The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 43

 The Slavery Collar
You… You….Your Highness!”
The man couldn’t believe his own eyes. A member of the Imperial Family, in the Slave Market? What had gotten into him! He glanced at the concubine next to him, and the obvious collar on her neck. What was that? He probably wanted his new toy’s collar off, but… What was the deal with the dozens of slaves behind him?!
“Take that damn thing off.”
Kairen’s angry voice had everyone sweating in fear. One of the older men took a step forward, looking at Cassandra’s slavery collar with a suspicious look.
“It’s not that simple, Your Highness. Every slave has a binding contract and a debt to pay in order to buy their freedom back.”
*A debt?” repeated Cassandra, shocked. “Are you implying I owe you money?”
Kairen raised an eyebrow, not because of the slave trader, but in surprise at her sudden stance. It wasn’t often that he saw her really angry at someone.
Cassandra was shocked and furious. She stepped forward, glaring at the man like she never had before.
“You stole me like some merchandise from my tribe when I was a child! You ransacked every house, killed every man you couldn’t sell. You locked women and girls in cages, like we were animals! If any money has to be taken into account, you owe me more than a hundred whole lives could repay, for everything you’ve done! You owe me everything you took from me, my family, my life, my people!”
The man was shocked that the young Concubine had dared to yell at him. He glanced at the Prince, but seeing that he wasn’t taking part in the conversation, he crossed his arms and made an offended look.
“Young Lady, how is it my fault if your tribe, or whatever, fell because of some war or bandits? It’s not like people run here for slavery contracts! That’s how the business is. We get the slaves and find them places to work. You should consider yourself lucky. You were provided a roof and food after what happened to your people!”
“Lucky?” repeated Cassandra in astonishment. “You think slaves…are lucky?”
Some of the people following them started yelling at the slave trader, making him step back. The crowd behind him wasn’t too happy, either. In the Slave Market, which was basically a huge tent for buyers and sellers to meet and trade the slaves, there were about thirty to fifty slaves per trader. While their wrists, ankles, and neck were all bound by chains, they were free to glare and yell. Seeing the situation wasn’t good, some buyers promptly left. No one wanted to get caught between a slave-trader and an Imperial Concubine wearing a slavery collar…especially when she is backed-up by her Prince and his Dragon. (3)
Krai was standing outside of the tent, growling regularly. Plus, with its size, no one could ignore the little mountain of black scales that stood visible behind all of the crowd.
“I’ve spent almost half my life as a slave, and I should be grateful for it?” said Cassandra, outraged. “I should be grateful for all the times I’ve been whipped, beaten, and starved? For eating scraps and drinking dirty water? For risking my life every day? Thank you for the scars and nightmares?”
The slave trader rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed at her.
“What are you complaining about, huh? You got yourself an Imperial Prince, didn’t you? You, of all people, should be damn grateful you weren’t killed!”
– For the first time in her life, Cassandra felt utter hatred for someone. She took the little dagger at her hip, and
without warning, slashed the man’s arm. Not too deep, just enough for blood to appear, making him yell in pain.,
“You…you swine!”
“What? Aren’t you grateful? Isn’t this nothing?!” Cassandra yelled back angrily, with tears in her eyes. “Slaves get injuries like this every day! The only person I’m grateful to is My Lord, for not killing the abused goods that I am! For taking a liking to me, despite all the scars I carry!”
“Cassandra, enough,” said Kairen, taking the dagger from her shaking hand.
Gently, he put his hand around her, comforting her and kissing her wet cheek. Cassandra had never been so angry before. She couldn’t even express it correctly.
“It’s… Those men are…”
“Calm down,” he whispered.
He didn’t mind her getting mad at someone. He wouldn’t have blinked if she killed him, but he didn’t want to see her too worked up, not when she was pregnant. She was crying in anger and shaking. He turned to the man, glaring at him with a deadly look in his black eyes. O
“The collar. Now.”
The man hesitated. Even if this Concubine was upset or whatever, the Prince was a member of the Imperial Family, someone with money to no end. Maybe he could get some more before freeing that slave for him.
“I can do it, but the binding contract, and the fee…”
This time, Kairen had enough. Without warning, Kairen grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him back to the entrance. The man screamed like a pig, terrified. He didn’t expect the Prince would get mad over a slave, or even a Concubine. Kairen’s apparent calm and composure had misled him to think Cassandra was the only one who was
angry.
“Let me go! I’ll free her! I’ll free her right away! We have a key! A key that works for…”
Before he could end his sentence, Kairen threw him like a sack toward Krai. The Dragon, like a dog catching a ball, crunched him half-way. It didn’t even chew, just gulped the man down, ending his life in seconds. After that, it burped loudly, to everyone’s disgust. When Kairen walked back to his Concubine, Cassandra was frowning.
“Can Dragons get sick?” she asked.
“What would he get sick with?”
“Rotten meat,” she said with disgust. “It’s the second one today.”
Kairen smirked.
“His stomach can handle fire.”
He then turned to the other slave traders present, all of their faces had gone completely white with fear. Before any of them wondered how many humans a dragon could eat in a day, they all ran to Cassandra, each bringing some very odd key. Kairen kicked one that had come too close, warning the others not to overstep that range.
He grabbed one of the keys and gently turned Cassandra around. Her head was spinning a bit. Really, now? Was it…really happening? She noticed her own breathing was getting louder, her heartbeat ringing in her ears.
With a loud clicking, the two half-rings of metal fell at her feet. Cassandra looked down at the rings for a few seconds, stunned. It was more than just those pieces of metal, it was her neck, and the sensation of lightness, that struck her. 5
There would be no more constant heaviness around her neck, no more pain. She slowly brought her fingers up, touching her skin. It was gone, really gone. It wasn’t just the collar that was removed; it was like a hundred pounds of sorrow, fear, and pain had been lifted off her shoulders.
Cassandra silently started crying, hiding her face in Kairen’s shoulder. Her Prince held her close, caressing her back and neck, waiting for her to calm down.
With her cheeks still wet, she suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him without warning. The War God wasn’t expecting this. Never before had Cassandra been so passionate, demanding, and commanding. Yet, it felt so incredibly good. He answered her kiss, completely forgetting the world around them. It was like another woman had taken over her body, claiming him, hungry and restless. She caressed his cheek, his nape, keeping him to herself. Kairen was pleasantly surprised, his arms around her waist, hugging her until they parted, both of them out of breath.
For a while, they stayed silent, their faces close to each other, in a slight daze.
“Thank you,” whispered Cassandra.
Kairen didn’t answer, only wiping her tears and kissing her gently again, while Cassandra stood against his chest, her eyes closed. She was still trembling a bit, but he continued to hold her and turned to the slave traders.
* The others. Now.”
The slave traders looked at the large group, a bit hesitant, but all of them had seen or heard the sound of a man being eaten alive by a Dragon. No one wanted to be the main dish. They rushed toward the other slaves, each carrying one of the keys, and the collars fell one by one. People started crying, screaming, and laughing in joy. Some even hugged their siblings or friends, overwhelmed with relief. Cassandra only listened. She still had her eyes closed, leaning on Kairen’s chest; her Prince’s hands holding her tightly.
When they were done with the group, the slave traders returned, visibly pissed by what had just happened. Freeing fifty or so slaves in a day wasn’t a part of their plans at all. Kairen’s deadly glare on them wasn’t stopping, making them feel as if something was wrong.
“S… Sir, we are done…”
“I said, free the others.”
For a few seconds, they didn’t understand. They had obviously freed all of the group, so why… Then, their faces turned white, one by one. He couldn’t possibly mean all of the slaves? Yet, the Imperial Prince’s glare was obvious. The men stepped back.
“Your Highness, this… this is our trading business. This is how we…we make our living.”
“If we free all our merchandise, we…”
Kairen’s unwavering expression was extremely scary and disturbing. Three of the slave traders turned back and ran to free their slaves, with shaking hands. The men left were hesitant. He couldn’t be… serious, could he?
All of a sudden, a loud growl was heard. Krai began to bite and tear the tent away. Even though the tent was dozens of meters long and wide, the dragon pulled it like a child would have played with a handkerchief.
Kairen stayed silent again, but Cassandra stepped closer, talking to the closest trader.
“The man who sold me, sold my younger sister too. His name was Nubar.”
“Nu…Nubar died years ago, Madam.”
“How can I find my sister?” she insisted, still visibly upset.
The man hesitated, but someone from behind him spoke first.
“How…how old was she, Madam?”
“She was seven.”
“Then…she was probably sold to a brothel.”
Cassandra felt her heart sink.
“To a brothel? I just said she was seven years old!”
“They take the young girls when they are very young, so they can train them and ensure their virginity. If they are very pretty, they can be sold at very high prices to wealthy nobles, but most of them are kept as prostitutes.”
Cassandra almost fainted. A brothel… Her sister had really been taken to some brothel? She felt like crying again, and throwing up. Those people were less than human. She turned to Kairen, shaking her head, feeling sick.
“I want to leave,” she cried. “I want to leave this place. I never want to step foot here, ever again.”
Kairen slowly nodded, and carried her outside, Cassandra’s arms around his neck. When he reached Krai, the dragon was growling in the direction of the slave traders, its eyes darkening,
“Stuff yourself,” the War God whispered.