Page 68 of To Fight and To Fold

Then why haven't you gone to him?

"I cannot speculate on Carissa's whereabouts at this time," the prince said.

Aaryn had not been able to see Carissa's dragon through Starspark's eyes the previous night. But she… she found it was not hard to imagine him there alongside Starspark. If he was being cared for as well as they attempted to care for her own dragon, he, at least, was certainly happy.

Did that mean Carissa was happy too? It must be.

Aaryn wished she could offer the other Tethered this comfort, but she dared not. If the prince learned she had such a connection to the enemy, and had not been utilizing it… she was smart enough to fear the consequences.

If she’d told the prince about her visions with Thea, Carissa might not be missing at this very moment. For the first time, Aaryn understood the full scope of what Thea had been saying. She needed to hold her secrets tighter to herself than ever.

You’re not safe here.

The prince answered a few questions and dodged others before eventually dismissing them, all while Aaryn's mind was racing. He paired each Tethered with a knight, and Aaryn nodded respectfully to Runa as she took her place.

"Fancy meeting you here," Aaryn told her as she approached.

Runa smiled softly, and bowed her head. "Coincidence, I'm sure."

Around her, the Tethered walked with their guards toward the dragons’ caves, ready to start their shift.

Except Aaryn.

She had not a dragon to tend to, so she waited for the others to disperse before approaching the prince. Her stomach turned with tension, and she swallowed the anger she still felt from such a distance.

"And what of me?" she asked.

He averted his gaze, fiddling with his cuff. "If you have no business to tend to in the castle, you… you'll have to remain in your rooms," he said. He at least had the decency to look off-put by his own suggestion, but that didn’t stop the rage from warming her chest.

"No more training?" she assumed, but she'd like to hear it from his own mouth.

He shook his head. "I need to focus, to shift all of my attention to the cause."

"Carissa was not your fault," she offered, on the off chance that she might convince him to change his mind. Aaryn herself didn’t really believe it, not with this unfamiliar irritation beneath her skin.

It was the prince’s fault she didn’t have Starspark yet. And quite frankly, she was tired of cradling him in the hopes he might do something in her favor when it was clear that would never be the case.

"That is a kind sentiment, but we all know it's false. It was my decision to use her as bait. I fear that was their hope all along. I walked that Tethered right into their palms." He shook his head as if he couldn't bear the thought, and Aaryn wanted to roll her eyes. He sighed and stood tall once more. "Thank you for your concern, Tethered Aaryn. Please return to your rooms."

Her instinct was to buck against the request. No matter how politely he phrased it, he was locking her—and all the Tethered—away.

"As you wish, Prince," she said, tone dry, before spinning on her heel and walking away lest she do something frowned upon.

Her shadow followed. "Did he mention to you at all how long this dressed-up imprisonment will last?"

Runa winced. "Careful, Tethered Aaryn."

She bit her tongue, and the silence weighed heavy. It only reminded her that Runa might be a familiar face, but she was ultimately dispensed by the crown. She was friendly, but not a friend.

And despite that, Runa answered. "He said it could be a few more days, or weeks. If their luck runs dry, months."

Aaryn released a breath, the stone steps seeming to expand and stretch on before her.

She tried to focus on the positive, but right then all she could think of were the long, endless days of pacing her room. She had no purpose in the castle. How would she fill her time? Was she to go mad?

At least the other Tethered would be able to tend their dragons, to walk with them on the field and brush their scales, see to their talons and shower them with affection.

Perhaps you could finish the druid book, finally.