The War God’s Favorite
Chapter 28
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. Those things 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. 1
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…”
“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.
This did not cool down the Prince’s anger one bit. He glared furiously at the men present, despite Cassandra’s attempt to have him calm down. Clenching his fists, he resisted the urge to break or throw something across the tent with all his might.
“Let’s go, please? My Lord?” she asked in a soft voice.
Kairen’s jaw was still clenching, yet he grabbed Cassandra’s waist and suddenly carried her, holding her on one arm as if she weighed nothing. They left the tent as she put her arms around his shoulders, while the men behind them let out a big sigh of relief.
There wasn’t a word exchanged until they reached the Prince’s tent. Cassandra only held on and focused on the cold breeze. Was the evening colder than usual? Or was it the Prince’s silent anger only giving her that impression? She held on a bit tighter as they reached the tent, before he let her down.
Kairen was still frowning and visibly unhappy about what had happened. Cassandra took a deep breath in, and stepped closer to him, putting her hands on his torso again.
“My Lord, it’s fine. I knew it wouldn’t work. I’ve seen many try to force those locks for hours without it ever coming off.”
He stayed silent, looking at her with those dark, black eyes of his. It was hard for Cassandra to guess what he was thinking at that moment. Was he disappointed? Or just angry things weren’t going as he wanted? 3
After a long while, though, the frown on his face seemed to dissipate, and he put his large hands on her waist, looking at her with a calm expression. Cassandra was expecting him to say something, but instead he leaned in to kiss her, a soft very gentle kiss. She didn’t know what to do, so she answered naturally to his lips, feeling comfort in it.
The collar was still there, heavy and uncomfortable, but as long as she was by the Prince’s side, Cassandra felt safe. She didn’t want to leave his side anymore. She enjoyed this kiss, and for once, claimed more with her tongue. One of Kairen’s hands went up, twirling his fingers in her long hair like he liked to do.
Gathering her courage, Cassandra gently pushed him towards the bed, blushing from her own boldness. Of course, her strength was barely enough to make the War God move, but as soon as he understood her intent, Kairen complied and stepped back, until he could sit on the bed. As he did, he held Cassandra across his lap, not interrupting their tender kiss. She was starting to feel a bit hot. How long had it been since their last…intimate moment? In that short while, she already missed his hot skin, his large hands, and musky smell.
“Cassandra…” he muttered against her ear as their lips parted, making her blush.
She loved the way he pronounced her name, too. There was this intense mix of sensuality and tenderness in his deep voice.
With her fidgety hands, she took the cloak off his shoulders, exposing the muscular, naked torso she now knew by heart. Kairen had already taken her cloak off, but for once, he let her do most of the undressing, only kissing her shoulder, collarbone, and finally her breasts as soon as she exposed them.
Sucking and stroking them, he made her blush in a matter of seconds. Cassandra had always felt her breasts were on the smaller side, but that didn’t seem to bother him… The War God kept playing with them, arousing her, and making it more difficult for Cassandra to focus on taking her dress off. Once she finally had it off though, he smiled and pulled on her hips to have her closer, sitting on top of his prominent bump. She shivered a bit, both excited and cold, as her inner temperature didn’t match the one inside the tent.
Kairen’s glance, as he let go of her rosy breasts, went to her collar. Cassandra was afraid this might anger him again for a bit, but the Prince suddenly smirked.
“Once we get this thing off, let’s have you wear something that really fits you…gold or silver…gems…”
“Like a necklace?” she whispered, a bit surprised.
“Anything you want,” he nodded. “Gold, gems, jewelry… We’ll get it all. I want to see you wear it…”
Cansand thought about disagreeing, but eventually, she only blushed and kissed him. She knew how strange and whimsical he could be sometimes. She didn’t want to talk him out of it until they got to it. He complained so often about her appearance as a slave, she had to be a bit more careful about it.
Kairen slowly laid down, Cassandra still on top of him, and they both used their hands to help him get out of his pants. She wondered for a second if they should change positions, but the Prince pulled her arms, having her ride
Rubbing against each other, she felt their equal arousals. He didn’t even touch her, yet she was already wet from Their kissing only… Feeling his pride standing tall and hard against her thigh was a torture she couldn’t endure any longer. Cassandra bit her lip, her hands in his, and slowly sat down, feeling him fill her with a long exhale.