It felt good to make him happy. I liked it. He had done so much for me, including rescuing Ella, so I could give him this one.
“And now you can use alpha command too?” Ella asked. “I heard you do it back there.”
“That’s new,” I said, chewing on my lower lip in thought. Caz’s thumb dropped between my eyebrows, smoothing out the frown lines.
“There will be time to figure that out later,” he rumbled as I playfully swatted his hand away. “Don’t need to worry.”
I smiled, nuzzling my head against him once more. He responded by squeezing me tighter.
Damn, I loved when he did that.
“That’s unbelievable,” Ella said.
“I know. Trust me. I’m still struggling to believe it. But I can feel it, and that has never wavered,” I told her. “If you could only know, Ella. It’s … I can’t describe it.”
“Must be nice,” she whispered. “Though I don’t know if I could trust anyone right now anyway.”
“Was it bad?” I asked in a soft tone.
“Only when Yarl or one of his sycophants was there,” she said with a tremor.
Dirk’s hand twitched in his lap. I didn’t knowif he wanted to comfort her or throttle someone. The distant look on his face could have meant either.
“I’m sorry I didn’t find you earlier,” Caz growled. “Whoever bought you worked hard to hide where you went.”
“Some might say too hard,” Dirk put in.
I frowned. This was the first I’d heard of that. “What are you saying?”
“Dirk suspects that someone has figured out you were the reason for the market raid he carried out,” Caz said. “That they linked you and your friends and thus made it even harder for us to find them.”
“Oh.” Ella and I traded worried looks. “That sounds bad.”
“It could be,” Caz agreed. “But we don’t know. They’re covering their tracksverycarefully if so.”
Dirk looked at me. “I don’t have proof, but I can feel it. You know?”
I nodded.
Ella hissed, her hand going to the collar. Dirk’s face clouded over with fury as he watched her fight back whatever was going on.
“I think I’m ready for this to come off,” Ella said, whisper-quiet. “If you think you can truly do it.”
“I can,” Caz rumbled, sliding me aside so he could get to his feet. “The bond isonly as strong as the dragon who creates it. So any stronger dragon can break it.”
Ella looked at me and then back at Caz hesitantly. “How do you know you’re stronger? What happens if you aren’t?”
Caz paused, obviously gauging something. Then he nodded slowly, flicking a look my way.
“You should tell her,” he said, turning and motioning for Dirk to follow him to the kitchen.
Dirk hesitated, his eyes on Ella, but in the end, he went after his older brother.
“Tell me what?” Ella asked when they were out of easy hearing.
“That Caz knows he can break the collar because there isn’t a stronger dragon.”
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?”
