Tender #3
"Is that so?"
Thea didn't answer. She'd walk into the barrier spell before she ever shared that she awoke nuzzling into Aaryn's pink hair.
"Speaking of Aaryn," Thea said. Vaelen failed to hide her smirk behind the lip of her chipped cup. "She wants to awaken her magic."
Now Vaelen finally let the teasing drop, leaning forward in interest, a gentle smile on her lips. "Good. She'll feel so relieved once it's done. Will you be there with her when she does it?"
Thea paused, because, well, she hadn't exactly spoken to Aaryn about it.
"I don't think she knows what exactly that… means. She wants to wait until things calm down a little," Thea supplied. "I thought about suggesting she spend some time with one of the Awakened."
"What for?" Vaelen asked.
"I don't know, to answer her questions? Maybe to show her a little bit of magic."
Vaelen pursed her lips at Thea.
"What?" Thea asked, defensive.
"You should be there with her. You know as well as any of the Awakened that it can be a stressful event.
Having someone there that she trusts will be vital.
And as for showing her a bit of magic? I think I know someone suited well enough for the job.
" Vaelen leaned across her desk. "Thea. Quit trying to find excuses not to spend time with her. "
And Thea didn't know quite what to say to that. She stubbornly sipped her tea and ignored Vaelen's soft chuckle.
So what if Thea really wanted to be there when Aaryn awakened her connection with Starspark? To see magic glow within her eyes for the first time, feel it buzzing beneath her skin?
"You know… to welcome all the refugees, we'll be having a bonfire. Food and drink and hopefully fun. A distraction, I suppose some might call it."
Thea narrowed her eyes. "Okay. And?"
"Maybe you should ask Aaryn to go. With you."
Thea released a quiet breath and stared down into the pale honey of her tea. "Why would I do that?"
Vaelen rapped her knuckles on the desk. "It's been weeks.
And before that—months. Just how long do you expect the two of you to dance around together?
If it's my blessing you seek, well, consider it granted.
I think Aaryn has proven herself well enough here.
She saved me, after all. Stepped between my back and an arrow. "
Thea's fingers twitched. She didn't need Vaelen's approval. She was a full-grown woman.
"Anyway," Thea said, changing the subject before she could do something ridiculous like let the ball of emotion in her throat well in her eyes.
"I've got eyes on the ground, searching for any sign of Rolim. Even in Evergale. I will find him. If he was in the wreckage, we would have recovered the body already."
"Evergale took him," Thea guessed, her heart sinking into her stomach.
Vaelen's expression turned grave. "I'll wait for proof before we move. Suspicion is not enough of a reason to start another battle when we are so close to the brink of war."
Thea swallowed sharply. Rolim had betrayed Evergale.
A traitor in the hands of the ones he'd betrayed. One with valuable information.
If he wasn't dead already, he would certainly wish it.
“What do you think about the magic Jarrick was wielding?”
Vaelen’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know, but it wasn’t natural.”
The Great Dragon must have taken pity on her, distracting her from her morose thoughts with a brisk knock at the door. One of the healers slipped inside.
It was Lillian, a talented healer, a natural with magic—not only with wielding it, but detecting it. "Vaelen, there's something I thought you might be interested in."
"Yes?"
She eyed Thea. "It's about the girl you brought in."
Thea sat straight up, alarm striking through her. "What do you mean?"
Vaelen's brow furrowed, and she met Thea's gaze for a moment. "It's fine. Tell us."
"I noticed something particular about her when I introduced myself. Aaryn, right? She carries remnants of… scrying magic. Strongly. Recently," Lillian said, her demeanor apologetic, as if she didn't want to be delivering this information any more than they wanted to be hearing it.
"How recently?"
"Within the last day or two."
Thea practically shook. "What do you mean by ‘strong’?"
"I mean, a scry has different levels of success depending on how familiar the caster is with the target.
And if you have items with a connection to the target, that's even better.
So, say, a piece of their clothing, or piece of hair.
But this was…" Lillian sucked on their teeth briefly and shook their head. "It was stronger than even that."
As Thea paled, she glanced at Vaelen for answers, but she had questions, too. "Do you only see successful scry magic, or do you see the failed attempts as well?"
"Only the magic that has successfully been cast on her."
"Even with something stronger than hair… a scry wouldn't be able to make it past our barriers," Vaelen pointed out. Which meant the spell had been cast on her only when she was outside the safety of the circle's barriers.
Say… when she'd been in Skymore.
Thea watched Vaelen come to the same conclusion and knocked on her desk with tense knuckles. "Thank you, Lillian, I really appreciate you letting me know. I'll handle it from here."
"Of course. How's the arm?"
Vaelen grumbled and rolled her eyes. "It's fine. It's healed already."
"Alright," Lillian sang as she paused by the door. "I'll stop by with some salve for scarring later. Ta-ta!"
The lightness of the mood departed with Lillian, and their gazes met.
"So it's definitely blood, right?" Thea asked.
Vaelen did not look thrilled at the prospect. "Possibly."
"The prince?" Who else would have Aaryn's blood? Who else would know the perfectly opportune time to scry on Aaryn than when the druids were in Skymore… taking the bait. Her stomach sank at the possibilities.
"That must be how he found her in Skymore, amongst all the wreckage. It's the only thing that makes sense," Thea muttered.
I found you! I came for you!
The prince's phantom cry echoed in the memories of flames and fear and twisted relief, and Thea stilled.
"I'm afraid so," Vaelen said, expression thoughtful, sad, and serious.
"That's why Evergale hasn't bothered returning to Skymore," Thea said, voice barely scraping her throat. "It was never about Skymore."
It was about Aaryn.