A Pet for the Dragons

150.

IVRET

"Lord Kalaz, is that you?" A familiar voice greeted me. I turned to find one of the oldest rivals of my house—

"Lord Halbow. It's me, indeed. I'm surprised to see you here," I greeted him with the same sardonic tone he used. I couldn't help but notice the way he was eyeing Arika. It filled me with rage. I wanted to pounce on him and rip his eyes out, but I didn't. But despite all this, my surprise to see him was genuine.

Even though he was of noble blood, his house wasn't as highly regarded as mine. Previously, I'd never seen him invited to exclusive events like tonight's. Seeing him here made me more anxious. I wondered if Mavie invited him knowingly or if it was just that his house had become more relevant while I was gone.

Whatever the scenario was, it didn't matter to me. The only thing that mattered now was the way he was eyeing Arika. I could almost see what was going through his head. My dragon stirred inside me, feeling possessive and protective over our bond.

"You should be," Halbow laughed in my face, knowing well why I was surprised to see him here in the first place. "Being an absentee of the court does that you, but I'm glad to see you're back. And it seems you've brought an exciting little thing with you," He said, nearing Arika.

I clenched my jaw, watching his every move. The way he looked at her was bothering me a bit too much, and I was afraid I'd act on it. He grabbed Arika's bun abruptly, forcing her to look up at him. I almost reached for my pocket to draw my weapon but stopped, assessing the situation carefully.

I couldn't react purely on emotions here. Otherwise, it'd be used against me, putting Arika in danger. Arika gasped but said nothing.

"Is she what I think she is?" Halbow asked with a dark, sadistic smile, glancing at me. I could see it all playing in his head. I could almost imagine where this was going.

"What do you think she is?" I asked, brushing my fingers against her collar in case he missed that. An expression crossed Arika's face as if she was about to curse us out loud, but she said nothing.

"You know what I'm talking about," Halbow said, straightening up and stuffing his hands in his pockets, a calculating look in his eyes as they roamed all over Arika. I clenched my jaw and pictured myself scooping out his eyes and feeding them to him.

"Yes and?" I asked.

"I thought one couldn't get them due to the treaty," He said coldly.

"I'm aware some houses have certain limitations, yes," I nodded, and Halbow clenched his jaw; something dangerous flashed in his eyes. I could tell that my words hit right where I wanted them to hit.

Halbow flashed me one of his cold, calculative smiles, "I'm not sure if you're aware, Ivret, but my house is now part of the Eleven. This leaves yours with more limitations than mine. Now, now, let's get back to business. Where did you get her? And how much did she cost? Is it a she? I need to look," Halbow said, reaching for Arika. A growl threatened to tear out of my lips, but I stopped myself.

"You want her?" I asked, standing up and stepping between him and Arika.

"Yes," Halbow answered without missing a beat. "Name your price,"

"Why don't you tell me first what you're willing to pay?" I returned. Halbow's eyes returned to Arika, and a calculative look dawned on his face. I clenched my fist as his eyes ran over Arika as if estimating the price for each of her body parts. I couldn't take this anymore. I wouldn't—

"You know what? I think I'm not in the mood to sell her—"

"Lord Kalaz!" Another joined us. It was one of the Ladies from a former noble house. Now, she had become a socialite, keeping the gossip mill alive. I almost growled with frustration when I saw her face, "I'm glad to see you here finally. I'd heard of your return, but I couldn't believe it. I thought it was nothing less than a rumour, but, oh, Helfa's nose! Is that a human?"

I froze. A few more nobles from the nearby tables approached us, interested in what was happening, but then they saw Arika. Halbow smirked at me.

"Yes, that's a human indeed, and I'm buying it," Halbow stated.

"No way," One of the nobles said as he stepped closer to get a good look at Arika. "I cannot believe there's a human here. Let me look at her. If anyone's got the gold to buy a human, it's me," He tried to push me, but I gave a low, threatening growl.

"I never said I was selling her," I declared loudly and clearly for everyone around me to hear. A few of the nobles rolled their eyes and left, but Halbow and a couple of them stuck around, wanting a glimpse of Arika.

Suddenly, I regretted everything. I should've run away instead and faced the consequences later. Faced with all these nobles trying to take her from me, I was on the verge of losing my calm. My dragon already wanted to be let out and taste their blood.

I had expected this, but nothing could've prepared me for this situation. Usually, people traded their slaves and pets here, too. This was another of the reasons why these exclusive events were regularly organised here.

"Is that so? Didn't you ask me to name my price a few moments ago?" Halbow asked. I could tell that he wasn't ready to leave. He had his eyes set on Arika. This made my dragon more bloodthirsty than ever.

"I might've," I returned. "But I never said I was selling her. Maybe I merely wanted to see if you're desperate enough for me to rip you off. She's going to be with me tonight. Get going now," I flicked my hand at him dismissively before returning to my seat.

I sensed Arika's tenseness and even saw some of it on her face. I wanted to caress her and assure her that it was alright and they wouldn't be able to get her from me so quickly, but we were being watched. The small crowd around my table had drawn attention to me and Arika.

Too much attention for my liking. Halbow gave me a cold glare, but his eyes returned to Arika, focusing on her darkly. I clenched my fists inside my cloak's pocket, imagining myself driving it through his jaw until nothing was left of it.

"Alright, alright. I want to see how you will say 'no' to Her Majesty," Halbow said before departing to a nearby table to join a few nobles in bidding for a pet. "It'd be interesting to see,"

I glared at him, but he wasn't wrong. When I glanced at the high table, Mavie watched me darkly, and one of the Courtiers whispered something in her ear. She smiled at me darkly as the Courtier stood beside her and glanced towards us.

~

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