A Pet for the Dragons

89.

ARIKA

I looked down at the city as we flew. I couldn't see where exactly we were headed, but I could see everything underneath us. I saw several tiny houses and streets but couldn't make out much because we were flying high.

However, I noticed the other dragons flying around us, especially the green ones. I shuddered every time I looked at them. They were just terrifying. They had four wings instead of two and massive horns. They looked like something that flew straight out of hell.

I didn't know who was carrying me this time, but I clung to their claws for my life... only to realise that I didn't feel sick because of flying anymore. The height at which we were flying made me uncomfortable, but it didn't push me towards hysteria like it usually did.

I wondered if it was because of my glowing eyes. But why were my eyes glowing in the first place? I forced myself to remember what might have happened until I remembered the marking.

The three dragons had come to my room, and things soon heated up. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was being bitten by the three dragons. I wondered if I was feeling this way because of their bites.

However, before I could ponder more, the dragon carrying me dropped suddenly, making me almost scream. I started to feel sick, but it was over when the dragons landed on a clearing.

I realised that it was Ivret who'd been carrying me. However, I froze as soon I noticed the massive floating building before us. I'd seen this building before in one of the paintings that hung in Ivret's wing. He'd told me about it.

The Cardinal House.

We were finally there.

I drew in a deep breath as I gazed at the massive monument of a building. It was unlike anything I'd seen before. It almost looked like a medieval castle but had such intricate designs.

Several pillars stood lined in front of us. I couldn't see the head of the pillars. They seem to be heading towards the heavens. The pillars surrounded the whole landing area in front of the Cardinal House.

Wide and giant floating stairs ascended towards the massive stoop of the Royal building. We stood before a colossal door engraved with numerous dragons after we climbed the front stairs.

There were no guards at the gate, but it opened as soon as we neared it. It closed behind us as soon as we stepped inside the building. Everything was too novel for me to take in all at once. I was frantically looking around as the guards accompanying us led us down several winding hallways that sometimes looked the same, and sometimes, they looked like we were walking through the deepest dungeon.

Many questions were bubbling in my head, but the tension that accompanied us kept me quiet. I didn't know why, but I felt very nervous. It wasn't that I was nervous, but someone else's nervousness seemed to be draining into me somehow. I didn't have to wonder who it was.

It was the three of them. Even though none showed any emotions on their faces or how they moved, I could feel the tension running through their bodies and the storms brewing inside them.

It was odd and overwhelming because it felt like someone had opened floodgates of emotions. The more I paid attention to their feelings, the more I could feel them in detail.

I could feel Ivret's anxiousness. He was the most anxious and tensed of the three. I could feel Zorge's alertness and how he studied the guards around us. I realised that he was using his senses to read the guards. Meanwhile, Radrox was crafting plans according to whatever situation might play out. He was trying to think ten steps ahead.

I was surprised that I could sense them in so much detail. Sure, I was good at reading people because, as a pirate, I had to learn to anticipate other people's thoughts and emotions to my advantage. But this was an entirely different feeling. I could see what was happening in their minds, but not as clearly. I was as if I was observing their thoughts from behind a black veil.

After walking for what felt like another fifteen minutes, going down more hallways and seeing more dragons, we stopped in front of another set of giant gates made entirely of gold, showing more dragons. Unlike the previous door, this had more details, and the dragons looked more realistic as if they'd leap out of it at any moment.

My pirate brain couldn't help but estimate how much it'd fetch me if I were to steal the doors and sell them in the black market somewhere, that was, if I could even get them off the hinges and carry them to my ship (whose whereabouts I was still unaware of).

I didn't need to be told where we were. The doors were indication enough.

We were about to see the Dragon Empress. The thought of meeting the Empress ultimately made me nervous. My heart began throbbing in my chest like a wild animal trying to get out of a chest.

What if she didn't like me? I wondered.

"It'd be alright," Zorge assured me as if reading my mind.

My eyes widened, and my head snapped to Zorge at my side.

"Did you just—" The giant doors opened before I could ask the rest. I felt everyone tense up, even the guards, this time. All the breath left my body as we stepped past the door.

We entered a giant room that had no ceiling. Clouds hovered where the ceiling would've been. Even the walls were missing. It all seemed like we were in a giant clearing in the middle of an open, cloudy sky.

Thick pillars bordered where the walls would've been; each pillar bore a dragon, but that wasn't what got my attention.

The throne in the centre of the room got my attention instantly. More precisely, the she-dragon perched on the throne— the Dragon Empress. She seemed to be made of gold, even her hair.

She had massive horns that curled back, and on top of those horns floated a crown. Her pitch-black eyes fixed on us the moment we walked through the door. Her eyes reminded me of Callath instantly, and I felt more nervous.

Her eyes darted on my three dragons before they focused on me, and a broad smile gradually grew on her lips. I shudder at the sight of her gold-cupped canines.

"What a sight,"

~

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