The servant, who knew very little about the dragons, nodded obediently and yanked Cassandra’s arm, forcing her closer to the beast. Terrified, Cassandra tried in vain to free herself. Tears slid silently down her face, as the pain from her fresh injuries made themselves known. After all the violent manhandling from Lyria and the servants, within the past fifteen minutes, she didn’t even have the strength to break free. Within seconds she was face to face with the Black Dragon for the second time that day.
The servant kicked her in the side, forcing her down to the dragon’s feet. As they had been working or resting in the Palace, none of them had witnessed the earlier scene in the arena. He genuinely believed Lyria was right and was doing what the dragon wanted.
He didn’t even get the chance to gasp before a giant claw brutally pierced through his chest. In one movement, he found himself pinned to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
People began to scream in panic at the sight of the limp body, pierced by the gigantic claw. Cassandra, also shocked, brought her hand to her mouth in disgust.
“What is going on here?”
His voice thundered out, silencing the screams. Still in front of the dragon, Cassandra turned her head toward him.
The Third Prince Kairen had just stepped into the courtyard. His arrival had almost the same effect as that of his beast. However, some of the concubines were also flustered, too. He was a warrior indeed, and a well-sculpted one at that. Wearing only his large fur coat, part of his muscular chest was left exposed, just enough to leave many women blushing.
As he stepped forward, Lyria, as arrogant as ever, turned towards him. She knew perfectly well who he was, but her new status as one of the other Princes’ concubines clearly gave her enough confidence to address the War God.
“My Lord! Please excuse the ruckus, this shameless slave of mine has angered your beast, I fear.”
It was hard to say if she was acting seductively on purpose or not. Her pink dress was very sexy, flattering her voluptuous curves, and her hair and makeup were flawlessly done to enhance her beauty. Anytime she talked, her red lips would pout a little, a quality that made many men succumb to her charms.
Kairen, however, only glared at her.
“Who is this whore?” he asked in his low, cold voice.
“It’s one of my slaves, my Lord,” mumbled Lyria. “A simple...”
“I was not talking to you.”
In a split second, anyone who had not caught on already, realized that he was actually addressing the slave, not the mistress standing between them. While Lyria flushed red in embarrassment and anger, Cassandra lowered her head, stifling her sobs.
“She... she is Lady Lyria, my... mistress...”
Maybe she should have added “former”, but that didn’t seem necessary at the time. The dragon suddenly growled again, impatient, and moved to approach Cassandra. Its obsidian scales felt warm as it clumsily curved its enormous body around her. It was hard to ignore all the blood on its paw, but Cassandra turned her head towards its face - the red eyes were fixed on her. People around them were completely shocked by the scene that was unfolding. The War God’s dragon was acting like a clingy pet towards a worthless slave!
Kairen suddenly drew out his sword.
“I told you to stay in the room.”
Afraid that he was mad at her, Cassandra bowed her head. Her cheeks were still wet with tears as she struggled to explain herself with her hoarse voice.
“I... I meant to, but... I was brought here...”
“By whom?” he asked, impatiently.
Before Cassandra even answered, the two men who had dragged her all the way here screeched in panic. The idea of the Prince’s wrath directed at them was so terrifying that they had given themselves up without even realizing. Kairen’s glare caught them right away, and they started to run away in fear.
The Prince clicked his tongue and raised his head to exchange a glance with his dragon. As if obeying a silent order, the beast moved, crushing one of them under his paw, and chomping down on the other one. It was over within seconds. A rain of blood fell from his maw, spilling on some of the concubines and servants, who screamed again in fear and disgust. Cassandra got some on her shoulder too and she brought her hand over her mouth to hold back the strong nausea that rose in her stomach from the smell; the gruesome sight of the beast chewing on the servant still fresh in her mind.
Lyria, splattered in blood too, screamed. She was finally catching up with the reality of this situation and turned her terrified eyes towards the Third Prince Kairen, who was silently walking towards her, like a deadly shadow.
“Your Highness! This slave was mine! She... she is just an insignificant slave! I am your brother’s doted concubine! You can’t...”
Her voice died as the sword pierced her chest, right between her perky breasts. Her eyes were still open wide, in surprise, as she fell back like an inanimate doll.
With this final act, the bloodbath had scared the last of the remaining crowd away, with the exception of a few servants who were still frozen in fear. Cassandra was shaking.
She watched Kairen calmly retrieve his sword and wash the blood off in a fountain. The War God was acting as if killing one of his brother’s concubines had been a totally normal occurrence. Once his weapon was cleaned and back in his belt, he turned toward Cassandra. As he was walking up to her, her mind turned over, she had no idea how to react. She was scared of this man. Her eyes went from the body of the woman she had feared the most for years, to him, who was now even scarier.
“Are you injured?”
