Page 69 of To Fight and To Fold

In that moment she wanted to rip the book and all its non-answers apart. Her door came into view all too easily, and Aaryn's steps slowed, yet it did not stop her from eventually reaching the wooden barrier.

Fine, she thought.

"Well. Hopefully you handle the boredom better than I do," Aaryn said, and pulled it open before slipping inside. If it shut a little harder than necessary, Runa would just have to forgive her.

Aaryn understood the king's frustration after losing another dragon and a Tethered. The prince had taken the brunt of his anger.

And yet it felt like Aaryn was the one being punished. And she uncharacteristically wanted to punish someone too—so she forced herself to pause and pressed her fingertips to her brow, breathing deeply.

What is wrong with me?

She padded to the window, the sun beaming in and the warm air blowing the tendrils of her hair. She drew in deep breaths to stave off the weight in her chest and curled her hands over the stone sill of the window.

The same window Thea had leapt from before she disappeared.

Aaryn sighed and turned toward the room, leaning against the frame. Her desk with her book of druids atop it mocked her, even now.

Relegated to her room as they all were now, she'd have plenty of time to stare at it, to remember that night in crystal clarity.

As if she could forget.

Her eyes drifted shut, brow furrowed as she replayed it. Thea's words, uttered so quietly, almost a rasp. Her touch as she'd placed the hilt of Aaryn's dagger in her hand. Something warm and sharp struck her in the belly and she blinked her eyes open, attention falling to the book.

"Might as well get started," Aaryn muttered, and crossed to pull out her chair. She smoothed her skirts beneath her as she sat, and opened the book to her last place.

Maybe that would be her first challenge, finishing this book. Here in her room. Alone.

17

SOLSTICE

Days passed, and Aaryn wasn’t as isolated as she had anticipated. The Tethered proved Thea’s words wrong, as she was tentatively welcomed back into their company. She’d so graciously been asked to help prepare for the Summer Solstice Ball, and through it all, part of her wished they’d just leave her alone.

Garlands were hung. Flowers were dangled. Banners were fitted for the dragons’ necks that would fly in patterns over the streets.

Dresses were chosen and made, as a gift from the prince to all the Tethered. The light pink, shimmery fabric chosen for her was the prettiest she’d ever laid eyes on, but it did not appease her. She stood on the edges of the room with Rose and the other Tethered, and seethed.

Aaryn missed Starspark. And Aaryn was angry about it.

"Do you think the prince will ask you to dance?" Rose asked.

Aaryn shivered, lip curling at the thought. "What gives you that idea?"

Flowers spilled from the ceiling, bursting with bright green hydrangeas and wrapped with dangling chains of marigolds that sparkled in the soft torchlight. Romantic, some would say.

Rose smirked and nodded over her shoulder. "Oh, I don't know, maybe the way he's staring at you?"

Aaryn refused to look, and fought the urge to grind her teeth. "Eh."

Rose gasped and swatted at her. "Tethered Aaryn, watch yourself."

"Why, when the prince is apparently doing it for me?" she drawled.

Rose laughed loudly, drawing the gaze of a few suitors dispersed around the room.

Aaryn heard not from Thea, and the rare times her dreams slipped into Starspark, it was all soft grasses, glowing flowers, and peaceful nature with a giant moon overhead. She wanted to be with him. Wanted to soothe his irritation, but she couldn’t.

So leave.