Page 79 of To Fight and To Fold

It was that easy.

Thea leaned against a tree and dug the toe of her shoe into the dirt, feeling… something tangled and complicated in her chest. She wondered how different things would be if Aaryn had waited for her on Lover's Peak. If Thea had been able to bring her with Starspark. If she hadn't had to blow out the east wall to distract the guards—the ones who were supposed to be on break.

She supposed it didn't matter now. It had led them here, after all. Finally.

When she glanced up again, Aaryn was scratching under Starspark's chin, and he was staring right at Thea.

She took it as a sign, and approached. "Hey, big guy," she greeted. "Told you I'd bring her to you."

He interrupted his scratches to lean down and bump her with his snout for the first time. Shock skittered through her, and she rocked back on her heels before she leaned into his affection, his thanks.

"You made him a promise," Aaryn said.

"And I kept it," Thea finished.

19

BELONGING

Aaryn recognized these trees, the flowers, the sky, the impossibly big moon overhead.

Now she knew why it had been so big in her visions. They were closer to it than Aaryn could have fathomed just hours ago.

In fact, everything she'd dreamed from Starspark's eyes hadn't been a dream at all.

It was real.

Which meant the anger he’d felt was real. The fury that was now gone. Two souls fracturing at the edges but now mended.

Her gaze slid to Thea, whose eyes softened when Starspark nudged her, surprise filling them as much as affection did.

Aaryn stroked her hand down Starspark's snout, cherishing every scale, remembering every dream she'd had from his perspective. She felt closer to him now than ever, as he purred beneath her touch. She stroked her hands all over him, inspecting every scale of his face before moving to his neck, petting over the scar there. His rumbling happiness vibrated her hand, and she… she never wanted to leave him. She couldn't believe she'd waited so long to trust Thea, to come here.

Aaryn belonged with Starspark; it didn’t matter if it was in an unfamiliar environment that floated in the sky with magic Aaryn hadn’t been able to comprehend just weeks ago.

“What are the rules here?" she asked without turning her head away from her dragon. "When it comes to them?" She scratched between two scales for emphasis, Starspark groaning softly in relief.

"He's your dragon. You make them," Thea said, hesitantly reaching out to him.

Starspark didn't shrink away from her touch like he had in the past.

So he had genuinely warmed up to Thea in the weeks he'd been here. Or maybe Starspark was just too happy to finally be reunited with Aaryn to care if Thea pet him.

"Mine?" she asked.

In her periphery, Thea shook her head. "We can dive into it later, but for all intents and purposes, he's yours. To care for, to train with, to ride."

Aaryn's hand stilled. She could ride him?

His gaze flicked to her, as if he could feel the sudden excitement coursing through her. She imagined slicing through the sky on his back and her belly swooped.

Aaryn laid her forehead to his, possibilities rolling out before her like a king's lavish rug. If what Thea said was true, then she could always tread it whenever she wanted.

“I mean,” Thea corrected. “Maybe not right away. You can’t be flying off back to Evergale with him.”

As if.

"Where am I supposed to sleep? Do I have to leave him?"