A Pet for the Dragons

125.

ZORGE

I was sore and completely pissed by the time training ended. I could tell that Dredver had fun torturing me throughout the night in the name of training. Although, it was somewhat of a reality check as well. I'd long trained this hard. I had grown weaker and had lost most of my stamina. I needed to work on those things. Being in the Arctic, I didn't see any need to train as regularly as I should've, and unfortunately, this lack of training caught up with me at that moment.

This further added more to Dredver's satisfaction at torturing me. I wouldn't be surprised if he had joined hands with Callath into this. Both of them hated my brother and I. I could tell that both were looking forward to sending us to the frontline for the commission. I couldn't wait to see their faces when they'd learn that we'd been omitted from the commission. But until then, we needed to play along.

My sour mood instantly improved, knowing that Arika was back in the wing waiting for me. I'd been looking forward to spending more time with her amongst all this. I was now even more eager to spend time with her because I could finally probe into her emotions like I could with the rest of the dragons and people around me. It was a source of excitement and anxiety for me.

I was finally excited to connect with her, but it made me nervous, knowing that I might find troubling things that could be dealt with later.

I rushed back to the palace and our assigned wing to find Radrox waiting for us. He had managed to leave earlier, and I envied him for that. However, I was surprised to see him dressed to go out already. I'd thought he'd rest a bit because we hadn't had the opportunity to sleep properly for the past few days.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"I'm going to meet some retired guards." He told me crisply. I sensed urgency and restlessness in him. I wondered if Arika had another fight with my brother, but he didn't look distraught. Something must've come up.

"I'm coming with you," I told him. Even though I wanted to be Arika, I was willing to postpone spending time with her if it meant we could quickly find our way out of this place and return to our home in the Arctic.

"No, stay with her and keep an eye on her," Radrox reminded me. "And look out for that golden brat. I have a feeling either he'll come looking for her, or she'll go looking for him. Either way, you know what you must do,"

"Kazzirth wasn't there today," I told him. "Are you sure we can trust him to forge the documents?" This was another thing I'd been pondering over lately. I'd trust the Cardinal Guards before I could trust any of the Royals. All of them were full of nothing but scheming.

I'd been thinking of other ways to avoid the commission in case we didn't get the forged documents.

"We don't have any other choice," Radrox said gruffly.

"Or do we?"

"You have something in mind?" Radrox narrowed his eyes at me.

"Not yet, but I don't like relying on a single plan," I told him, "But I'm thinking of meeting up with my old unit. Some of them have moved up the ladder and might be able to pull some strings,"

"Do what you must," Radrox said, "But your foremost job is to keep an eye on Arika and report us immediately if she starts acting differently. You are supposed to be her shadow,"

"I know, but..." I sighed deeply, "I feel like I'm not doing enough in this situation. I want us to get out of here sooner. This place makes me feel so... helpless and vulnerable," I gritted. Judging from the stern look on Radrox's face, I knew that he felt the same. The more time we spent here, the more I appreciated Ivret's decision to move away from this place in the first place. I had to give him that.

At first, I used to resent Ivret for leaving the Cardinal House and settling in the Arctic. I was a more ambitious warrior who wanted to climb the ranks quickly, but I had to postpone those plans and move with Ivret and Radrox. My brother was fine with the decision because he had little to do with the Cardinal House after the war. But now that we had Arika, I didn't want to do anything with this place anymore.

"I need to leave now," Radrox said grimly. "Don't leave her side," With that, he was gone. I sighed deeply, feeling some of the tiredness from the training starting to seep in. I decided to rest the whole day because I'd have to attend training again at night. I was already dreading it.

I checked on Arika to find her sleeping. So, I took the time to bathe and eat breakfast. Arika was still asleep by the time I was done, so I laid beside her and probed into her emotions gently while waiting for sleep.

As I closed my eyes and welcomed her emotions, I saw vast stretches of water under a sunny sky with some birds flying above. It was the sea, but unlike the Arctic sea, it wasn't frozen. I found the sight odd because I was more used to seeing the frozen sea. But I continued to observe Arika's dream.

More images flashed in front of my eyes. I saw people I didn't know standing by the railing of what seemed like a ship. Then I saw snow and big containers. This time, it seemed somewhat familiar until I realised that it was the place on the other side of the sea.

More images flashed before my eyes, and I saw a woman who looked much like Arika but was shorter and slimmer. In the next moment, there was blood everywhere, and I was fighting that woman. Then, there was a creature with a lot of fur— a wolf.

I didn't know what was going on. It was all too confusing. My head started to spin, and I felt a pressure building in my chest. I'd been sucked into whatever dream was playing in Arika's head. I saw more blood before the feeling of terror washed over me.

In the next moment, the woman who looked like Arika was sitting above me with a murderous look in her eyes and a knife in her hands. l heard screams and felt an intense pang of pain. I was struggling to stomach all of this when there was a massive explosion, and I was surrounded by fire and ashes.

Everything went black, and the next moment, more images flashed in front of my eyes, but this time, all of it was familiar— I was in a familiar room in the Northwestern tower of the Gallow Castle. It was one of the prisons. But what was I doing there?

I got the answer immediately when I saw Ivret and myself in the next flashes. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up, breathing hard. Arika was still asleep beside me, but there was a strained look on her face.

My eyes widened in realisation.

Could it be that I was seeing her dream? This had never happened before. I was only adept at reading emotions. I could never see into other's dreams. This was the first time I'd been in someone's dream.

Could it mean that my powers have evolved? I laid beside Arika again and closed my eyes, seeking out her dreams and more answers.

~

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