Page 137 of To Fight and To Fold

"My hair," Aaryn said, sliding a hand down the bubbles of the braid that rested over her shoulder. Thea was so focused on watching her fingers stroke over the hair that she didn't realize how close Aaryn was before she once again said, "You." She emphasized the word by poking Thea softly on the shoulder, a little smirk on her lips as she leaned close.

Danger.

"Shut your eyes," Thea managed smoothly, a wonder, when she was really all tangled up inside.

Aaryn pouted, predictably, but her lashes fell to her cheeks as they puffed out with her sigh.

"What are three things you can hear?"

It went quiet for a moment, and Thea sank into the atmosphere a little more steadily without Aaryn's gaze seeing right through her.

"My heartbeat," Aaryn finally said, voice utterly gentle. "A very chatty cricket, and Starspark's breathing." Nature carried on in the wake of her answers and Aaryn was still, waiting. They were so close that Thea could feel her warmth in the cooling night, that tension, that awareness present just like it had been between their palms.

"T-two things you can smell," Thea said.

Aaryn’s lips twitched. "Someone is smoking nearby—it's sweet and grassy and I never smelled it before I got here. There's also—" Aaryn tipped forward, nose landing right against Thea's shoulder that Thea didn't know to expect but Aaryn clearly expected to still be there. "You. Floral and earthy. Like heather, or something. It's nice," she added, barely a whisper, and pulled back with a soft curl to her lips. "What's the last one?" she asked, lashes fluttering, eager. Knowing.

Taste.

Aaryn was calm and connecting with everything around her, while Thea was frazzling at the edges.

Because Thea wanted her. She wanted to ask Aaryn for it, wanted to give her the answer in her lips and listen to her breath hitch and to bury her head in Aaryn's neck, seeking more of her soft floral scent. She wanted to play right into Aaryn's hands and return her flirtations.

Thea wanted to show her magic and watch the chills slide across her skin and maybe chase the wave of them with her own lips as Aaryn tapped into the Hoard.

But she couldn't. She couldn't stomach it. Because that damned dragon reminded her what a liar she was. How she was once again betraying Aaryn's trust.

Maybe Thea really wasn't any good for Aaryn. They'd only just begun to build something real, and Thea was sacrificing the foundation of it.

Ruining it.

"Tell me, Thea, what the last one is," Aaryn said. It was a dare and a plea all at once and Thea ached⁠—

"I have to tell you something," Thea blurted, the words burning the back of her tongue with desperation as they escaped. Fuck.

"Thea," Aaryn groaned, eyes sliding open, disappointed. "Why do you keep pulling away?"

Aaryn reached for her but Thea moved out of kissing distance, then further. She drew in a deep breath and tried not to let the bitter brew in her belly overwhelm her.

"What's going on with you?" Aaryn asked, and her cute, flirty smile was gone, a worried expression in its place.

"The pin isn't just a pin," Thea admitted. "I lied. Again." Thea dragged a hand through her hair, full of regret.

Confusion crossed Aaryn’s features, and she reached up to the little clay dragon, almost protectively. "What does it do, then?"

Thea wished she could spare Aaryn the burden of knowing. She supposed she could, if she kept lying to her. But Aaryn was… Aaryn was strong and capable and logical. Thea had faith that she could handle the truth, and it wasn't fair of her to try to make the decision for Aaryn in the first place.

And Thea just didn't want to hide anything from her anymore.

Even if it might be for her own good—who was Thea to be the judge of that?

"It's got a spell in it."

29

CAN YOU FEEL THAT

"The pin is a precaution, to keep you from being scried on… again."