A Pet for the Dragons

35.

ZORGE

I was still pissed at Ivret for sending me out for the patrolling duty. I tried my best to concentrate on my work and tried to find the interloper who'd been giving us a headache for a while, but I couldn't stop thinking about Arika.

I wanted to return and see if her health had improved. If it had, I'd force Ivret to take over his duties. I refused to let him burden me with his duties and get away with it. It was all his doing to ensure that he could have Arika for himself.

I'd be damned if that happened. Arika was mine. Too. Despite finding her first, I didn't like that I'd have to share her with Ivret and my brother because of this stupid power triad, but I'd do everything I could to lay my equal claim on her.

She was mine as much as he thought she was his.

I decided to visit the castle with some fresh kills. It'd give me a good reason to see how Arika was doing, and I'd know if I could make Ivret take over his duties. But first, I needed to ensure some things.

I checked the rig first to ensure that the enchantment was working well. This year, our snowdust production was going to double because we'd found a new place with massive reserves, but at the same time, there was this issue with the interloper.

If it hadn't been for the interloper, I could've stayed back, but we had to increase our patrolling just because of some dragon trying to keep an eye on us. I was sure the interloper was a spy sent by Empress Mavie from the Cardinal House.

To make matters worse, it was a white dragon. I'd seen his wings last night, but they'd disappeared in the storm.

It seemed like the Empress was still upset about our decision to leave the Cardinal House. She was especially bothered because of Ivret. She didn't want him to leave. She fancied him, but Ivret never liked her or the politics at Cardinal House. He was mainly a peace-loving dragon whom I liked to annoy with my shenanigans, but now... our dynamics were shifting because of that human female, Arika.

I needed to see her soon and reach her before others could lay their claim on her first. I wouldn't accept that. I was already somewhat mad at myself for not laying my claim on her before I left for this stupid patrolling duty.

I sat on one of the glaciers and examined the rig's workings for a while. Its large magical mechanical arms continued to dig deep through the ancient layers of glaciers to get to the snowdust and oil. It was running smoother than ever. I flew closer to it to check how much snowdust it had managed to dig out and deposit in a special chamber floating beside the arm. The quantity was pleasing, but it planted another thought in my head.

What if the spy was here for the snowdust and not because of us? The Nobel families at the Cardinal Houses were greedy about increasing their share of snowdust production and willing to do anything to increase their profits. They were even willing to steal other dragons's territories.

But then a worst thought hid me.

What if the spy was here for us and the snowdust? This wasn't a good situation... especially when we had a human female in our castle. It could bring too much-unwanted attention to us, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I needed to discuss this with the others. We couldn't keep Arika here for long, and even if we did, we needed to take extra precautions to ensure that no one got a whiff of her.

After I was satisfied with the rig's operation, I flew south to catch a few swordfish for Arika. She'd shown a preference for them last time, but since it was the season for salmon to migrate north, I caught some of them too and wasted no time flying back to the Gallow castle.

I circled around just to be sure that the spy wasn't lingering anywhere near our castle. When I didn't find anyone, I descended and landed in front of the main castle door. I walked in with the fresh kill, excited to see Arika, but as soon as I stepped inside, I heard Ivret shouting.

"RADROX! COME OUT, YOU CURSED, RED-SCALED, UGLY, DERANGED BASTARD!"

I was shocked to hear Ivret screaming in such a manner. It was unlike him. Even though I'd been with him for years, this was the first time I heard him yelling.

"What's going on? What happened?" I asked, stepping into the courtyard. I found him on one of the balconies of the fourth floor. He was fuming.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed at me. His eyes were pitch black, and he looked mad beyond comprehension. I'd seen him in this state before— not even when I'd pressed the last of his buttons with my shenanigans. This concerned me. I'd stepped out of this castle for only a day and a half, and things seemed to be a mess.

"I came here to drop some fresh kill for Arika. Why are you screaming at Radrox? What did he do?" I asked carefully.

"WHAT DID HE DO?" He roared. "HE HURT ARIKA! HE MADE HER BLEED!" As soon as Ivret's words registered in my head, my dragon awakened, ready to spill blood. It didn't matter that my dragon was thirsty for my brother's blood. If my brother stooped so low to hurt a female, then he wasn't my brother anymore.

"RADROX! COME OUT!" I roared, seething. How dare he even think about hurting Arika? She might be our prisoner, but she was a female first, and hurting a female was the lowest a dragon could stoop. I couldn't believe my brother would do this. Maybe I judged him wrong.

Radrox wasn't that popular among the ladies because of his red scales, ugly scars and sometimes rude behaviour. I could tolerate that because I knew that even though he was mean to the ladies, he never meant it genuinely. Despite his rough ways, he never meant any harm to anyone, but maybe I'd been wrong all along. Maybe my brother was an honourless dragon, perfectly fitting the red-scaled dragon stereotype. I couldn't be more ashamed if this were true.

"What's going on?" Radrox finally answered. His voice was approaching toward the courtyard. As soon as I saw him, I stormed in his direction and delivered a punch to his face. He staggered back, surprised, before Ivret leapt over him and held him down.

"What did you do, brother?" I growled, digging my fingers into his throat while Ivret held his arms back.

"What did I do?" Radrox asked, sounding genuinely confused. His emotions flowed through me. He seemed clueless and annoyed at us.

"You made her bleed!" Ivret accused, delivering a solid blow at the back of his head. Radrox groaned in pain, but still, there was no hint of guilt. If anything, he was more confused.

"What?" He grunted.

"What did you do to Arika? She's bleeding!" I demanded, and Radrox's eyes widened all of a sudden. Finally, guilt seeped into his emotions, followed by concern and immense self-loathe.

"She's hurt?" He asked, his voice sore.

"Yes, she's bleeding from her opening, and she was hiding it from me," Ivret accused, delivering another punch. Radrox's self-loathing intensified along with the guilt.

"I..." His words got lost, and I felt immensely disappointed.

"I never expected this from you, brother," I told him coldly. "I'm ashamed to call you brother,"

"You'll stay away from her," Ivret growled.

"Wait—" Radrox tried, but Ivret delivered his last blow to his head, and Radrox's eyes rolled back. Ivret straightened up and kicked Radrox's side. I remained quiet, watching the two because I was dumbfounded. This was the first time I saw this side of Ivret and Radrox. I didn't like this. Suddenly, things seemed to change because of the female, as if she were a harbinger of something.

What? Only time would tell.

~

Shit is about to go down with Radrox but don't worry Arika would pay for this larger ;)

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