A Pet for the Dragons

102.

ARIKA

Ivret was gone when I woke up the next day. It pissed me off instantly, but he had left me a small note and some of the strange cake I ate too much of last night. That helped, but only a bit. The note read that he wanted to be with me in the morning but was summoned by someone important at the court. He had no other choice but to leave.

This made me pissed, but I tried to cure my mood by eating the strange cake.

Zorge and Radrox were nowhere to be seen, too. That was great. I didn't want to see them and spoil my mood even more. I was sure I'd erupt in flames if I were to see Zorge or Radrox.

As if he could read my mind (which I was sure he could do after marking me), I found Zorge in the room after stepping out of the bathroom.

Zorge lay on the bed with his arms under his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed at him. He sat up and gave me a long stare. I didn't know what to make of that. Something about him felt strange. Considering that he disappeared with one of those green dragons yesterday, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I remembered what Ivret had told me yesterday.

"How did the commission go?" I asked him, and suddenly, his eyes widened, and his face paled. It was as if I'd asked him to pluck all the scales off his body. His reaction baffled me.

"How did you—" Zorge shook his head. "Never mind," He muttered before commanding, "Come here,"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Even though it might not be his fault that he had left me, he was still not explaining where he'd been and what he was doing irked me.

"First, tell me, where did the guard take you yesterday," I demand, crossing my arms on my chest and glaring at him. I expected him to dish something at me, but he sighed deeply.

"Come," He said, but it was a request this time. Suddenly, realisation hit me.

"What happened yesterday?" I demanded, edging closer to me. "Did the guards do something to you? Tell me what happened,"

Zorge remained silent, but when I was close enough to him, he held my arm and pulled me into his lap. I decided to play along to make him speak. It had to do something with his meeting with the guards yesterday. Something terrible happened, and it made him act like this.

He wrapped his arms around me and hurried his nose in my hair to take a deep breath of my scent. I loosened up a bit in his embrace, enjoying his warmth. It made me feel somewhat better, but it did nothing to ease my eagerness to know what happened to him yesterday after he left with the green dragon.

"When did you come back?" I asked. I needed to meander the conversation through light topics before sneaking onto him with the pressing question.

"That's not important," Zorge said, his tone hardened as his hand went straight to my hips. His response was dismissive, and the sudden change in his mood confused me. I could feel the heat of his hands on my hips, even through my clothes.

After what happened between us last time, being so close to him affected me and my judgement.

"Why not?" I decided to press. "I waited for you,"

"You shouldn't have," He said in the same dismissive tone, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me deeper into his embrace. I put my hands on his chest and pushed back. I realised he was trying to avoid the conversation as actively as I wanted to make him talk.

And of course... he could read me. He was reading me with narrowed eyes as I glared back at him.

"Tell me what happened yesterday," I demanded because it was out in the open already. There was no use trying to play along.

"Nothing much. They summoned me to talk some old unfinished business," He answered. I didn't want to believe in his words, at least entirely. There was no way for me to verify if he was lying. The only thing I had was the intense feeling that something was bothering him.

"What unfinished business," I pushed. I needed to know more about these dragons. Even though I Wore their marks, I still knew almost nothing about their past.

"A pet shouldn't be demanding such things from her master," He said.

"Oh yeah? So you're going to pull that card now?" I hissed, trying to escape his hold, but it soon became a wrestle. Though I was no match for him soon, he had the upper hand by pinning me under him. I was trapped under his body as he held me in place. "Ahh- let me go!" I yelled when he didn't let me move an inch.

He laughed deeply, and it relaxed me a bit. Maybe things weren't as tense as they seemed to be. Perhaps I was reading too much into something insignificant. Maybe Zorge was acting this way because he was just tired. Even though all these seemed likely, some of me didn't want to accept these reasons.

"How interesting. Weren't you begging for my knot yesterday?" He asked, pressing his hardness against my stomach. I flushed instantly but maintained my glare.

"And you ran like the chicken you are," I decided to get back at him. I refused to let him have the upper hand after how needy and frustrated he left me. Zorge's eyes instantly darkened, and the slight playfulness that had returned to his face disappeared instantly. "I know you're hiding something from me,"

"Let's no—" He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. It felt like deja vu. It was what happened yesterday. I didn't feel good about whoever it was on the other side of the door.

Zorge got up to open the door, and I followed him anxiously. My heart almost stopped beating when Zorge opened the door, and I saw one of those green dragon guards.

"I'll report later," Zorge said, annoyed.

"I'm not here for you. The Empress has summoned human Arika for breakfast. She must come with me now," The green dragon declared.

"No, wait. This can't—"

"The Empress' orders are to be followed," The green dragon reminded Zorge.

"You'll come with me—" I told Zorge, but the green dragon cut in again.

"The Empress has exclusively summoned you. You shall come with me this instant," The green dragon pressed. "The Empress doesn't like to wait,"

~

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