Page 164 of To Fight and To Fold

Aaryn hugged her tightly until Thea was almost breathless, and then placed a hand on her side, patting, searching, and Thea grabbed her wrists, lifted both and kissed the backs of her knuckles, not caring that her blood was left behind on Thea's hand.

"You're okay," Aaryn said in awe.

"Are you?" Thea asked. "The magic. Your awakening. We need to get you out of here." Where could they even go that would be safe enough⁠—

"Hey," Aaryn echoed, and Thea stilled as her hand slid to her neck, pulling her attention to her face, streaked with someone else’s blood. "I'm okay for now." That was debatable, but Thea kept that thought to herself as Aaryn tightened her grip on her staff. "Just let me stay with you," Aaryn said.

At least Thea could keep an eye on her that way. Her warmth pressed against Thea's spine as the battle raged on.

They raged with it.

And only when it was over did the fever strike.

The druids remained standing and quiet in the devastation. Then Aaryn dug her staff into the ground and gripped Thea’s arm—and all of a sudden it wasn’t very quiet at all. People were calling for help and dragons were huffing and someone was shouting at people to move.

Aaryn gasped, and gripped at her midsection, slumping toward her weapon. Her face was flushed with it already, and Thea reached for her, scooping her up in her arms. Thea turned toward a place she knew they would be alone, even if it didn’t quite fit the fantasy they’d built together.

Sometimes, things just didn’t go to plan.

As the circle celebrated their victory, cries ringing across the skies, Thea carried Aaryn home. Her breathing was heavy, cheeks flushed. Thea placed her in the bath first and foremost, clothes and all, to cool her off. Her soft little moan was barely audible over the spill of the water as her head laid on a folded towel.

While the bath filled, Thea raced outside—and found Starspark. He sat outside the door, their staves between his teeth, and lowered his head to place the weapons down gently. His tail flicked back and forth as if in a job well done. Thea held out a hand, and as he nudged into her, the touch zapped at her fingertips like Thea’s clothes sometimes did in the winter.

“Go on then, I’ll take care of her,” Thea said.

Starspark had the energy of a dragon with unfettered access to the Hoard for the very first time, zipping through the sky, releasing his breath in a celebration. He'd be comatose in about an hour, tucked away somewhere safe, tired from all the activity and the new magic settling in him.

Thea plucked moon blooms by the handful, stalks and all, and by the time she returned, the bath level had barely risen, and Aaryn was still resting peacefully.

Thea put out the lanterns, instead placing vases of the softly glowing flowers around the living area, on the windowsills. Their orange light filled the room more gently, easier for Aaryn's heightened senses to take in. She changed the sheets, added more blankets, and then opened the door to Zalene, sent by Vaelen to deliver a basket filled with fruit and breads and cheeses, and a small jar of dried blooms.

"Thank you."

"How are things? Any word?" Of Rolim, of Carissa, of Runa, of Cloud Haven itself.

"Don't worry, we're still safe here. You can see to her."

A small breath of relief, an ease of tension.

"And Rolim? Carissa? The others?"

The ones that had been sent to save him.

Zalene's smile turned sad. "We can talk about it after."

Which couldn’t be good. Thea hung her head and sighed. "Fuck."

"Hey," Zalene said, her voice a bit harsher. "Focus on Aaryn. Push everything else to the side. Focus on taking care of her."

"I will." And Thea didn't speak a lie. If she knew anything in this uncertain time, it was Aaryn. "I will. Take care of everything else."

"We will."

Then Zalene was gone and Thea was helpless but to return to Aaryn's side. The water had helped cool the fever a bit, and Thea stroked her hair back, pushing away memories of a much smaller hand, scared of the sweat at the brow of someone close to her.

Aaryn stirred, and those memories faded for the here and now.

"I'm melting," she whined.