Page 98 of To Fight and To Fold

The following silence made Aaryn laugh, and she tucked her grin into her hand at Thea's sharp look.

Thea showed her the school, and paired it with stories of her upbringing there.

"I always had something to say, and I could’ve worked on my delivery a little."

"You were a little shit. Who would've guessed?" Aaryn drawled.

Thea's lopsided grin made her chest warm.

"I'll admit your hand-to-hand is solid. You have good reflexes," Thea murmured between harsh breaths that spilled into the late afternoon air.

"Told you. The prince was thorough," she said, because Aaryn was growing to love the way it made Thea grit her teeth, like she was doing now.

"Bring up the prince one more time and I'll bring out the staff," Thea threatened.

Aaryn discovered a slight problem when Thea wielded a staff: the druid looked very good doing so. In the breeze, her dark, jagged hair sliced across her heather cheek, which was a deeper color, flushed with exertion. The angle of the sun revealed freckles on her face that Aaryn had never noticed beyond the one on her jawline. Her biceps flexed with intention as she held the staff along her body.

She was staring, and she knew it. She blinked and tried to focus on the technique Thea was eagerly explaining. But to focus, Aaryn stared at her mouth as she spoke, and her little cupid's bow was so cute, actually. Was her bottom lip always so full?

Oh my skies. What is wrong with you?

Aaryn shifted her attention to Thea's hands, and the words were landing clearer now—funny how that worked. Aaryn had never had trouble focusing on the prince's instructions. Of course, the prince had never looked quite so distracting as Thea did, dappled with the sunlight through the leaves and branches, a curl on her lips, the staff held so casually and effortlessly at her side.

“Here,” Thea said, and turned away toward the other staff leaning against a tree.

Aaryn grimaced behind her back. You could try being a little normal.

Beside that tree was Starspark, and even he looked disappointed in her. I'll be so normal, she mouthed at him, and then smoothed her expression back into something neutral as Thea spun.

“Try it,” Thea said, and held it out to her.

Aaryn didn’t know what she expected, but when she wrapped a hand around the smooth wood, she hefted it easily. “Oh, it doesn’t feel that different from Starspark’s brush!”

"I thought you’d say that.” Thea’s satisfied smirk made it warmer beneath the sun. There was a twitch to her cheek as if she knew, and Aaryn wanted to expire right then and there.

"Ready?" Thea asked.

No, probably not.

"Of course," Aaryn said.

Aaryn’s chance finally came when Thea was called away by Vaelen.

Aaryn had elected to stay with Starspark on Dragons’ Nest. "We'll be fine," she told Thea, and waved her off.

As Thea walked away, she glanced over her shoulder. Twice.

Aaryn offered a small wave, and waited until she had disappeared from sight to whisper to Starspark. "Let's go, hurry!"

She knew it would be weeks before Vaelen or Thea let her attempt something like this, so they'd just have to be quiet about it. Casual. Like she was supposed to be here.

Here. At the Playground. No dragons or Awakened on the obstacle course.

"The Great Dragon is looking out for us," she sang to Starspark conspiratorially. "Do you want to?" she asked, motioning to the sharp hills and low branches and dangling vines that awaited them.

"We've got to be quick," she said, hushed and peering around. "But not too quick," she warned sternly.

Starspark grumbled, high-pitched and excited as she settled onto his neck, feet tucked and hands braced on his scales. "Now—" she began, but she could practically feel his eagerness in the vibration of his body beneath hers, and he flared his wings, flapping them to send himself into the air.