Page 22 of To Fight and To Fold

"What happened to her?" Aaryn asked, leaning closer. Her heart raced and she wasn't sure why.

"No one but the prince and his family really know. That's how tightly the secret was kept."

"But you know," Aaryn said quietly, not like a question, but a truth. Rose knew everything, because she was sly and smart. Smarter than people gave her credit for.

"Well…" She drew the word out deviously, a small tug at her lips.

But a knock at the door interrupted at possibly the worst time, and she startled, jumping to her feet.

"Tethered Aaryn?" a voice called through the wood. "I've been sent to collect you for the interview."

Rose frowned. "We can talk later. I should go see Moss anyway. Good luck, okay?" Rose squeezed her hand and paused. "I'm sorry your romance got cut short. It would've made a good story." And then she was opening the door to a polite guard, and Aaryn and the guard followed her only as far as the bottom of the stairs before they parted ways—Rose to her dragon, and Aaryn deeper into the castle.

5

TOO SMOOTH

The chair Aaryn sank into was not very comfortable, and the investigator's gaze was not kind as he took her in from behind his spectacles. It all felt very serious and heavy as he adjusted his impeccably organized notes with labeled tabs and waited for the guards who often accompanied Jarrick to leave the room. The three of them remained, and the silence was tense.

She felt as if she'd done something wrong. The note weighed in her pocket. Surely they could see it dragging the pockets of her dress to the floor?

The investigator spoke, pulling her from her thoughts, and she forced her hands to relax where they rested on her knees.

“The king has tasked this investigation with the utmost importance. Solving this quickly is in our best interests, and knowledge is power,” he said. He was dressed sharply in rich, warm colors, but his voice was empty of emotion. “Do you vow to tell the truth as you know it to be, with the understanding that any information at all could be vital to this investigation?”

Aaryn swallowed as the weight of what she’d agreed to settled on her shoulders. She had nothing to hide; she was guilty of no crimes, and yet she was… nervous.

What if she wasn't any help at all? She and Thea hadn't even known each other a full year. Was what they ate on their picnics really going to offer much clarity? Maybe she'd oversold her insight.

Finally, she pinned her finger on the squirming sensation in her chest. Divulging such things about Thea felt like… betrayal, in a way.

But Thea had betrayed her first.

And Aaryn wanted Starspark back where he belonged.

With me.

“I vow it,” she said, and sat up straighter, resolved.

The investigator looked right at her, practically into her soul. “When did you first meet Thea?”

“Around eight months ago,” she answered, and he began to write in a little book. Jarrick placed a steaming cup of tea before her, and Aaryn curled her shaky hands around it. The warmth was almost too much against her right hand, but on her left hand, where her scar was, she hardly felt it at all. It was hot and comforting, even if the taste didn’t quite agree with her palate.

“How did you cross paths?”

“Well, I suppose the first few times I saw Thea around the castle, we just passed one another in the halls. Polite nods, like I give all the guards. The first real interaction I had with her was… in the market.”

Aaryn furrowed her brow, lips strangely loose, as the memory came to her.

“And I’ll have six of those, please,” Aaryn told the elf. All around her the market was busy, bustling with citizens and vendors and carts.

A few stray dogs and cats lingered around, the scent of fresh-baked goods and fish and meat calling to them. The sun speckled the ground through the trees that lined the carts and kiosks, and the breeze was playing with Aaryn’s long hair even though she had it tied back.

The six pastries were handed over in a paper bag and added to Aaryn’s basket. It weighed on her arm already, but this baker was her last—and favorite—stop. It was for a special occasion with the other Tethered, and Aaryn wanted to arrive with treats.

“And actually, could I get one of these cookies?” she asked, pointing to a cookie with white icing.

She deserved a little treat to get herself back to the castle, didn’t she?