Page 110 of To Fight and To Fold

Aaryn didn't argue, strangely quiet, and Starspark offered them a dragon's eye view as he flew them above the crowds. Even his wings flapped slowly, clearly drained from all the activity.

The druids were an iron-clad operation. Healers were organized and efficient, not only with magic, but also with bandages and salves. Others were putting together sleeping arrangements, finding space for all the new refugees, distracting the kids, getting everyone clean and clothed. The kitchens were working in full force, and Thea's stomach rumbled. The thought of food made her nauseous.

But she wasn't the only one here. She needed to look after Aaryn, who'd just experienced her first—great skies. Her first big conflict. "Do you…"

Aaryn was shaking her head, and Starspark was lowering them to the ground.

Their night might be coming to an end, but for many of the druids it was only just beginning. There would be more work tomorrow. Thea overheard a conversation as they made their way home. Hundreds of people had been rescued.

"So many," Aaryn whispered. "Should we… help?"

"I know it feels like we should," Thea said, reading her expression too easily. "But everyone has a purpose in times like these. We did our part. We have to trust the others to do theirs."

"Where will they all sleep?" she asked.

"Wherever they'll fit," Thea answered, and she gently gripped Aaryn's arm to direct her home.

Aaryn followed, unable to take her eyes off the damage done.

"Everything you've seen here was built from the ashes of Evergale's atrocities," Thea said. Her tone was bitter, and usually she tried to sugarcoat it for Aaryn's sake, but Aaryn didn't flinch. Her gaze was filled with empathy as they passed, but there was something more there, tucked deeper. Burning hotter. Furious.

It calmed Thea, soothed that thing that had lurched to life the moment Aaryn had thrown herself off of Starspark, shoved Thea aside and ran toward… Vaelen. But for just a second, Thea had thought⁠—

When the door closed behind them, a splash of color on the table caught her attention. She recognized the scribbles as she stepped closer, tracing a finger over the colored drawings. The dragons. The flames.

Such innocence. Such devastation.

"When did these get here?"

"This afternoon," Aaryn said, voice rasping through her lips.

At the roughness of her voice, Thea looked up, but Aaryn turned her head to the side, still lingering by the door. Her throat worked in a rough swallow.

This was good, actually. If Aaryn was losing it, Thea had to be strong, which meant there was no room for the unreasonable emotions all tangled inside her, cinching tight like barbs.

Thea gathered two tin cups, and filled them with water. A peace offering.

Thea's steps echoed around the quiet space. Too quiet, considering what she knew lay just beyond the other side of the very door Aaryn leaned against.

"Hey," Thea said, voice soft as she could possibly manage, still scratchy from the smoke inhalation.

Aaryn tried to wave her off as she approached, but Thea ignored her. "Take it," she said, and bumped the cup into Aaryn's knuckles, gripped tight onto the bottom of her scaled vest.

She looked good in scales. Which was also safer to focus on than anything else, like the prince's disturbing magic.

Aaryn finally wrapped her fingers around the cup, and drank deeply of the water. They finished, then refilled, and for long moments the room was silent, both listening to the murmurs of the efforts past the walls.

Thea refilled her cup for a third time when Aaryn spoke. "You're being too nice to me," she said, voice tight. Thea suspected it had nothing to do with the smoke.

Thea blinked at her in the low light. "Am I usually not nice to you?"

She huffed out a breath, swallowed sharply, brushed chaotic, soot-dusted pink hair away. "I don't know why I'm so—" Her voice broke off and she cleared her throat, attempted a laugh. "You're supposed to—to scoff and tell me to quit crying. It wasn't my home that was lost to those flames." The hand she waved about was pointed in the direction of the drawings, now stacked neatly.

Thea's heart clenched. "It's a heavy weight. It needs to be carried with caution."

Aaryn rolled her eyes, wiped her nose, and finally looked at Thea. Her eyes were red-rimmed from smoke or the impending tears; Thea couldn't differentiate.

"Did Vaelen tell you that?"