Page 7 of To Fight and To Fold

Her chest went tight, as if someone had cinched the corset cruelly around her ribcage.

As she watched in horror, another explosion went off, this time at the back of the castle. An orange glow filled the landscape.

A dark shape took flight, and scales that were pure shine reflected the glimmering fire below it, a burst of midnight and a flash of pink and green.

Starspark.

Aaryn didn’t remember moving, didn’t remember throwing herself down the hill or up onto the horse, or demanding it race back the way she’d arrived.

The stamp of the horse’s hooves was nothing compared to her heart in her throat, the drumbeat pulse in her ears, the lingering ache in her palm.

As she drew closer, she passed people coming out of their homes, the sounds of the explosion drawing their curiosity.

“Is that the castle?”

“Are we under attack?”

Scales, she hoped not.

Aaryn broke free from the winding streets of homes and was met with chaos near the castle's peaks.

Knights were everywhere, and Aaryn skidded to a stop near a crowd of panicked people. A guard addressed them at the front, near the large gates.

“There’s nothing to worry about, please! You’re safe to return to your homes.”

“What about the dragons?” someone asked, and Aaryn had much the same thought, but she wasn’t sticking around to find out from a Third Guard.

She slipped off her horse and left him behind, confident he would be returned to the stables one way or another. She squeezed her way to the front of the crowd and held her left hand up to the guard. Her wristlet clinked softly with the movement, accenting her scar and proving her status.

The guard nodded his head at the sight of it. "Tethered," he greeted, and then motioned for her to enter the castle.

She left the crowd behind and waited until she was out of sight before she broke into a run, dipping into a ballroom and through a side door into the castle's gardens. She raced through the simple maze and out the other side, following the wall until she couldn't any longer.

A huge, smoking, fiery hole had been blown in the stone near the covered walkway that bridged the Tethered's living quarters to the castle.

She craned her neck to the sky, but there was no dragon visible.

Her hand ached something mighty, and grief filled her as she gathered her strength and ran toward the guards inspecting the site.

“Starspark!” she cried out.

The knights tried to stop her approach, and Aaryn held up her hand to show them her scar, her jewels, her status—she had a reason to be here—where is my dragon?

“Miss—“

“Where is he? What happened?” she demanded, trying to see over their shoulders and around their sides despite the mess of rubble before her.

“We’re still assessing damages, madam, if you would please return to⁠—“

“I’m not going anywhere until I know where my skies-damned dragon is!” She raised her voice, something she so very rarely did, but panic clutched at her heart and dread weighed heavily within her body, as if she was trying on Thea’s chain mail again.

“Where's Thea Cyrus?” she asked instead. “Do you know her whereabouts? Is she safe?”

The guards shared an undecipherable look, and then turned to her instead of ushering her away.

“Come with us, Miss.”

Her stomach sank, but they held out their hands and motioned her to follow them, and she would do anything for a closer look at the dragons’ keep.