Page 24 of To Fight and To Fold

Aaryn’s cheeks were probably as deeply flushed as Thea’s had been that day as she finished recalling the story. The hand kiss was probably a detail no one needed—why had she blurted that out? They’d practically floated through the market together and then Thea had escorted her all the way back to the castle, despite Aaryn’s lighthearted protests.

Skies, she’d been so smitten with Thea from the moment she’d met her, hadn't wanted to part ways even then.

“Smooth,” Jarrick noted, and Aaryn glanced at him. He was stroking his chin while the investigator took notes. “Maybe too smooth.”

Aaryn’s heart sank. “What do you mean?” But she feared she might already know what he was insinuating. Her stomach turned, and she sat the tea down with a soft click against the table.

“The Tethered don’t leave the castle very often, do they?” the investigator asked.

Aaryn tilted her head back and forth as she considered. “Well…” The others had been Tethered for a lot longer than Aaryn had, and the crown met all of their needs. Everything they could ever need was already within these walls. But Aaryn liked knowing there was a world that existed outside.

"I like going to the market for our brunch, but I don't necessarily know what the other Tethered are doing in their free time."

“Would it be too much to presume maybe Thea waited for such an occasion to introduce herself?”

Aaryn’s pulse began to race. Was that it?

She tried to look back on their time together with a more critical eye.

“It’s written here that you were one of Thea’s references when she applied to the Second Guard.”

Aaryn swallowed, nodding. “Yes, we… wanted to spend more time together,” she admitted quietly. The Second Guard were in charge of securing the dragons and their caves, after all. What better way to see her crush more often?

Thea had worked her way up to Second Guard in a matter of months.

Aaryn wondered if that was due to her proximity to the castle—to spending time with Aaryn, putting Thea in the line of sight of the guards with more authority.

The silence in the room was deafening. Aaryn hung her head and felt the weight of their judgment, shame curling up beneath her ribs and making itself at home like a dragon on a sun rock.

“I’ve been played for a fool,” she said, balling her fists in her lap.

From the beginning.

“It's certainly starting to paint a peculiar picture,” the investigator said, glancing at her scarred hand.

Jarrick sank into the chair next to her. “Aaryn.”

She managed to lift her gaze.

“It’s important if you can recall anyone else who has grown close to the Tethered. Any other love interests or friends that have been hanging around the others recently?”

Aaryn thought back to her conversation with Rose. She recalled the last time the Tethered had one of their picnics with the dragons. It was always filled with gossip and giggles, and quickly Aaryn had learned that… acquainting oneself with the guards and knights around the castle was nothing new.

Like Carissa, with that daringly undefined thing with that one guard. Was that recent enough? Why, just recently, Wilma had recounted the tale of a guard they had familiarized themself with. Was she expected to reveal every occurrence?

It didn’t sit well with Aaryn to reveal the Tethered’s secrets, their love lives—but hadn’t she promised to tell the truth, not to omit it?

“If Thea wasn’t working alone, another traitor could be using them in the same way Thea used you," the investigator pressed.

Her lips thinned at his blatant words.

The Tethered were not required to marry, as their first duty was to the crown, the dragons.

Carissa had come from a noble line, and had been thrilled when a guard—oh, could Aaryn even recall his name now?—had shown interest in her.

Maybe Aaryn should speak to Carissa first. But what if she spooked her, and Carissa told him, and he ran?

Aaryn wanted to groan with the indecision, but instead she adjusted her skirts and—well.