Page 126 of To Fight and To Fold

Thea tilted her drink up as if in cheers. "We're sad. We're tipsy. What other way is there to be than what we are?"

And maybe Aaryn was a little intoxicated, but the words felt profound.

"I can't believe she told you to seduce the prince." Thea's thoughts drifted from one subject to the other like a leaf on the wind, and Aaryn was along for the ride. "Gross."

"My thoughts exactly," Aaryn agreed, throwing a hand out at the unfairness.

"You seemed like you were entertaining him enough," Thea countered, pointing at her around the grasp on her mug.

Aaryn groaned. "Are we still on this? He's the prince. You don't turn down a dance from the prince. Not without making a scene."

"What about all the private meetings?"

Aaryn narrowed her gaze at Thea. "I told you already: training."

Thea's hum was unconvinced. "And during this training…" she hinted. "How did that even go? The prim and proper prince—could he even lift a blade?"

Aaryn laughed at Thea's pout. "He was a decent instructor."

"Did he ever hurt you?" Thea asked, stare locked on her mug.

With a scoff, Aaryn answered, "No, of course not. We hadn't even made it to swords by the time he dismissed our sessions indefinitely."

"Oh. So he… never drew blood or anything?"

Aaryn frowned. "No. Why?"

Thea tilted her cup up to empty it. She muttered into the emptiness, "I think that would be an even more unforgivable offense, is all—hurting you."

A stronger version of Aaryn might not have been so affected by Thea's care, but Aaryn was a bit tired, a little tipsy, and still thinking of their kisses—the only ones they'd shared. So she let the delight at Thea's concern warm her chest. Or maybe that was the mead?

"He was annoyingly gentle with me. And a little suggestive. But that was before Carissa, before he put the curfew in place." She grumbled the last bit, and wondered how the other Tethered were faring. How was Rose, whose dragon the prince had been riding? The prince, who Aaryn realized she still imagined as the man she’d left on the dance floor in Evergale, and not the man she’d seen amongst the flames of Skymore.

That man hadn’t seemed capable of taking care of himself, let alone the Tethered who he’d sworn to protect. Were any of them safe under his care—no, his rule?

Worry filled her. Just because she wasn’t there didn’t mean things weren’t still a mess.

Maybe it was a mess from the beginning.

Aaryn grounded herself back in the moment with another sip of her drink.

"Asshole," Thea murmured. "You're better off without."

"Maybe we all would be," Aaryn murmured, and then remembered what they were discussing at all. "I mean, I’m not even interested in men. At least not that one, much to my mother's dismay."

The words landed with all the grace of a young dragon at play, but it still took her a moment to notice the answering silence.

She glanced up and found Thea's gaze already locked on her.

"Me either," Thea said softly.

Aaryn felt heat gather in her cheeks. This wasn't new information.

They'd danced around one another plenty with a crush, a spark, at least when Thea had worn Evergale's crest on her armor. Meet me at Lover's Peak.

Then they'd begun a different dance, one full of spite and anger and heat.

After Thea had stolen Starspark, Aaryn had convinced herself even the spark had been a lie, the blush on Thea's cheeks and the little smiles she'd tried to hide.