Page 63 of To Fight and To Fold

Thea's lips quirked, and the flash of humor made something flutter in Aaryn's chest. Then Thea glanced past her, and Aaryn followed the direction of her attention, to… the sheath. Their cheeks almost brushed, too close for Aaryn to clearly see even the freckle on her chin. Aaryn… let Thea take the weapon from her. Forgot everything the prince had taught her.

Wasn’t sure if she wanted to remember, right then.

"Helps if the blade is free," Thea murmured as she stepped away. "Like this."

The hiss of the blade against the sheath was loud in the room, and then Thea held it between them, hilt first. Like an offering.

“Do it,” Thea said, and pressed the tip of the blade into the heart of her armor. Armor which… shone, glimmering beneath the robe. Were those… scales? “I dare you.”

Aaryn lifted her hand, as if ensorcelled by her words, her scent, all heather and far too gentle and enticing for someone with Thea's hard edges. She curled her hand around the hilt, around Thea's fingers—the touch lasting but a second. Thea slid her grip from beneath Aaryn's, and she swore she could feel the warmth of her even after it had gone.

Aaryn tried to find her voice. “I'm surprised you’re not just thrusting yourself onto the blade to get closer to me,” Aaryn muttered. “That was your game all along, wasn’t it?”

Thea's expression turned wicked. "I figured I'd let you try out some of the moves the prince has been teaching you."

Aaryn's face heated for no reason. "How do you even know⁠—"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Thea whispered, leaning forward into the tip of the dagger. “You were supposed to come too," Thea admitted, and Aaryn met her gaze, everything around them falling away. "I didn't intend to leave you behind. Lover's Peak—" Her face heated suddenly, in the lamplight of Aaryn's room. "I was supposed to be there. You were supposed to come with me, just like Carissa will come with Rolim. But I… messed up. And now Starspark is alone… and so are you." At her side, her hand twitched, and Aaryn watched her almost reach out.

Why did Aaryn almost want her to?

"And that spoiled little prince is trying to take advantage of you," she hissed. "You’re not safe here, just like Starspark wasn't.” Thea told her. She presented these lies with such surety, as if she spoke absolute truth.

And yet the sounds outside the window were a contradiction. “The only danger to us is you,” Aaryn told her quietly. “You and your… your dragon bandits are the ones causing so much grief.”

Thea laughed with a bitter note and Aaryn despised the sound of it, no matter the way it warmed her. “Dragon bandits? Is that what they call us?”

She cleared her throat.

"Tell me, Aaryn," Thea said, lifting her hand. She paused inches from the skin of Aaryn's throat. "If someone has their boot on your neck, what do you do? Lay there and let them suffocate you?" she continued, and the distance between them lessened as Thea swayed into her, the blade the only thing keeping them apart.

"Or do you squirm and lash out, hoping for them to lose their leverage as you fight back?"

"I see not why it matters when no one has their boots on the druids’ throat," Aaryn pointed out.

Thea's brow furrowed. "It's not just the druids. We're just the enemy they chose as the poster child. Do you not know what goes on outside this castle?"

Aaryn grit her teeth together. "I'm trying to learn."

Thea’s gaze dipped toward the desk. She reached out, and Aaryn's breath caught, anticipating her touch—but Thea reached past her, the tip of the blade digging into her armor. Aaryn tried to pull it back and found there was no room between them. Thea lifted the book Aaryn had stolen from the library without a care.

"You're reading about druids?" she asked.

Aaryn wondered if her cheeks would cast a glow, they felt so warm. "You said I didn't ask enough questions. I thought to remedy that."

"Learn anything new?"

"Much," Aaryn said, staring straight at her.

Thea hummed and cracked open the book. Aaryn watched as she read, and⁠—

Thea's seemed disappointed. "They record lies to make themselves seem the victor. You believe this?" she asked, lifting the book.

The need to defend herself rose and tumbled from her lips. "I have no other point of reference. What else am I supposed to believe when you swoop in, infiltrate the Guard, use and discard the Tethered once you are done with them, and steal our dragons away?"

Thea frowned. "You think I discarded you?"

She did not deny using me.