14. Nice Haircut
NICE HAIRCUT
Dinner was just as stilted as she’d feared, but Runa’s company kept her from running away. They dined at the end of a long table, making faces at one another when they overheard a particularly scandalous piece of gossip.
Aaryn tried her best to avert her attention away from the Tethered, as the tension between those in attendance could be felt even tables away. But alas, Aaryn found her gaze landing on them again and again, and she noticed the absence of Carissa.
Maybe she was absconding through the halls with her guard lover.
After escaping the dining hall, Aaryn traveled swiftly through the covered walkway that led to the Tethered's tower, and as far as she could tell, she was the first to arrive after dinner.
Making haste, she headed for the stairs, taking them to her floor before she could be caught by another Tethered.
If they even wanted to catch her. She'd done her best to avoid them after the last confrontation, but it seemed they were putting in the work to avoid her, too.
Which was… fine. It didn't matter that the only community she'd been a part of had turned their backs so readily on her.
Her pace increased, steps echoing off the stone floor. She had other things to do besides eat pastries and lounge around. Like learning hand-to-hand combat and… and reading! In her spare time she'd made progress in the book about druids.
But even what she had read so far only confirmed what the prince had confided in her.
According to the books, the druids were a wild community. Their camps often devolved into chaos because of looters and thieves, and they cared not for those who didn't agree with their ways. It sounded a little like the corner of Evergale she'd grown up in.
Years ago, before Aaryn became a Tethered and she was still finding her next meals in difficult places, she had heard… whispers. Of the druids, who were beyond Evergale's influence, taking people in. To where, no one knew.
But those words had come few and far between, and Aaryn had mostly forgotten them. Until now.
She didn't know where those whispered rumors lie in the story the book told.
Her dreams had been just as sparse, and she had not seen Starspark again. She swore the disappointment filling her each time she awoke was for him, and not because of Thea's absence.
Her door finally came into view, and a shape outside it made Aaryn falter, her breath catching as she thought for just a second, maybe—
"There you are," Carissa snapped, her voice echoing around the hallway. "What do you know?"
Aaryn blinked, backing up a step as Carissa stomped across the floor in her direction. Her brows were furrowed and her lips twisted in fury as she seethed.
Behind her, Runa stiffened, sliding around Aaryn to stand in front of her.
"Oh, yeah, sic your stupid guard on me!" Carissa barked, and Aaryn winced, peering out from behind Runa's imposing figure to meet Carissa's eyes.
"About what? What happened?" Aaryn asked, stomach lurching. Had another dragon been taken?
"Rolim is gone. Where is he?"
Oh. Not a dragon, but Carissa's paramour.
Aaryn studied her. Her eyes were red, presumably from crying, and her hands were fisted in her skirts. Her hair was down and long—silly that for even a moment Aaryn had mistaken her for Thea—and it was windswept, in peach chaos.
"Would you like to come inside?" Aaryn asked, motioning to the door of her quarters before any other Tethered returned to their rooms and overheard them. The question seemed to deflate Carissa, and she nodded, though her lips were in a tight line.
"Runa, it's okay," Aaryn said, and stepped around her. The guard seemed resistant, narrowing her gaze at the other Tethered.
"I'll be listening," she said. "I won't hesitate to barge in the moment I think something is amiss."
"Thank you for your diligence," Aaryn told her, and meant it.
She didn't think Carissa wanted to harm her; she was just upset about… Rolim.
Once inside, Carissa halted in the center of the room, breath puffing out, her chest heaving. Tears were welling in the corner of her eyes, but she held them back.
"So, start from the beginning. What happened?" Aaryn asked, keeping her voice low.
Carissa threw her hands up, not caring to do the same. "Wouldn't you know, with your hands all in the prince's pot? You told them a bunch of gossip and now they've gone and taken him!"
"The Guard took Rolim?" The prince told her they hadn't found anything of note in their investigation.
He could've been lying.
It felt forbidden for the thought to cross her mind, and she glanced guiltily toward the door before focusing on Carissa.
"Well, I assume it was the Guard! He returned from a mission just two days ago, did their stupid interview, and now he's been gone since this morning. Just… gone!"
"So you didn't see them take him?" she pressed, motioning with her hands to keep their voices down. Because if the Guard hadn’t taken him… had someone else? Or maybe he'd left of his own accord—like Thea had.
Carissa's eyes narrowed, but she took a deep breath and finally whispered, "No! We were supposed to eat breakfast together, start the morning with one another, but he never showed, and he's not at the barracks, and no one has seen him!"
Aaryn frowned, beginning to pace. "So you told the other guards that he's gone? How did they react?"
Carissa bit down on her lip as her eyes finally grew too full and a tear spilled down her cheek. "They didn't seem concerned. That's why I think they're the ones who took him—why else would they not be worried? Unless they're the ones that know where he is."
Aaryn’s brow furrowed, following her logic. "And they already interrogated him for Starspark's disappearance? How long ago?"
Carissa nodded. "Right after he got back from his patrol with Stormstrike. They did that before he was even able to come see me."
Aaryn's heart began to pound. If the crown thought he knew something, they wouldn't have released him back on duty.
What if the druids took him? Or… what if he was like Thea, and decided to leave before he'd been caught?
"Did you check his rooms?"
She shook her head, raising her hand to bite at her nail. "No. They wouldn't let me in."
Aaryn hummed, deep in thought. Either he had left Carissa behind, returning to the druid's circle—a term she'd learned during her research—and the soldiers were trying to cover it up, or…
Or the crown really had taken him.
It had to be connected to the druids. Because if he'd gotten hurt, or—scales forbid—died on duty, she couldn't imagine a reason why they'd hide something like that.
Carissa sucked in a damp breath. "Do you know anything? From Thea? Is he… one of them? If Rolim lied to me…"
A pang went through Aaryn's chest. Suddenly, she and Carissa had something in common.
"He wouldn't, is the thing," Carissa continued, sniffling. "Right?"
Aaryn directed Carissa to the nearest chair, and the other Tethered sank down into it as if she couldn't bear the weight of uncertainty.
"He… he loves me," Carissa said, her voice small. "We're going to get married."
Aaryn knelt down and placed a hand on her knee.
"Can you… can you ask the prince?" Carissa asked. Aaryn didn't have enough time to shutter her expression, and Carissa lurched forward, grabbing her hand. "I'm sorry. It's hypocritical of me to ask, but I don't know what else to do. I wouldn't ask, except I know the two of you have grown… close."
Aaryn's cheeks flushed. "Are there rumors?"
Carissa nodded. "Just a few. Mostly between the Tethered."
Aaryn glanced away. She supposed she should be flattered that they talk of her at all. And yet that hurt still lingered.
"I assure you, there is nothing going on between the prince and me," Aaryn sighed. "What do you want me to ask him?"
"Ask him if he knows of Rolim's whereabouts. If he's on a secret missive, or something. Or if they've… taken him into custody."
"It would be improper to ask him after dinner. Could you stand to wait until the morning?"
Carissa's eyes welled up again, but she nodded. "I'll wait. I trust he is… alright." Her voice cracked, and Aaryn's heart hurt for her.
"Would you like to stay here tonight?" Aaryn offered.
Carissa shook her head. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I find comfort in my own bed. Thank you. You'll find me as soon as you talk to the prince?"
"I will, I promise," Aaryn said. "Allow Runa and I to walk you back to your rooms."
"Alright, I will accept that kindness as well," she said, and pushed to her feet. Before Aaryn could fully get her balance, Carissa launched at her and wrapped around her for a hug.
"Thank you so much, Aaryn. And for what it's worth…" she murmured, pulling away to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry for what I said in the dining hall. I was frustrated and embarrassed, and I took it out on you."
Aaryn’s lips parted, and she tilted her head to the side. Was Carissa truly apologetic for this distance between them, or was she trying to placate Aaryn so she would follow through with asking the prince about Rolim? Aaryn had already vowed to do so, and a Tethered was not one to break a vow.
Aaryn's cheeks flared in indignation. "It's been a stressful time for everyone. Thank you for your apology."
"I notice you don't accept it," Carissa said. "But I'll do my best to prove that I mean it."
She pulled Aaryn into another hug. “The Tethered are a community, and we're here to support one another. I should have offered you support like you're offering now. My outburst at the table probably pushed you further away. I'm sorry, again. I wish I could go back and change it."
Her words struck Aaryn. It felt sincere, and something in her warmed. “I—thank you, for apologizing. We can't change the past, only the future."
Carissa nodded. "And I will support you in the future. Would you like to join us the next time we gorge ourselves on pastries?" Her smile was still teary, and Aaryn wondered if she was trying to convince herself everything would be normal in the near future.