19. Belonging
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?"
As if Starspark understood her, he nudged into them both and closed his eyes.
"Aaryn," Thea breathed. "Holy scale, is he pretending to sleep?"
Amusement tickled her and she could've melted into a puddle at her affection. She turned big, round eyes up at Thea.
Her cheeks darkened and she looked away quickly. "I think that's answer enough," Thea said, motioning to the dragon. "Tonight we can stay here."
Starspark blinked out of his fake sleep, turning round eyes on Thea just like Aaryn had. "A—and tomorrow we can figure out the rest. I have to stay with you, like Vaelen said," she added.
Relief flowed through Aaryn and she patted Starspark. "I don't think you'll mind a sleepover, right?"
He huffed in agreement, and Aaryn's heart burst with love for him. Great scales, she'd missed him so much, and she placed an aggressive kiss on his snout. She just wanted to gobble him up.
Which was laughable, considering how large he was. Which was still not as big as Vaelen’s dragon had been. How did he get to be that size?
"But I can groom him whenever? Come visit whenever I want?"
Thea nodded, and waved a hand around. "The small cottages around here, those belong to the Awakened. They live on this isle to be closer to their dragons."
"Awakened?" Aaryn asked.
"They're like… our version of a Tethered," Thea explained.
Aaryn wondered how they differed. In fact, she had about a hundred questions, more spawning with each moment she spent here. But right now, Starspark was nuzzling into her hand, bright eyes locked on her as if he couldn't believe she was real. She felt much the same.
"Look at your eyes," she murmured, and squinted up at him. Since he'd been without grooming, the crusty bits that gathered at the corners were out of control. "You couldn't even groom yourself?"
She'd have to take care of him as soon as possible. Did they have brushes and gloves like the Tethered used?
"Is Carissa here?" she asked, glancing around for a familiar dragon.
Thea’s answering hum slid into a, "Yes? But no. She's honeymooning with Rolim."
So she was safe. Their dragons were safe. Cared for. Loved.
She'd spent a heart's beat here and already she wondered what Evergale found so threatening about the druids. Was it all an act? Were they hiding something?
What was Vaelen doing up here? The first Tethered to ever go missing… was right here. An archdruid.
Prince Jarrick would lose his mind if he found out.
Suddenly Aaryn wanted to know the whole story.
How Vaelen went missing, what had happened to her, how she'd ended up here.
And what had happened to Astrid? Had she truly chased after Vaelen?
How had she ended up dead? Who killed her?
Aaryn had questions, and Vaelen likely had all the answers.
But should Aaryn trust them so wholeheartedly so soon?
Did it even matter anymore? Aaryn would never be returning to Evergale. Not when Starspark was right here.
She'd chosen her side.
The thought felt very final, and sudden exhaustion swamped her. She supposed leaving behind one’s whole life and running away to a druid's circle would do that to a person.
She was content to rest against Starpark, to have a sleepover under the stars. Something she'd never been able to do before, not when the dragons were expected to sleep in their caves, and the Tethered in their tower.
But her corset kept her stiff, and she glanced down at the flowing, sparkling fabric.
"I didn't even think to bring anything with me," she said. It only just occurred to her.
She had no clothes. No belongings.
Thea just shrugged while the reality of her situation landed hard. "You wouldn't be the first. Tomorrow we can go to the seamstresses and see what bits and bobs they have. For now, I probably have something you can wear. I live on a different part of the circle," she explained.
Aaryn nodded, comforted at least by the quick transportation. To move somewhere entirely new with a flash of magic. What a life these druids must live!
"But you'll bring me back? Tonight? I can sleep here?" she asked, afraid if she left, she might not be able to return.
Thea smiled softly, and Aaryn ignored the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. "Yes, we can come back tonight."
"How's that sound?" she asked Starspark. "It'll be quick," she presumed, and glanced at Thea for confirmation.
Thea patted Starspark as well. "A blink of time. I'll bring her right back."
He opened his eyes and huffed, billowing Aaryn's dress.
"I think that's as good an answer as we'll get," Aaryn said, and stepped away, her hand slipping from his warm scales. Starspark's big, green eyes followed her, and it broke her heart all over again to walk away.
"It won't take long. Come this way," Thea directed.
Aaryn carried her shoes in one hand, and peaked over her shoulder once more at her dragon—her dragon—before following Thea.
Thea led them back to the magic pillars and moved the painted tile into place.
The circle glowed as it was completed and Aaryn braced herself as the magic took hold. It didn't hurt, but it surrounded them with an odd tingle that was unfamiliar to her.
When she blinked, they were standing in a similar circle, but a different place. The glow faded as the tile moved itself out of line with the magical pattern.
"What's this one?" She was trying to commit everything to memory.
"This is the biggest of the isles. But we simply call it the Heart,” Thea said, gazing proudly out at their surroundings.
They'd materialized in the center of another set of runes, within what seemed to be a…
town. All around them were more buildings molded from the earth, formed by magic, their simple wooden signs depicting businesses or arrows directing toward paths that led deeper into the isle.
Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs and flowers and little gardens were planted amongst the walkways. It was… beautiful.
It reminded her of Evergale… if Evergale had been rife with nature and freely walking dragons.
"Wow," was all Aaryn could come up with, pulling from a vast vocabulary.
"It's come a long way from the beginning," Thea said, and led her away from the teleportation runes.
She directed her toward a path between two large trees—upon closer inspection, Aaryn realized there were doors in their trunks—which eventually ended near a huge clearing with a firepit in the center. The embers were cold.
There were even taverns! Eventually their path branched off into more paths, and on either side of those walkways were those little homes, carved into a hillside, hollowed out of a tree.
"It's gotten pretty crowded recently… more people are joining us from all over Rishika."
"Why?"
"We’re a refuge," Thea answered hesitantly.
Aaryn sensed there was something Thea wasn't saying, but Aaryn could guess well enough what she meant. "From Evergale?"
Thea nodded.
"I'm just around this bend," Thea said, and then led her to a small cottage that looked similar to all the others. "It's not… a castle, or anything, but it's mine, and I think it's nice."
Thea spoke as if she was already apologizing for what awaited them, and Aaryn wondered if Thea wanted to impress her. She kept the question to herself, and instead she tucked a smile into her shoulder and waited for Thea to let them in.