Chapter 27 #2
Ella scoffed. “Oh, come on. He’s strong, Anna. I believe that. But Yarl is one of the elites. He practically lives at the Ice Citadel. You’re saying Caz is stronger than all of them? What about the ice tyrant himself?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Caz, who was clearly listening but not reacting.
“Well, I guess she’s got you there. You technically aren’t stronger than the ice tyrant. Are you … Casimir?”
I looked back to Ella as I spoke, watching her face and trying not to take too much perverse pleasure in the slew of reactions that followed.
The confusion played out in scrunching up of muscles, lowering of eyelids, chewing of lips, and finally, a slow, unsure noise. Then she jerked upright, her mouth falling open, every muscle tight.
“There it is,” I said as she blinked. Then twice. And again.
“Casimir,” Ella repeated. “You called him Casimir.”
“Yes. I did.”
“As in, the Casimir, fourth of the name?”
I nodded slowly.
Ella gaped. “And he’s mated to you?”
“Yyyyup.” I drawled it out, enjoying it. It was about time someone else had to deal with the news like I had.
“Oh, wow.” Ella snapped around to face Casimir. “My lord, uh, sire. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, I just—”
“No.” he lifted a hand. There was no command in his tone, but he didn’t need it. “Here among us, I’m just Caz. I am absolutely not him.”
“Um. Okay.” Ella looked back and forth before plunking down into her seat and massaging her temples. “Oh, dear.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I said. “Probably faster than I will.”
“Right.” Ella leaned heavily on the armrest. “Any more big surprises like that?”
Dirk and Caz returned, plates laden with food for all four of us, thanks to Florian’s efforts.
“I don’t think so,” Dirk said, setting down the plates.
Ella eyed the food, the fingers of her right hand tucked under the collar. “I don’t think I can eat right now. Can we get this off first?”
Caz nodded, motioning for me to move to Ella’s side.
“It won’t be pleasant,” he said.
“Having it on hasn’t been a picnic either,” Ella said, looking right in his face. “Take it off, please.”
“Very well.”
Caz took the collar in his hands, and almost immediately, frost formed around the band. It stretched back over his fingers and toward his forearms while also circling around the back of the collar.
Ella flinched, but she did not pull away.
I hovered next to my friend, ready for anything.
“Ready?” Caz growled in a deep voice.
“Yes.”
With a powerful snarl, Caz twisted his hands in opposite directions. Metal shrieked with the effort and began to twist under the immense pressure. His muscles bulged, standing out against his skin as he wrenched at the collar until it snapped apart.
Frost clouds billowed out from the broken ends and toward Ella’s face.
She jerked back with a cry, but Caz shoved a fist into the icy cloud first, stopping it short.
His eyes glowed with silver-green light, and the frost cloud slowed its attack before eventually retreating to circle around his wrist as he fought the power.
Taking a deep breath, Caz breathed out frost of his own. Brighter and purer than the cloud circling his wrist, it contacted Yarl’s power and froze it solid.
“Wretched things,” the ice tyrant grunted and sliced his other hand across the icy mass, his fingers out like blades.
Two things happened next.
Yarl’s power shattered into nothingness.
And Ella began to scream at the top of her lungs.
“Ella!” I shouted, snatching her up in my arms as she thrashed. “Ella it’s me. It’s Anna. I’m here. Ella, it’s okay!”
I eased her to the floor while Caz stepped away, taking deep breaths.
“No. No. No,” Ella sobbed, clawing at her face before she screamed some more.
“Caz? What do we …”
Ella’s eyes rolled up into her skull and she fainted.
“Ella!” I screamed as Caz wrapped giant arms around me, holding me still.
“Hush,” he growled in my ear. “She’s still alive.”
I struggled some more, but Caz was far stronger and simply held on, not letting me go for a second, knowing that I needed his touch, his presence, while my friend lay unconscious on the floor in front of me.
“She’ll be okay,” Dirk said, coming to crouch next to her. A strange look filled his eyes. “I know it looks bad, but it’s normal, Anna. She just needs time to sleep it all off.”
“How long?”
“That depends on how strong she is. Days or weeks,” Caz said, adjusting his grip around me.
I gasped at the sight of his other arm. It was bright, ugly red from his wrist halfway to his elbow.
“Yarl is an ass, but he’s no slouch with his power,” Caz said in answer to my unspoken question.
“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”
We all looked up to see Holly at a landing above, looking down at us in the reclining area.
“But the collar. You must have it off,” Kolar urged.
“Sure. But not yet. I’m going to need to be rested and ready to go through that,” Holly said.
“But—”
“Kolar, she said she’s not ready,” Caz ordered firmly. “Once she’s rested, take her to meet up with the others. Keep her there until she’s ready. Understood?”
Kolar snapped to attention. “Of course.”
“Good.” Caz’s eyes were starting to glow. “Dirk. If it’s okay with Anna, take Ella to one of the suites and get her in a bed. Stay near so she can wake to a friendly face. She’ll need it.”
Dirk looked at me. I wanted to protest, but Ella was unconscious, and neither of them seemed worried for her, so I did what I’d done a lot of lately. I trusted my mate. He had more experience removing collars than I did.
Moving with utmost tenderness, Dirk scooped Ella up into his arms and rose to his feet, carrying her effortlessly up the stairs. He was careful to avoid hitting any furniture or walls. In fact, he was very careful.
“I’m going to take Durion some food,” Florian said from the kitchen, heading out the back way after the other dragon.
In seconds, I was alone with Caz. He was breathing hard. Using his good arm, he wrapped me in to his chest. I molded my body to his, basking in his touch and the calming effect it always brought.
“What about you and me?” I asked. “What do we do now?”
“You come with me,” he growled, his eyes burning green with desire. “We’re going to finish that conversation about you using alpha command on me.”