Page 17 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

It was Angela’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know, really. Some believe it’s the way they earn their keep—their services in exchange for food, clothing, survival. Others say Grim Jim forces the Collectors to do his bidding. Why they do what they do is stillunclear. But I can tell you one thing: If you ever find yourself within range of a Collector, you’d better run. Run, and don’t look back.”

Chapter Seven

Jeremiah Ebon, Ice Melter

“I can’t do this anymore,” Damon said.

He knelt at the edge of a chasm so dark he might as well have been staring at the backs of his eyelids. The entire cave was a dark, massive space in which he could barely see, but even that was nothing compared to the yawning pit before him. No one knew how deep it went because no one who had fallen into it had ever made it out, but many believed it was as deep as Frost Mountain was large—an infinite stretch of cold and darkness.

A gentle hiss rose from the pit. It was almost like it was beckoning to him, urging him to abandon all reason and take the jump. But the fear of falling into the chasm was greater than whatever appeal its depths might hold. Grim Jim had made sure of it.

“Do what?” boomed a voice.

It hadn’t come from inside the pit but somewhere above, reverberating around the cave and rattling his bones.

Damon chose his next words as carefully as he could. “I can’t be one of your Collectors anymore.”

Apparently, he was not careful enough. A tremor shook the entire cave. A second later, something crashed onto the ground behind him. A stalactite, he figured. He remained where he knelt, not daring to inch backward, not wanting to fall forward, ever conscious of the danger above.

This was what Grim Jim did to all who came to him. It was a simple reminder of the danger that awaited anyone who displeased him. Damon remembered something he’d read about when he was a teenager almost two decades ago: the sword of Damocles, a sword hanging over a man’s head by a single hair. That was how he felt now with Grim Jim overhead. Only it wouldn’t be a sword that caused his demise.

This was much, much worse.

“Explain yourself, child,” Grim Jim said. “And pray that you have breath in your lungs by the time you are through.”

Damon swallowed. Perhaps coming to him hadn’t been such a smart decision after all. But it was too late to turn back now.

“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, really,” he said. “You saved my life and took me in, gave me a chance to survive instead of leaving me to die out in the cold. But I can’t be a Collector anymore. All the pillaging, all the violence… I can’t take it anymore. With your permission…” His voice trailed off.

The silence that followed made Damon consider throwing himself into the pit. He wasn’t just speaking to a fellow dragon, nor his boss, either. This was an ancient power that had lived for centuries. Anyone would be wise to fear him, no matter how brave they considered themselves.

“So,” Grim Jim said, his tone sounding even more threatening than usual, “you want to take off after everything I’ve done for you.”

“I’m sorry, I know you’ve—”

“You may leave if that is what you want.”

Damon blinked. “What?”

“You’ve proved yourself to be one of my most skilled Collectors, Damon McLaurent, but if you want to leave, then so be it. Someone else will come along and take your place. You may go.”

He was… free? Relief washed over Damon, but just as suddenly, he was gripped with more trepidation. Grim Jim wouldn’t let him leave that easily. There had to be a catch.

His jaw clenched. “What do you require of me?”

Grim Jim gave a throaty laugh, and more stalactites shattered on the ground around Damon as the cave rumbled again.

“A wise question,” he said. “There is one last treasure I want you to acquire for me.”

Of course.“What... what is it?”

Another moment of uncomfortable silence passed.

“A female shifter arrived on Frost Mountain just yesterday,” he said. “I want you to find her and bring her to me. She is a snow leopard shifter, a rarity on this mountain. I must have her.”

“To add her to your treasures, a living being.” This sort of thing was exactly the reason Damon wanted to leave the Collectors. For years, he’d been uncomfortable doing Grim Jim’s bidding. Only now he had dared to speak his mind and this was Grim Jim’s requirement to let him go. It felt like the Ice Melter was toying with him.

“Do you question my wish?”

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