A Pet for the Dragons

21.

ARIKA

"Zorge's power class is Feeler. He can feel people's emotions, or that's what he claims, but I doubt that. I think he's a Mind Reader or even a Manipulator. He's quite skilled at that, but I'm certain he's not at the Silge level. I'd have known. He's most likely at the Marl level, the one below Silge, or maybe even below Marl level— Avok," Ivret said, and it felt like someone had knocked the breath out of me.

If Zorge could read my mind, then I would be dead. I kept thinking about it as I focused on finishing my soup, but I lost my appetite instantly.

"No, I don't need more," I told Ivret as he tried to fill my bowl again. His eyes lingered on me for a second longer as if he was trying to figure out something.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing," I muttered, pushing the bowl away and rising from the kitchen table they used as a dining table. "I need a bath," I told him sharply, and his eyes lit up.

"Of course," He said. "Come with me," Ivret offered me his hand. I eyed it for a second, still not used to seeing his claws, but I put my hand in his anyway. If Zorge had the capability of reading my mind, then I was fucked, but I needed to get Ivret on my side at any cost. He was my last hope because doing anything with Radrox was now out of the question.

Ivret's glowing eyes burned brighter as he took my hand and led me out of the kitchen. Despite the scales, his hand was soft and warm. It shouldn't have soothed me as much as it did, but I ignored it. I didn't want to get used to it.

I was mostly in my head, trying to think of a way out of her, reformulating my strategies based on the latest information gathered. Some decisions needed to be made, and schemes needed to be devised. I had my hands full at the moment.

"You said the three of you own this part of the Arctic. How does that work?" I asked him. I needed to investigate more about their relationship and why they were here together.

Until now, it was clear that Ivret and Zorge didn't get along too well, but I wondered what kind of relationship they had with Radrox. I wanted to know if Radrox could turn Zorge and Ivret against me.

That'd be a disaster. I'd be completely alone and helpless. Although I doubted Zorge, I needed to secure Ivret on my side fast.

"How does what work?" Ivret asked, leading me through winding hallways that somehow all looked identical. It was easy to get lost here. I also needed to figure out the way around this place. Maybe there was a map, too.

"Are you three guards or feudal lords who've been assigned this territory?" I asked him.

"No. We own this territory. It's ours. I got it as a grant after serving at the Cardinal House," Ivret replied. "And since the three of us are in a power pact, what's mine is theirs and vice-versa,"

"What's a Cardinal House?" I continued to ask, hoping Ivret wouldn't stop answering them.

"Cardinal House is where the Empress' Palace is," he told me, which intrigued me even more.

"So dragons have a ruler too?" I asked.

"Yes," Ivret answered. "We're under the rule of Empress Mavie. I served her as a healer while she was a princess," Ivret replied.

"Oh," I breathed. I had a lot of questions about this dragon Monarchy, but that wouldn't help me escape. As much as the dragon world incited my curiosity and made me hungry to know more, I decided to stick with the more practical questions for my situation. "What's a power pact?" I asked, and Ivret sighed deeply.

"When two or more dragons's powers complement each other, they form a pack by binding their magic together. It strengthens their powers even more," Ivret replied.

"Oh, so you're in pact with Zorge and Radrox because their powers complement yours?" I asked just to be sure.

"Yes," Ivret sighed deeply again as if he still questioned his decision. I wanted to giggle because it was apparent that Zorge always managed to get on Ivret's last nerves. I couldn't help but wonder how their powers complemented each other.

"How do you know your powers complement Zorge's if you don't even know what power class he belongs to?"

"It doesn't have to do anything with power class. It's all about the magic in your core. Zorge's magic was compatible with mine, and so was his brother's." Ivret said, and it finally clicked.

"Zorge and Radrox are brothers?" I asked. If that was the case, then I needed to get down and dirty with Ivret quickly because there was no way those two brothers wouldn't see through my shit.

"Yes, they are," Ivret answered with an annoyed tone.

"You don't seem fond of them," I commented.

"I tolerate them for the sake of my magic," he grunted. "Come. We're in my wing. There, you shall bathe," Ivret said as we turned and faced a massive metal door with dragon carvings.

"Your wing?" I asked as he pushed the door open and led me inside. I was uncertain about this, but I needed to take risks to get out of here.

"Yes, this is my wing. It's not as big as Radrox's and Zorge's because I already claim a whole tower as my study, but it's still roomy," Ivret said, leading me inside. His roomy wing was big enough to accommodate at least ten mid-sized families.

We were again walking down a stone hallway, but the lights were bright here, and there were more paintings on the wall. I briefly stopped in front of a painting that instantly caught my attention—a floating castle. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

"That's the Cardinal House," Ivret said behind me.

"It's beautiful," I said honestly.

"It is. One of my ancestors who was a Silge Mason helped build it," Ivret said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"That's impressive," I said.

"I'm glad you think so. Now, come this way to my bath. I'll prepare the water and the herbs for you," Ivret said, leading me down a row of doors before turning left until we were standing in front of the last door.

Ivret opened it for me, and I stepped inside. It was a massive room with stone walls, but the walls were darker here. The huge bath on an elevated platform was in the middle of the room. I noticed that there was a fire pit under the hearth to get the water warm.

One corner of the bath held enormous slabs of ice, while the other was stacked with wood fuel. The wall against which the bath was attached was lined with jars of herbs. Judging from the seemingly endless jars, it seemed like Ivret was the high-maintenance kind—not that I was complaining.

"I'll be done preparing the bath in a moment. Just wait," Ivret told me as he got to work right away, dragging a slab of ice to the bath and putting it inside it before he started stuffing the pit with the fuel and lit it on fire. As the fire roared under the bath and started melting the ice, Ivret straightened up and stared at the wall lined with jars.

"Which herb do you prefer? I have a good stock of Jackriel. It cleanses well and rejuvenates the skin. I also have dried Markiek flowers. They smell good and will make you feel fresh. If you prefer, I can combine the two and—" Ivret stopped as soon as he turned to look at me.

"Whatever you think is the best," I smiled at him, taking off my last piece of clothing and standing completely naked in front of him. 

~

The last two chapters were somewhat world-building, but now, we're starting to get into the steamy part of the story. Arika's going to try seducing Ivret in the next chapter. Lol, god help Ivret xD Stay tuned for the next steamy yet funny chapter tomorrow.

Please let me know what you think of the story so far.

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