1. Date Night #2
“I could come by tonight, afterwards, and tell you about it, if the Second Guard will let me. I have connections.”
This time he snuffled promisingly, and she patted her hand against his head.
Affection struck her. “Tonight, then.”
She saw now why it was called Lover’s Peak.
Besides the peek she’d gotten at a few bold young couples on her way to the top, the crest of the hill was…
“Breathtaking,” she whispered.
The grass hissed against her boots as she came to a stop, and before her stretched… everything.
She had a perfect view of the castle, torches alighting it and bringing it to life beneath the stars.
The path she’d taken on horseback was visible, leading all the way back into town, past the market and back to the castle.
And everything looked so tiny.
She had heard about this hill before, but never had a reason to visit it. Her duties kept her busy and she was not one to go around finding lovers.
With a sigh she gathered her skirts—she’d wanted to look nice, since Thea mostly saw her in trousers fit for the physical activity involved in caring for Starspark—and leaned against a nearby cropping of rock.
She hoisted herself up and sat, awaiting Thea, and adjusted the folds of her skirt.
Her closest friend, Rose, another Tethered, had suggested this very dress in a soft lavender color for obvious reasons, and sent her on her way with giggles.
Her heart raced at just the idea of Thea joining her up here, in this beautiful place, and what it might mean for them.
The sun set, and Aaryn waited as night fell and the stars appeared. The moon shone brightly, casting a soft glow upon the town of Evergale.
A city that had shown her much suffering while growing up poor and on the edges of town, bordering the flat farmlands of Windhelm.
It was also a city, a kingdom, that had shown her much mercy and grace.
Every one of her needs was met, as were her mother’s.
While Aaryn had been moved into a tower with the other Tethered, her mother had been given a lump sum and took care of herself in a cozy little cottage near the very peaks she sat upon.
They caught up every now and then over tea, but it had been a few weeks. She’d have to pen a letter and make time.
Her palm itched, and she frowned at the scar there, scratching it absentmindedly around the jewels in her wristlet. She studied the whorls and wisps of Evergale’s crest, forever etched into her skin. It’s reminder of her duty was a comfort.
As Aaryn gazed over the kingdom and the castle, she sighed wistfully. This view would be even easier to appreciate if Thea were here. Which she should be.
Aaryn glanced around, noting the empty hill, the quieted couples as they left after their… peak.
Aaryn chuckled softly and turned her attention back to the lights. The castle was mighty busy, torches flickering in the distance. She cocked her head to the side, staring.
It was actually… very alive. More so than usual.
As she stood, dropping to her feet as if that would help her see more clearly, a pang shot through her hand.
“Ah!” She muffled her cry and gripped at her wrist. That throbbing, lightning-sharp pain was embedded in her memory. The raised skin on her left hand, her Evergalian crest, seemed to throb. Only one thing had ever hurt like this. She jerked her head toward the caves.
A burst of light, an explosion.
With a gasp, she could do little else but watch, mouth agape.
The distant boom echoed, and, and—
Panic raced through her. Starspark was in danger. What should she do?
Was Thea down there, in the mix? Is that why she was late? Was she in trouble?
Her chest went tight, as if someone had cinched the corset cruelly around her ribcage.
As she watched in horror, another explosion went off, this time at the back of the castle. An orange glow filled the landscape.
A dark shape took flight, and scales that were pure shine reflected the glimmering fire below it, a burst of midnight and a flash of pink and green.
Starspark.
Aaryn didn’t remember moving, didn’t remember throwing herself down the hill or up onto the horse, or demanding it race back the way she’d arrived.
The stamp of the horse’s hooves was nothing compared to her heart in her throat, the drumbeat pulse in her ears, the lingering ache in her palm.
As she drew closer, she passed people coming out of their homes, the sounds of the explosion drawing their curiosity.
“Is that the castle?”
“Are we under attack?”
Scales, she hoped not.
Aaryn broke free from the winding streets of homes and was met with chaos near the castle's peaks.
Knights were everywhere, and Aaryn skidded to a stop near a crowd of panicked people. A guard addressed them at the front, near the large gates.
“There’s nothing to worry about, please! You’re safe to return to your homes.”
“What about the dragons?” someone asked, and Aaryn had much the same thought, but she wasn’t sticking around to find out from a Third Guard.
She slipped off her horse and left him behind, confident he would be returned to the stables one way or another. She squeezed her way to the front of the crowd and held her left hand up to the guard. Her wristlet clinked softly with the movement, accenting her scar and proving her status.
The guard nodded his head at the sight of it. "Tethered," he greeted, and then motioned for her to enter the castle.
She left the crowd behind and waited until she was out of sight before she broke into a run, dipping into a ballroom and through a side door into the castle's gardens. She raced through the simple maze and out the other side, following the wall until she couldn't any longer.
A huge, smoking, fiery hole had been blown in the stone near the covered walkway that bridged the Tethered's living quarters to the castle.
She craned her neck to the sky, but there was no dragon visible.