A Pet for the Dragons

42.

ARIKA

The warm, herbal bath helped me a lot. I rested against the wall and stretched my legs in the warm water. The bleeding and the cramps had stopped briefly due to Ivret's potion, and this made me feel even more terrible for what I was about to do to them.

I tried to remind myself that they were dragons and that I shouldn't care much about them, but... I didn't know why I felt oddly attached to them.

Maybe it was one of the side effects of Ivret's potion, but I knew the actual reason. I didn't want to accept it because... it would make it real.

I didn't even want to think about it too much to make leaving them easier for me. This was going to be a risky job, and I couldn't afford to get my emotions involved in something like this. It'd be stupid and would make room for error. With dragons, there were no errors.

I considered myself immensely lucky to make it this far without getting killed and eaten by one of the dragons. My luck was being extra nice to me, but as they said, luck was like a pendulum. For every time it swung in your favour, it swung all the way the other way, and I needed to get out of here before the pendulum of my luck swung out of my favour.

As I relaxed in the bathtub, I heard some commotion outside. The voices were muffled because of the thick stone walls, but despite that, I could make out the voices of Ivret and Zorge arguing in the hallway outside.

I tried to listen to them to make out what they were arguing about. When I couldn't get anything, I got out of the bath as quietly as possible and crept the door open to hear more clearly.

"You're afraid she'd try to run away when we take her to the human healer," Ivret said, and I froze. My heart was almost in my mouth.

"Exactly! I'm glad you still have some sense left in you. I was afraid I'd have to knock some into you," Zorge grunted, and silence followed from Ivret's side.

This wasn't a good sign. They were starting to doubt me, especially Zorge, and I needed to do something about it before his doubts could solidify. Quietly, I closed the door and returned to the bath to think this through.

__

After the bath and dinner, I lay in the cot again, feeling tired from doing the absolute minimum. I eyed Zorge as he collected my plates and took them out of the room I was staying in. Ivret was here for dinner. He'd grilled some fish for me and made a soup, and after ensuring that I'd eaten, he left for his study to continue with his efforts to find a medicine to stop my bleeding.

I tried not to think too much about it to stop getting more attached to that stupid, innocent, and cute dragon. Ugh... why did Ivret have to be so nice?

Zorge had been lingering by my side since I opened my eyes earlier, which was a good thing. I needed him on my side to work my charm on him and make him doubt me less. However, I ran the risk of being read by him because Ivret did mention that Zorge could read people's emotions.

Even though Zorge had revealed earlier that he couldn't read my emotions well for some reason, I'd still be careful while dealing with him. After Radrox, Zorge was the one who could get in the way of my escape plan.

I'd already neutralized Radrox. Now, I had to do something about Zorge before he could mess with my plans.

I lifted my head on the arm and watched Zorge as he puttered around the room, arranging things. When he noticed me watching, he straightened up and cocked an eyebrow at me.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Are you grey all over?" I asked. This confused him for a moment.

"What does that mean?" He asked, stepping closer to my cot.

"I meant to ask, are you grey everywhere, or is it only your scales?" I clarified. Zorge's eyes gleamed with interest at my question.

He was in the mood to play, which was not a problem for me because I would play him hard. Really, really hard.

"I'll answer that if you tell me why one of your nipples is oddly shaped," He returned, and this almost left me speechless for a second. Zorge smirked and sat on the cot beside me, all his attention on me. Mindlessly, I pulled the furs closer to my body. "And also, I want to know what does the nub between your folds do,"

If the previous question wasn't shocking enough, then this one definitely shocked me immensely.

"You've looked at my body while I was asleep," I accused him, but he only gave me a wide smile.

"I ensured to keep everything clean," He said proudly, and while I'd have punched anyone else in his place, I clenched my fists. He wasn't lying. He had kept everything exceptionally clean while I'd been unconscious and bleeding. He'd even braided my hair in this elaborate style I'd never seen.

I glared at him.

"Still, it's rude to do that," I hissed.

"To do what? Keep sick people clean?" he asked, and for a second, I realized that he shared the same childlike innocence that Ivret had, but he was more forward with it. I sighed.

"It's considered rude if you see and touch people's bodies without their consent," I told him, and he nodded.

"I know that, but you were sick and bleeding, and... would you have preferred to wake up covered in old blood? I won't bother again if that's what you prefer," Zorge shrugged, and I couldn't believe his words for a second.

"Are you literally gaslighting me?" I hissed, sitting up and glaring at him.

"What's gaslighting?" He asked. I scoffed and turned away from him. Fuck him. He ruined my whole mood, or else I'd have shown him a good time.

After a moment of silence, I heard him sigh heavily behind me.

"Arika, I apologize if I've hurt your sentiments. Dragon customs are different from humans. I didn't know it's a big deal for humans," he said, but I didn't want to believe him.

"Oh yeah? What kind of customs do you have where seeing an unconscious person naked and touching them without their consent is acceptable?" I pushed.

"I did what was necessary, but I apologize if this hurt your sentiments. I overstepped your boundaries. In our customs, nudity isn't a big thing," he said. Again, I didn't want to believe his words, but he sounded genuine, so I turned around and glanced at him.

He had a frown on his face as if he was still trying to figure out what he did wrong. As much as his innocence was adorable, I wanted to punch him.

"So you're telling me it's common for dragons to go naked everywhere?" I decided to push. After all, I planned to play with him, and I needed to set the mood again after he'd spoiled it.

"Yeah," He shrugged. "Most of the Drgaons back at Cerdosa wear only a ghran. Only those who live and work at the Cardinal House wear clothes that cover everything. That's where we all got our habits from,"

"What's a ghran?" I asked even though I had a more important question bubbling in my head.

"It's a thin and almost transparent cloth woven by Dotharkis," Zorge replied.

"And why do you prefer to wear clothes now? You're not at the Cardinal House," I asked the most pressing question, and Zorge shrugged.

"I like the feel of fur against my skin and it's a great way to show off the skin of the animals I hunted. But I can take it all off and reveal if I'm grey underneath. You know what you have to do for that," Zorge offered darkly, and for a moment, it made me realize that he might be the one playing me instead. 

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