Page 38 of To Fight and To Fold

She nodded, brushed her long hair back from her face, and drew in a blessed breath.

“I’m sorry⁠—”

“Apologies not needed,” he said. “In fact, I think it would insult me at this point.”

“Oh,” Aaryn said meekly, embarrassed. “Well, I wouldn’t want that.”

“Good,” he said, and his eyes sparkled a little as he smiled softly at her.

She wished she cared like her mother wanted her to.

Instead… "How many Tethered has this happened to?" Aaryn asked. Rose had said⁠—

"Astrid was the second Tethered to go missing. She's the only one who was returned. Her death was… well, it will be nineteen years ago this year, actually." The prince's gaze was distant and she felt the pain in him. He really seemed to care for the Tethered, and his concern warmed her.

"Who was the first?" Aaryn asked softly.

The prince leaned back against the desk. "A woman we've never been able to find. No one knows what happened to her. Or her dragon."

"What's her name?"

He ducked his head, jaw tightening. "Vaelen. Her name was Vaelen."

9

FIXING IT

The evening sky stretched far below, pink and clear except for the giant cotton clouds that looked as if they’d hold her weight.

Thea found the archdruid in the small building that acted as Vaelen's headquarters, where she often stayed, though it was not a homey kind of environment. Maps lined the walls, adorned with red strings and markers that Thea had not learned the meaning of yet.

“You come alone, which means your plan didn’t work,” Vaelen greeted her.

Thea sighed. “No. It didn’t.”

“Go see Starspark. You have the scent of her on you. It might be enough to convince him to eat.”

“He’s still not doing well?” Thea asked, worry sinking her stomach.

“Worse,” Vaelen reported. “He's snapping at anyone that comes near. Still won't take food.”

Stubborn. Just like his Tethered, Thea thought.

Vaelen sighed, shaking her head. “I can compel him to eat, but that's only a salve for a deeper issue.”

“How do we make him trust us?” Thea asked.

Vaelen shrugged. “He won’t. Not unless his Tethered is here. This just confirms what we already knew,” Vaelen said, and closed the book she was holding, tapping the fingers of her burn-scarred hand against it. “Dragons need their Tethered,” Vaelen said, finally glancing up to meet Thea's gaze. “Tell me about your visit.”

“I caught her by the orchard. It was an… alright conversation." Her hand itched with the feel of Aaryn's lips on her palm. "Up until she tried to convince me to return, claiming she’d talk to the prince about a lesser punishment or some bullshit.” Thea’s lip curled.

Aaryn was frustrating. Infuriating! How stupid could she be, following the crown so blindly, refusing to question anything? Accepting their word at face value?

“Wipe that sneer off your face,” Vaelen said, and Thea caught herself. “Do not forget your empathy. You’ve said it yourself: the crown provides Aaryn with a life she once only could’ve imagined. She feels indebted.”

“They branded her,” Thea argued. If she tried, she could still feel the weight of Aaryn's hand in her own, feel the jaggedness of the scar beneath her fingertip.

“The Tethered don’t see it that way, and you know it. To them, it is an honor.”