16. Curfew
CURFEW
Aaryn’s room was stale and dark in comparison to Starspark’s surroundings, the breeze against his scales, the orange glowing flowers.
Her heart thudded soundly in her chest, and yet it ached.
Aaryn had never seen Thea so… rambly. Not with the flush of alcohol in her cheeks, her softly lazy steps. The weight of her, so small and fragile against Starspark's side.
"A weasel," she whispered, and bit down on her amusement. How rude of Thea to describe the prince in such a way.
Now the prince is isolating her from her friends, drawing her into his… circle, or whatever.
Aaryn drew in a deep breath as she heard Thea's words in her mind again, fists clenching around her blankets.
Why, indeed, would the prince do such a thing?
After the altercation, the prince had been a force of frustration whipping through the castle. Even the knights around him had seemed tense, and Aaryn was glad they had not met for training.
She’d been distracted enough, replaying every moment of her interaction with Thea again and again.
Their proximity, the way she’d urged Aaryn to press the dagger deeper against her.
She’d been so intimidating, making Aaryn curl away from her, while the Thea she’d seen last night had made Aaryn want to brush her hair back from her face.
Maybe pour her another drink to see what other confessions might spill past her lips.
She shook the forbidden thoughts away as she stood amongst the Tethered in the dragons’ yard. The prince had called them all together and though Aaryn found it hard to include herself in their ranks by the day, her presence was expected.
The ground was still disturbed, charred, and no one seemed surprised. As if marks hadn’t scorched the earth from magic, and something hadn't grown instantaneously from nothing!
Aaryn blinked and noticed the bursts of char were aimed, scattered around… the vines. The vines, which the druids had presumably grown from the rich dirt. Which meant it had been the knights who wielded this still-smoldering magic, souring the air.
Look, Aaryn. For the truth.
If the druids were such a savage people, why was their magic springing from the earth while Evergale’s knights destroyed?
Speaking of…
A pack of knights were awaiting the Tethered, tucked in line behind the prince. Runa was amongst them, but even her steady presence couldn’t reassure her. Nerves danced through Aaryn’s stomach at the prince's grim, sleepless expression.
Rose reached out to grip her hand, and Aaryn knew she wasn't the only one nervous about what awaited them.
The prince spoke, distracting her from silent ruminations.
"Tethered, thank you for gathering here with me this morning before resuming your duties.
You may see to your dragons shortly, as this won't take long.
These knights," he said, waving a hand at the row as if his words didn't land like a punch to Aaryn's chest, "have been deeply vetted, and I trust them, so it's important you trust them too, because from today on, they will be by your side at all times, watching out for you. "
Even though Aaryn was well acquainted with the concept, it was new to the others, and as their small gasps and murmurs followed his announcement, his gaze hardened.
He pressed on. "I'm also implementing a curfew and a perimeter."
Something dark churned in her stomach.
"Please stay within the castle's perimeter, and return to your rooms after sunset. This is the way we can protect you best."
The Tethered around her were quiet in contemplation, and Rose's hand clenched tightly around Aaryn's.
The prince continued, "I care for each of you deeply.
" He said this as he lifted a clenched fist to his heart, and his gaze flicked over Aaryn.
"And your service to the crown and our dragons is eternally appreciated.
I know this is less than ideal, but it's in your best interest. We would be nothing without you, and that is why I must keep you safe, at all costs. "
"How long?" Aaryn bit out. How long did the prince intend to keep them on this schedule?
"Until we are certain the threat has been dealt with."
It had been centuries that the druids and Evergale had been at odds. Surely he did not intend to keep them locked away forever?
Aaryn felt trapped suddenly, and her instinct was to balk. To rage and thrash her hand from Rose’s and slap the prince and scream. Which made her pause, because it was not something Aaryn had ever felt before.
"Do you think Carissa is alright? Do you know where they've taken her?" another Tethered asked.
Carissa's disappearance was jarring to the others. Most of all, perhaps, to the prince, who had clearly lost sleep over it.
Why do you not take me against my will?
That's not our way, Thea's voice rang through her head.
They didn't know Carissa had gone willingly.
Aaryn wondered if she was happy, wherever she was, wondered how Rolim had convinced her. Had he downright proposed on the battlefield? Did Carissa just love him so wholeheartedly that she would leave her entire life behind without a second thought?
Aaryn wondered what that felt like, to have a love so certain.
You do.
It was Starspark.
Then why haven't you gone to him?
"I cannot speculate on Carissa's whereabouts at this time," the prince said.
Aaryn had not been able to see Carissa's dragon through Starspark's eyes the previous night. But she… she found it was not hard to imagine him there alongside Starspark. If he was being cared for as well as they attempted to care for her own dragon, he, at least, was certainly happy.
Did that mean Carissa was happy too? It must be.
Aaryn wished she could offer the other Tethered this comfort, but she dared not. If the prince learned she had such a connection to the enemy, and had not been utilizing it… she was smart enough to fear the consequences.
If she’d told the prince about her visions with Thea, Carissa might not be missing at this very moment. For the first time, Aaryn understood the full scope of what Thea had been saying. She needed to hold her secrets tighter to herself than ever.
You’re not safe here.
The prince answered a few questions and dodged others before eventually dismissing them, all while Aaryn's mind was racing. He paired each Tethered with a knight, and Aaryn nodded respectfully to Runa as she took her place.
"Fancy meeting you here," Aaryn told her as she approached.
Runa smiled softly, and bowed her head. "Coincidence, I'm sure."
Around her, the Tethered walked with their guards toward the dragons’ caves, ready to start their shift.
Except Aaryn.
She had not a dragon to tend to, so she waited for the others to disperse before approaching the prince. Her stomach turned with tension, and she swallowed the anger she still felt from such a distance.
"And what of me?" she asked.
He averted his gaze, fiddling with his cuff. "If you have no business to tend to in the castle, you… you'll have to remain in your rooms," he said. He at least had the decency to look off-put by his own suggestion, but that didn’t stop the rage from warming her chest.
"No more training?" she assumed, but she'd like to hear it from his own mouth.
He shook his head. "I need to focus, to shift all of my attention to the cause."
"Carissa was not your fault," she offered, on the off chance that she might convince him to change his mind. Aaryn herself didn’t really believe it, not with this unfamiliar irritation beneath her skin.
It was the prince’s fault she didn’t have Starspark yet. And quite frankly, she was tired of cradling him in the hopes he might do something in her favor when it was clear that would never be the case.
"That is a kind sentiment, but we all know it's false.
It was my decision to use her as bait. I fear that was their hope all along.
I walked that Tethered right into their palms." He shook his head as if he couldn't bear the thought, and Aaryn wanted to roll her eyes.
He sighed and stood tall once more. "Thank you for your concern, Tethered Aaryn. Please return to your rooms."
Her instinct was to buck against the request. No matter how politely he phrased it, he was locking her—and all the Tethered—away.
"As you wish, Prince," she said, tone dry, before spinning on her heel and walking away lest she do something frowned upon.
Her shadow followed. "Did he mention to you at all how long this dressed-up imprisonment will last?"
Runa winced. "Careful, Tethered Aaryn."
She bit her tongue, and the silence weighed heavy. It only reminded her that Runa might be a familiar face, but she was ultimately dispensed by the crown. She was friendly, but not a friend.
And despite that, Runa answered. "He said it could be a few more days, or weeks. If their luck runs dry, months."
Aaryn released a breath, the stone steps seeming to expand and stretch on before her.
She tried to focus on the positive, but right then all she could think of were the long, endless days of pacing her room. She had no purpose in the castle. How would she fill her time? Was she to go mad?
At least the other Tethered would be able to tend their dragons, to walk with them on the field and brush their scales, see to their talons and shower them with affection.
Perhaps you could finish the druid book, finally.
In that moment she wanted to rip the book and all its non-answers apart. Her door came into view all too easily, and Aaryn's steps slowed, yet it did not stop her from eventually reaching the wooden barrier.
Fine, she thought.
"Well. Hopefully you handle the boredom better than I do," Aaryn said, and pulled it open before slipping inside. If it shut a little harder than necessary, Runa would just have to forgive her.
Aaryn understood the king's frustration after losing another dragon and a Tethered. The prince had taken the brunt of his anger.
And yet it felt like Aaryn was the one being punished. And she uncharacteristically wanted to punish someone too—so she forced herself to pause and pressed her fingertips to her brow, breathing deeply.
What is wrong with me?
She padded to the window, the sun beaming in and the warm air blowing the tendrils of her hair. She drew in deep breaths to stave off the weight in her chest and curled her hands over the stone sill of the window.
The same window Thea had leapt from before she disappeared.
Aaryn sighed and turned toward the room, leaning against the frame. Her desk with her book of druids atop it mocked her, even now.
Relegated to her room as they all were now, she'd have plenty of time to stare at it, to remember that night in crystal clarity.
As if she could forget.
Her eyes drifted shut, brow furrowed as she replayed it. Thea's words, uttered so quietly, almost a rasp. Her touch as she'd placed the hilt of Aaryn's dagger in her hand. Something warm and sharp struck her in the belly and she blinked her eyes open, attention falling to the book.
"Might as well get started," Aaryn muttered, and crossed to pull out her chair. She smoothed her skirts beneath her as she sat, and opened the book to her last place.
Maybe that would be her first challenge, finishing this book. Here in her room. Alone.