A Pet for the Dragons

171.

ARIKA

"What happened, Arika?" Yvune asked, stepping closer. An evil look in his eyes. "Are you scared of me now?"

My mouth had gone entirely dry after seeing the room before me. My brain had completely shut down due to the shock. All of this was too much for it to process. On top of that, I was still internally warring about whether I should trust the golden prince.

For a moment, I regretted coming here with him after seeing the look on his face. Maybe staying back in the lab and having them experiment on my body would've been better than being stuck here with Yvune. This place didn't feel like anyone would come looking for me— precisely why he brought me here.

I swallowed hard, my back pressed against the wall. Yvune cocked an eyebrow at me when I continued to remain silent.

I eyed the kid, terrified and utterly confused.

"What do you want from me, Yvune?" I asked him. I decided the best way to make sense of this situation was to talk it out. "Just tell me why you brought me here. I need the truth,"

Yvune's creepy smile faltered before he sighed deeply, turning around and stalking away to the other end of the room, looking through a cupboard for something.

"I don't want anything from you," He answered while rummaging through the cupboards. "At least for now,"

When he turned around, I noticed he was holding gauze and bandages. He eyed me curiously before nearing again.

"As I said before, I brought you here to keep you safe from Mother's deranged healers," He replied with another deep sigh as he bent down before me to bandage my feet. It was then I noticed that I had been bleeding. My feet and part of my arms were cut because of the glass.

I couldn't help but shudder when I felt the tip of his freezing cold fingers over my skin and wounds. It was affirming of all the terrible things in front of me.

"What do you gain from this? And where are my dragons? Do you wish to keep me from them?" I blurted out. So many things were running through my head, but I could hardly find the words to ask properly.

"Hmmm... your dragons are fine. My brother is bringing them here as we speak. As for what I gain from this... nothing. Not yet." I was still finding it hard to trust him, but hearing that my dragons were safe and I would be reunited with them soon brought me immense relief.

I felt slightly relaxed— well, as much relaxed as one could feel in a freezing room filled with the dead bodies of a prince who was currently tending to my wounds.

"Why put yourself through all this risk?" I asked. "Aren't you going against your mother?"

Yvune lifted his head and blinked his golden eyes at me. He smiled at me beamingly.

"That's what I wish to do, precisely." He said proudly, and my heart shuddered. I didn't even want to imagine the punishments he would be given for this.

"Are you doing this because you think I'm carrying your mate?" I asked. This felt like the most logical thing right now. This was the first thing he talked to me about when we first met. I still couldn't shake off that conversation from my head.

Yvune tilted his head to a side, pondering while his hands steadily worked to clean and bandage my wounds. I wondered if his mentality changed with his body. The first day I met, he acted like a child, but I couldn't find the same childishness in him.

"Partially, yes," He answered after a pause. "She'll be my reward,"

"Reward for what?" I spat, frustrated that he seemed to be after my unborn child, too. I blamed myself for even thinking that he was doing this selflessly.

"Playing out my destiny," He answered with a shrug. If anything, it confused me.

"I don't know what you talk about, kid, but my future children and I aren't a reward for anyone for anything. They will—"

"You don't know what you're talking about," He cut me. I glared at him, even though he was tending to my wounds. I jerked my leg back away from him.

"Oh yeah? And you do? Look, I'm grateful to you for saving me and doing all this, but this doesn't mean I owe you my unborn child," I snapped at him. "They will make their own decision—"

"And she'll choose me," He said with a smile. "I saw it. That's why I said," He said with a smile, tapping his forehead before tending to the deep cut on my arm.

"Yeah... yeah..." I rolled my eyes. "I saw that my children chose to live a normal life away from this shit hole," I said, tapping my forehead to mimic him. I was expecting him to catch offence to that, but he only smiled at me.

"You're witty," he commented. But it's all destiny. Everyone is born with it, including you and me. Your children would be no different." He spoke with a sense of authority, as if he knew what he was talking about. For once, I believed him until...

"Even if they are, I will teach them to defy it like I did," I told him. He paused for a second and looked at me.

"How?"

I shrugged. "I was supposed to die when I was a kid. That was the first time I defied death. If I can defy death, I'm sure destiny is no big thing," I told him. He gave me a serious look before he burst out laughing at me as if I were a complete idiot.

I glared at him.

"You don't know what you talk about, Arika," He told me, pissing me off even more.

"And you do? Tell me what your destiny is," I demanded. He stilled for a second, his eyes penetrating my soul.

"My destiny is to defy my mother and dethrone her," he answered boldly. I could feel his words in my bones, and for a moment, he looked and sounded every bit of Royalty he was.

"And what if you defy your destiny?" I asked.

"Oh, I've been defying it for a long time," He smiled at me. It didn't reach his eyes, which were filled with intense melancholy. "I've tried it for long, and I've had to pay a huge price for it," He said quietly. His proud shoulders suddenly dropped.

"What was the price?" I needed to know.

"Why? Turn around and see for yourself," He answered bitterly. "I rot,"

~

Read the complete book on Patreon.

Also available on Patreon: A Plaything for the Dragons, The Stalkers and many more stories!

Thanks for reading <3