A Pet for the Dragons

4.

IVRET

Arika's eyes fluttered shut when she glanced at Zorge, irking me.

"You overwhelmed her," I snapped at him.

"And you didn't with your silly questions?" He snapped back. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right. I shouldn't have asked her so many questions all at once. She seemed to have freaked out and fell unconscious again.

"She's weak," I noted, rechecking her pulse. They were faint, and this was somewhat concerning. She was cold to touch, too. Her skin looked increasingly pale. "We must not trouble her too much for now,"

Zorge crossed his arms on his chest and glared at me. I knew what he was thinking. I could sense his impatience. He wanted me to give her the A-nide, but I wasn't going to do that.

"So what are you going to do now? Keep her here until she wakes up?" Zorge asked.

"Yes," I answered sternly. "She's going to stay here until she wakes up and tells us where are the computers she promised to deliver,"

Zorge clenched his jaw, and I could tell he was finally considering the servers or the computers... whatever the humans called them. She'd promised us those computers that stored intel on all the human and non-human tribes that lived in the south of the Arctic.

"Then it's going to take a long time," Zorge said. I didn't miss the way he glanced at the human. He was curious about her... too curious for my liking. I wanted to keep him as far away from her as possible.

"Then let it take long," I shrugged, stepping back from the cot on which the human lay. I made a mental note to shift her to a guard's room lower in the tower instead. It had a proper hearth and a cot to help keep her warmer. She seemed to be losing heat too quickly here.

Zorge barked a laugh at my words.

"You say that as if Rad is never coming back," He reminded me, and I frowned. I was still uncertain how Radrox would react to this woman and the failed deal. He'd been more persistent about getting those computers from her, but there was nothing now.

The computers were most likely gone in the explosion where I found Arika. However, she wasn't wounded by the explosion at all, just that she lacked a lot of blood. This aspect of the situation puzzled me. How did she lose blood without any wound?

I wondered if someone had performed a blood-draining charm on her. Those were dangerous, and as far as I knew, only a few witches could perform them. There had been no hints of any witches there either. It was only Arika and the fire.

"Rad will be dealt with later," I told him. "She needs to be healed quickly,"

"And how will you do that by keeping her in this freezing room?" Zorge poked, "Look at her face. She's whiter than snow,"

"I'll shift her to a guard's room," I told him.

"The one on the tower's first floor— that one is the warmest," Zorge suggested.

"So that she gets to stay in the room closest to you? Do you think I'm a fool?" I asked Zorge, and he glared at me.

"You're acting like you own her when I found her first," he reminded me again, making me groan internally. I hated the fact that he found her first. It should've been me. This could've easily ended half the problems already.

"Just because you found her doesn't make her yours," I snapped back, feeling increasingly irritated by Zroge. But Zorge smirked at me.

"It does according to Hoard Laws," Zorge reminded me.