A Pet for the Dragons

179.

ARIKA

I was stuck in a nightmare... or in a time-loop. I couldn't tell.

The day I killed my sister's mates kept repeating again and again, and each time, things got worse. At first, it felt like I was in a dream, but it wasn't. All I had to do was wake up, but I couldn't.

That's when I started questioning if this was a nightmare or if I was stuck in a small crevice of space and time where one event repeated repeatedly, driving the person stuck in it mad.

Each time I tried to stop and be reasonable. I tried to avert the destruction each time, but it happened one way or another. No matter what I did, the starting and ending were always the same.

The ending was more haunting.

It always ended with me lying on the cold snow, breathing my last while in the background I heard my sister mourn the death of her mates. I didn't want to do it anymore. It rang in my ears every second, driving me closer to insanity.

I couldn't help but wonder if I was stuck in the loop. There was a saying among the sailors that one was made to relive their worst nightmare again and again while on the brink of death.

They were only granted the gift of death when one managed to get out of this loop. This could be possible, but I didn't want to accept it. If it were true... I was sure it was true... I'd die. If I died, I'd never see my dragons again... I'd never find my ship again... I'd never see the sea again.

The thought scared me. I didn't want to die. I wasn't ready to die. There were so many things I wished to do... This didn't feel like the perfect moment for me to die.

I was a woman who liked to live on her terms, and I was adamant to die on my terms, too. But...

I was back in the abandoned harbour, slowly being buried under thick layers of snow. The huge metal containers surrounded me, and my sister stepped out from behind one.

"I hate that we look so much alike," I said as I had said that day. The words left my mouth before I could think about them, but I had to stop here.

A new cycle had begun. I had to find a way to disrupt this one.

"But I'm glad to see you," I added before Myra could respond. Her eyes widened in shock a little bit.

"I can't say the same," She responded.

Good... this is going to be different this time.

"I understand. It's valid," I nodded. "But now you must do exactly what I say for this to end."

"Or what?" Myra challenged. I wasn't surprised by this. This was typical. This was expected. I had gone through this several times already.

"Or you and I both will lose at this. We need to work together," I said, stepping closer to her. "We need to—" I leapt at her mid-sentence and pinned her down on the snow. My sister... well, she wasn't my sister but a simple manifestation in my dream. I needed to end her somehow.

Myra fought back as expected, throwing punches at me that landed exactly at my throat and my nose, making me bleed already, but this wasn't going to stop me.

"I have to do this," I gritted, fighting and searching for my dagger. I needed to end it soon. She was finally in my control. However, when I reached for my dagger, it was not there.

It took me by surprise for a moment until I looked down at Myra and found her with a wicked grin on her face. The grin seemed to be too wide to be human. It reminded me again that she wasn't real. This was a nightmare... or something... I don't know, but I needed to end this to escape.

"Are you looking for something?" Myra asked. Her voice sounded a lot deeper all of a sudden. She started melting under me. I shrieked in surprise and jumped back, trying to get away from her.

"Wha... what are you?" I asked as I saw the entity leave my sister's appearance and shift into something tall. I had to look away because it had a blinding light.

"So you figured out that I'm not your sister. Good one. I thought it'd take you another hundred cycles," The entity spoke.

"What... what are you?" I asked again. I was too stunned to ask any other questions. The space around seemed to be shifting... or I was falling. I couldn't tell. Too much was going on all at once for me to focus on one thing. Everything overwhelmed me quickly.

"It doesn't matter who I am. However, I'm here to make a deal with you," The entity spoke.

"Deal?" I echoed.

"Listen clearly..."

My eyes snapped open suddenly, but I closed them immediately. It was too bright for me. As soon as I opened my eyes, all my senses came alive. And that wasn't a good thing.

I could feel too much all too suddenly. I felt pain, soreness, chills, and so much more, all in a flash. It made me want to go back to sleep...wait, was I sleeping? Or was I... I couldn't remember anything for a moment.

Why was I in so much pain? I couldn't remember. I searched my memories for any answer, but suddenly everything seemed to have gone. This was frustrating.

I forced myself to open my eyes and focus my vision only to see an unfamiliar face. It was of a woman I'd never seen before. She seemed to be happy to see me. She said something to me, but I couldn't listen. My ears were ringing.

However, she was gone instantly. I wondered where she went. I tried to get up or move in her absence, but couldn't find any energy. Even blinking seemed to take up most of my energy.

All this was more... confusing. What happened to me? Was I in some big accident? I tried looking at my body, but couldn't raise my head. While I was trying to move, my hearing fully returned to me.

I heard the door burst open and several footsteps walked in, all in a hurry. In the next seconds, several faces appeared in my vision.

"She's awake," One of the faces said, but before I could make them out properly, I went back to sleep. 

~

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