A Pet for the Dragons

145.

RADROX

I glanced at Zorge to get any cues on Ivret's strange behaviour. He sounded very confident about attending the Court Dinner, which made me wary of him. What had he planned? Whatever it was, the thought of Arika going there troubled me deeply.

However, Zorge looked as confused as ever as he studied Ivret.

"You've come up with something," This is the only conclusion I could draw. Ivret wouldn't put Arika in harm's way until and unless he had something planned to keep her safe.

Ivret trend to Arika, something dark and dangerous simmering in his eyes. This was another thing that tensed me. Ivret was usually the calmest of all three. He hated scheming the most, yet his eyes said he was scheming something dangerous... something terrible.

"You'll attend the Court Dinner with me tomorrow. I want you to look your best," He told Arika fiercely. Zorge made a slight noise of irritation, but I ignored it and focused on Ivret. I wanted to know what exactly he had come up with and if someone had suggested it.

"Tell me what it is, and only then I'll let you take her with you," I stated firmly, crossing my arms on my chest and giving Ivret a stern look. Something sly flickered in Ivret's eyes, almost making my heart tremble.

Ivret might be aloof sometimes, but his schemes were always lethal. He was of a noble breed, after all. Scheming ran in his blood, even if he was titleless, no matter where he went. It came to him as naturally as the fire that roared in my veins. It was one of the things that had terrified me about him from the beginning. He had a duality about his nature and could sometimes operate in extremes. I was afraid he had chosen one of his extreme ends this time— the one that did the most dangerous scheming.

He was free to scheme or do anything for his interests in the court, but knowing that Arika was involved in all this made me deeply uncomfortable.

"Mavie isn't hesitating in her ways to get what she wants. Why should we?" He said, stalking towards Arika. His words proved me right in my suspicion.

"What do you mean by that?" Zorge asked grimly. "What exactly are you planning to do, Ivret?"

"I've decided to resort to some of my old methods," He said darkly, taking a strand of Ariak's hair and curling it around his finger. Zoreg glared at him but for an entirely different reason.

"Like what?" I asked. Ivret had done a lot of scheming to get us out of here and give up his title. And some of those schemings included poisoning a few dragons here and there. A chill ran down my spine, remembering Ivret's old title in the court.

Lord Venom.

Ivret's gaze snapped to me, and I immediately knew my suspicions were correct again. It made my dragon stir awake, worried about Arika. This would be a dangerous game. Again, I wouldn't have batted an eye if he had poisoned a few Nobles here and there. I'm sure many dragons would be grateful to him for taking off a few of those greedy Nobles. But now that Arika was involved, he couldn't afford to be so bold with his moves.

"Are you being serious? No, you cannot be!" Zorge hissed, stepping closer to Arika.

"What? What is it?" She asked, searching our faces for a clue. "What is he going to do?"

"Poison," Zorge muttered.

"Who are you going to poison?" Arika asked, sounding terrified. She already seemed to be terrified of something else. I'd almost forgotten about it.

"Anyone who takes you from me," Ivret answered darkly.

"Do you want to get tied for Treason?" Zorge asked. "Because most of the dragons who will be there are in close alliance with the Empress."

"It's not treason as long as the Empress doesn't consider it one," Ivret replied darkly, making me shudder again. He had planned something sinister.

"What does that even mean? What exactly are you going to do?" Zorge demanded, wrapping an arm around Arika and tugging her against him. "I'm not letting you play with fire while Airka's with you,"

"It doesn't matter. We're going to get burnt either way." Ivret returned.

"No," I said firmly, but Ivret turned to me with a lethal determination in his eyes.

"This could be our way out of here, Radrox."

"Who gave you this idea? Ceikalyn?" I couldn't help but ask. All he did was shrug and turn to Arika. "We're going to have a great time tomorrow. I want you to be prepared for me. Until then, I have a few more matters to attend to." With that, he left, leaving the three of us shocked and perplexed.

"Why don't I have a good feeling about this?" Arika asked out loud.

"Because you shouldn't," Zorge answered. "I think he lost his mind. He's..." Zorge trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. I knew what he meant. I knew it all too well.

"He's what?" Arika asked, searching our faces again.

"He's spiralling," I replied, locking my gaze on Arika. She still looked flush, something uncertain in her eyes. "What is it?" I asked before she could hide it. "You seemed like you wanted to tell us something before Ivret returned,"

Her eyes widened, and my heart raced. I sensed more trouble than we were ready for. She shuffled on her feet as she looked between me and my brother.

"I was in my room," she began after a hard gulp, "And he visited me again," I knew immediately who she meant, making my blood race through my veins.

"Did he—"

"No," she shook her head. "He was here to warn us. He told me we should leave this place as soon as possible because his mother is planning something," Arika clarified quickly before we could start panicking about her well-being. She looked utterly unharmed.

"Why would he do that?" Zorge that.

"I don't know, but he seemed serious. He said that he's going to kill the Mage, and he's going to get into a lot of trouble for that," Arika added. I pondered it all, taking time to process everything and think ahead.

"What if this is a setup?" Zorge asked. "What if Mavie sent him to create panic between us?"

"Why would she do that?" Arika asked. "She wants us to stay here, doesn't she?"

"She wants you and Ivret to stay here. She wants us gone," I reminded her, and terror instantly flashed in her eyes. It was a different kind of terror— of not seeing us again. I was as terrified about this as she was.

"I... I don't think this is a setup," Arika shook her head. "He sounded troubled. He genuinely wants us to leave," A thick silence shrouded the room.

"Arika," I said. "This is a place where you cannot trust your own shadow, forget a prince. But I believe he told the truth when he said Mavie is planning something terrible. We need to figure out exactly how terrible it is,"

~

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