Princess of Dragons

Chapter 67

Kaisog landed right in the middle of the Barbarian camp. Lodin slid down from the drake, his sword drawn before his feet so much as touched the ground.

They'd both spotted her a mile away, of course. She stuck out like a sore thumb among these people. Even if she wore one of their furs.

"Kaisog! Lodin!" She quickly took off at a run. Why no one stopped her was a mystery to him. What did they have planned? "I am so glad to see you!" she said as she unceremoniously rammed right into him, wrapping her arms around his waist as though it was the most natural course of action.

"Yeah..." he trailed off, arms held out awkwardly.

Kaisog took a step forward, lowering his head so that his body shielded the two of them. Snarling and glaring at the people surrounding them.

Lodin quickly disentangled himself from her embrace and pushed her behind him.

"Wha-"

"Stay behind me," he ordered, looking to find what had made the drake react.

"Jahar. Put the sword away," An older man ordered a young one. The Chief, then.

"Know that you have made an enemy of the Southern Kingdom, Barbarians," Lodin told them, gripping his sword.

"We do not wish to cause you any harm, Lodin Morian, king of the Southern Kingdom." The leader turned his strikingly blue eyes at Lodin.

"In that case, it was a foolish decision to ally yourselves with the king of the West." He gained an agreeing growl from the dragon above.

"We would never stoop as low as to ally ourselves with that tyrant."

"You have gotten it all wrong, Lodin." Ciara placed a hand on his shoulder. "They are not our enemies. Not at all."

He frowned. Had he missed something or hadn't they also kidnapped her? Even if they hadn't allied themselves with the West, they'd still have drawn value from her as a hostage. They'd done it before.

"Look." She gestured at the group of people ahead. "None of them have drawn a single weapon."

"How can you be so sure?" His eyes flew between her and the leader. The Chief's little nod didn't miss Lodin.

"They are the Tao-clan," she said, a grand smile forming on her lips.

"They-" His mind blanked. "Just like your brother?"

She nodded. "Their Chief, Rashil Tao, is his uncle."

"I see." Lodin turned to the leader of this clan. Though he hadn't seen her brother alive, he could still see the resemblance. "It seems I was mistaken."

He didn't know a lot about the Tao-clan, as most of that knowledge was buried in the aftermath of the Great War. What he did know, however, was that they had always been extremely loyal to the Dragon Kingdom and any of its members. From the looks of things, that loyalty still held strong.

Rashil stepped forward as Kaisog relaxed his stance, sitting down instead.

"It cannot be helped. We do not have the most stellar reputation among your kingdoms." He watched as the king put away his sword. "It is a pleasure to meet you, king of the South."

"Likewise."

This was a situation he had never thought he would take part in in a thousand winters. Once again, the impossible had become possible through that girl.

"Where did you even get the idea from?" Ciara asked, coming out from behind him. "That they would have allied?"

"Well. They were spotted by the western border, and then they kidnapped you. During war, that is a natural conclusion, I should think."