgot their age difference. He was a grown man, while she had just barely gotten to adulthood. She brushed his beard with her fingertips. He hadn’t cut it in a few days, but she liked it.
As Cassandra was still caressing his beard as gently as possible, Kairen swiftly moved to wrap his arm around her, his eyes still closed. The young concubine pouted a bit.
“So you were awake after all?”
