Page 66 of The War God’s Favorite

“My Lord!” exclaimed Cassandra.

Kairen held out his hand, and helped her climb on the dragon’s back, making her sit in front of him. She was obviously glad to see him, her cheeks a bit red, and a smile on her face. The Prince immediately pulled her closer for a long, deep kiss. His tongue enticed her, and Cassandra realized that they hadn’t had sex since the hot springs.

The black dragon interrupted their kiss while taking off, and Cassandra felt a bit disappointed. She held onto Kairen’s cloak, as close to him as she could. It was not dinner time yet, could it be he had come to get her sooner on purpose?

However, as they flew over the Camp, Cassandra soon realized they weren’t going to the Prince’s tent. Where to then? The hot springs maybe? She had liked it a lot, and hoped they would go back.

To her surprise, Krai landed in front of the forges. Why there? Cassandra wanted to ask, but Kairen helped her down and walked in one of the tents before she could. He pushed her gently in front of an old man.

“Here. Undo this thing.”

Cassandra was a bit surprised, until she understood he meant her collar! She turned to him, a bit concerned.

“My Lord, I…”

“Cassandra, sit here.”

He had her sit on a little chair, but after a few seconds, she realized the abnormal silence around them. What was wrong? All the men present were either looking at her or the Prince in awe. Could it be…because he had called her by her name?

“What are you waiting for? Take this damn collar off her!”

The Prince’s sudden anger made everyone step back, fear and surprise on every face. Then, one of the older men stepped up, standing in front of Cassandra.

“Young Lady, if I may…”

He leaned in to observe the collar, and Cassandra held her long hair out of the way. She could feel the old blacksmith’s hands examining the collar, checking the system and metal. After a while, he stood up and turned to the Prince.

“It won’t be easy, My Lord. The cuffs can be removed easily, but collars meant for slaves have really precise systems.”

“Can you do it or not?”

“We can try, but...this type of lock isn’t made to simply be undone, Commander.”

He turned to one of his colleagues, who nodded and examined Cassandra’s collar too, but this time he used some tools. She could hear the mechanism at work, and her heart suddenly beat faster. Could they really do it? Could they take it off? Finally?

Kairen stood by her side without moving, his eyes fixated on her collar, not missing any of the blacksmiths’ movements. For a long while, Cassandra sat with her head bent, wondering if this could really happen. But the longer it took, the more she doubted it. Those mechanisms were made so that slaves would not be able to escape. Many had tried to get rid of them already, but it was so complex.

Just as she started to feel discouraged, a large hand caressed her cheek. She smiled softly and closed her eyes, relying on the Prince’s warmth. Cassandra slowly calmed down. She would be fine. Even if the collar didn’t come off, she had him.

Suddenly, the sound of metal breaking was heard, and something scratched her. Cassandra frowned from the little pain, trying to touch the injury by reflex. The blacksmiths stepped back, looking terrified. The Prince was glaring at them.

“You useless…”

“We’re so very sorry, Your Highness! This lock can’t be undone simply by forcing it! The Dragon Empire would lose its slaves daily if we could.”

As the man kept apologizing and explaining, Cassandra glanced at her shoulder to finally see what had happened. Her collar was still there, but one of the blacksmiths’ instruments, something that looked like a thin little spindle, was half stuck in it, its other half broken on the floor. It had probably broken when trying to force open the collar’s mechanism, and scratched her shoulder by accident.

Cassandra saw the Prince’s hand going for the sword at his belt, but she immediately stood up in front of him, putting her hands on his torso, trying to get his attention on her.

“My Lord! It’s fine, I expected so…”

“If those men were more competent…” he hissed, but Cassandra shook her head.

“No. They are right. It is this Empire’s will that slaves shouldn’t be freed so easily.”

Cassandra’s words finally got to him, as he looked down at her.

It was his Empire, his father, and the slavery system that had put this collar on her neck from the beginning. Those blacksmiths were right. It was no easy matter, and not a simple collar. There was a lot more weight behind it, and Cassandra’s sentence.

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