Page 224 of The White King's Favorite

Cece released a little breath of cold mist too. Strangely, her dragon’s coolness warmed Cessilia’s heart, and brought her peace.

“...Did you come back because you were worried about me?” she muttered.

Cece growled faintly.

“Thank you... for giving me a second chance.”

She stayed for a long moment like this, taking deep breaths with her. The cold, almost eerie white mist around her dragon was making her feel safe, and calmed her down. She could feel her lungs fill with fresh air as some heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders. With Cece there, she felt incredibly strong, serene and complete. Just like her dragon, she was different from the young woman Cece had parted with, years ago. The two of them were more mature, stronger, fiercer, and more united than ever. The two of them stood still for just a few minutes, as a quiet reunion.

After a while, Cessilia stepped back, her hands still on her dragon’s cheeks.

“I think we have to go now. Sorry for bringing you back into such a mess.”

Cece released a little spat out a mouthful of snow, and nudged Cessilia’s face with her snout, making her smile.

“You’re right. Let’s go.”

The two of them turned heads toward Jinn, who was still trying to fight the ice it was trapped in. Sadly for the Red Dragon, Cece’s thick ice wasn’t going to melt anytime soon. It tried to move again, but Cece suddenly growled as a warning, making Jinn whimper and calm down.

“...We’ll take care of him later,” said Cessilia. “Let’s go help the others now.”

Cece turned around, and Cessilia quickly climbed on her dragon’s back. When they took off, Cessilia couldn’t help but glance one last time at the beach, Jisel’s body still lying there and getting smaller as Cece flew up. She sighed, and then turned her eyes forward.

Her dragon knew exactly where to head first. Flying through the rain, Cece took her back to the Capital’s streets, flying above the main place of conflict. Just like Krai or Kian, Cece was too big for the narrow alleys of the island, so Cessilia jumped down, landing on a roof and sliding down until she hit the street. She had been dropped just streets away from the main battle, but the number of fires going on in the area was worrying her; the alleys were filled with dark smoke, ashes, and people fleeing. Some recognized her, and tried to run to her to beg for help, but Cessilia knew she had to keep going. Apologizing when she could, she kept running, trying to find her cousin’s figure she had spotted from above.

“Tessa!”

“Cessi!”

As soon as she heard her, her cousin stopped her fight and turned around, and the two of them ran to each other. The two women jumped into each other’s arms, relieved.

“You’re good!” exclaimed Tessandra. “Damn, I was starting to get real worried... Is that Cece up there?!”

“It is,” smiled Cessilia. “She’s back.”

“She’s back and with a massive upgrade, you mean! What the heck did she eat to get that big? And... is it just me or has she changed color too?”

“Just a bit,” Cessilia chuckled.

“What about... up there?” muttered Tessandra, glancing toward the castle.

“...I got it. I just wanted to check on you guys here first.”

“If it wasn’t for those fucking fires, it would be better. We’ve pretty much won the fight already, but putting out those fires is a bit more complicated than just kicking some asses. Don’t worry, though, we got this. You go get your man, alright?”

“I will. But first...”

Cessilia glanced up at the sky, at her dragon, and Cece loudly screamed back. Then, the Silver Dragon did a beautiful arc in the sky, and dived down on the Capital. Right before it hit the building, it suddenly flapped its gigantic wings, and blew a long wave of ice and snow above the whole area. Everyone stopped, speechless, to witness the incredible white specks raining down on them. Not only had Cece blown an ice mist over the building, but the rain itself was cooled down, and came down in little snow crystals above the streets. Thanks to that, the fires were all almost immediately blown out and dampened, leaving smoke plumes everywhere. Tessandra’s jaw dropped.

“What in the world was that?! You got a snow dragon now?!”

“An ice dragon.”

“Ah,” scoffed Tessandra. “Too cool to play the water dragon now, uh? Well, I’m glad our girl is back... and you too.”

Cessilia smiled, and they hugged once more, quickly but strongly. Tessandra had noticed not only how her cousin wasn’t stuttering anymore, but also how she was different. When they let go of each other, she put a hand on her hip, glancing around.

“Well, thanks for the help with the fires, I think we’ll manage things from here. You better go and save whatever’s left of your man.”

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