A Pet for the Dragons

90.

ARIKA

"What a sight," The Empress commented after seeing us.

I noticed how her eyes lingered on me longer. She scanned me from head to toe, taking in every detail. I didn't know how to react to her blatantly staring at me.

I stared back at her, especially her gold-capped horns. She was covered every bit in gold. That was more gold than I'd ever seen in my life. When I met her pitch-black eyes, I looked away and shuddered. There was something about her eyes that deeply unsettled me.

"Your Majesty," Ivret spoke up. His tone was professional, almost rehearsed. He didn't sound like his usual self, and I didn't like it. It was too polished for a pirate like me. "We're honoured to be summoned by you. How shall we be at your service?"

"Ah yes, your services," The Empress, sounding slightly distracted as she diverted her gaze from me and looked at the others. "We shall talk about them later, but that wasn't why I summoned you here," The Empress clarified. All of us grew more tense.

"Pardon me for my misunderstanding, your Majesty. I presumed the summoning was due to the Cardinal House requiring our services. There were no reasons mentioned otherwise in the scroll," Ivret clarified, but I doubted if the Empress was even listening to him. Instead, she stared at me as if I were the strangest creature she'd ever seen.

"Is that so? Perhaps my *kensa erred in correspondence. I shall see to that, but this was an invitation rather than a summoning," The Empress said, and if anything, the air grew even thicker with tension because we all knew that that wasn't the truth. It was an intentional mistake.

"An invitation, your Majesty?" Ivret asked, maintaining his noble tone. It irritated me, but I knew it was necessary at the time.

"Yes, of all the dragons, I'm surprised you forgot it, Ivret," The Empress smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. I could feel Ivret's anxiousness rising. This wasn't heading anywhere good. I didn't have a good feeling about it, but more than that, I felt the strongest urge to reach out and touch Ivret to assure him that everything would be alright.

However, I didn't dare do so, primarily because of how the Empress eyed me. I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself. She was already looking at me as if she wanted to cut me open and study me.

"Forget..." Ivret said, his noble tone cracked, giving away his nervousness. "Forgive me, your Majesty, for my forgetfulness.... I cannot recall what you—"

"—it's my hundredth birthday, Ivret!" The Empress laughed. "Everyone has been invited,"

"Oh, yes, of course. Forgive me, your Majesty. I should've remembered. Living in another realm where time ticks differently, one loses track of such things. We're honoured that you considered including us on your special day," Ivret spoke. He sounded somewhat relieved, but not entirely.

"Yes, Callath mentioned how things are different there," Empress commented, and immediately, my lungs felt tight. Something flickered in the Empress' eyes. It looked somewhat similar to amusement. "It intrigued me immensely, especially when he mentioned this odd little creature called Arika," The Empress smiled at me, sending a shiver down my spine.

"I apologise for not introducing her earlier," Ivret stepped in to keep the conversation flowing smoothly, "This is Arika, our bonded."

"That I know. I see you've taken her as your pet," The Empress replied, studying me more pensively. The look on her face gravely unsettled me. It seemed like she knew something about us that we didn't even know. "How fascinating. Is she a human?" The Empress asked as if asking a dog's breed. It felt slightly humiliating, but before getting offended, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was her first time seeing someone like me.

"Yes, she's indeed a human," Ivret replied.

"I see. Come to me, Arika the she-human," The Empress commanded, standing up and extending her hand. I sucked in a breath and looked at Ivret for a clue. He nodded lightly, and I edged closer to the Empress' throne.

Meanwhile, the Empress watched me with the same pensiveness as if she knew something I didn't know about me. It made me more nervous. She analysed everything about me as I walked to her.

I'd spend almost all my life at sea. I wasn't aware of customs and the manners of treating royalty. So I guessed what I should do with her, so I extended her hand with every step I took towards her. The closer I got to her, the more nerve-wracking I got. I cursed the three mentally. Someone should've enlightened me on such things.

"Your Majesty," I whispered, doing a curtsy I'd seen in films. I tried to be graceful, but it didn't work. I knew it right away because the Empress gave me a ludicrous look. It made me panic. I knew I was going to fuck this up.

However, in the next moment, the Empress looked more amused. I could tell she wanted to comment, but she refrained from it.

"Give me your hand, human," she ordered. I was reluctant to touch her, but before I could think, my hand was already in hers. I shuddered when I saw her sharp gold-tipped talons and her gold scales. I couldn't help but wonder if she bled gold as well.

I sucked in a breath as she closed her fingers around my hand and briefly closed her eyes. Up this close, I could get a whiff of her scent. She smelled of burnt flowers and incense. That was the best way I could describe her scent. It was unlike anything I'd smelled.

My thoughts were disrupted when a strange wave of energy travelled up my hand and took all over my mind. I gasped for breath. It felt invasive. I could feel her looking through me. I wanted to pull back my hand, but her hold was firm, and her gold talons almost dug into my skin. They could easily cut me.

However, it was over as soon as it started. The Empress gasped and stepped back as if shocked by what she looked.

"His vision is true," She whispered as she stared at me, shocked and wide-eyed.

~

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