Can You Feel That #4
Her face was rosy with sunlight and she smiled at Aaryn when their gazes caught. As they drifted together, Aaryn studied her with a curious eye. Her peachy hair was tied back sharply, freckles on full display, eyes a little tired, but other than that…
"Carissa, you're… alright!" Aaryn greeted, albeit a little awkwardly. "I wasn't given the clear to come see you. I wasn't certain…"
Aaryn had half a mind to throw her arms around Carissa, but the woman crossed her arms and leaned into her dragon.
"I'm fine. I'm mostly embarrassed," she admitted quietly.
"I heard about Rolim and I just—I don't know what came over me, honestly.
I was—" She bit down on the uncertain words and shrugged.
"Tired of feeling powerless?" Aaryn guessed.
"Yes!" Carissa hissed.
They were quiet in the sameness for a moment, the weight of the conversation growing heavy.
"You should let Thea help you awaken yours," Carissa said.
Aaryn glanced over, cheeks flushing. She'd already imagined the glow of the flowers, the nervousness beneath her skin, the itch of magic, and… Thea, there to relieve it.
The dragon pin still hung from her shirt, and Aaryn took care with placing it each day.
Thea's lie didn't bother her nearly as much as her new charming inability to lie to Aaryn.
Just the thought of Thea's panicked confession made her smile, before the reality of the situation reminded her it wasn't a humorous moment at all.
Aaryn couldn't help but feel responsible for exacerbating the prince's frustrations at the very least. If she'd never left Evergale, none of this ever would have happened.
Thea said she couldn't blame herself for another person's actions. Thea was logical like that, one of the many things Aaryn admired about her.
"It hurt," Carissa admitted, pulling Aaryn from her thoughts, holding her palm between them—already healed, Aaryn noted.
Through the Evergalian crest on her hand was a mottled strike, the skin torn raggedly and patched back together with magic.
"Not just the physical part of it, but my…
soul. As if part of it had been locked away for so long and was finally free.
As if I couldn't breathe my whole life, but hadn't even known until I took the first breath. "
"Overwhelming?" Aaryn asked.
Aaryn held her own palm between them, the brand no longer a sense of pride but a mark of embarrassment.
She hated the sight of it, the lines so perfectly crisp and whole, and curled her fingers over it as Carissa agreed.
"Yes. The other Awakened said it wasn't supposed to be so explosive," Carissa murmured.
"That if done right, it would be like slipping into a pool of warm water.
You should do it the right way. Not alone, like me. "
"I will," Aaryn said. "I—we agreed. She'll be there," Aaryn settled on.
Her cheeks colored at just the suggestion.
Carissa's lips curled softly, and she patted Aaryn's head.
"Good. Because I wanted Rolim there for me," she whispered.
"The magic was so lovely, but it was so out of control.
It burned me up from the inside out, Aaryn.
" She released a slow breath. "With the right person and the right timing, I think it could be just as magical as they say.
" A pause. "I'm rooting for you two, you know," Carissa added.
Aaryn tripped over her words, turned them over in her mind.
"Thea wants to save Rolim so badly.” Aaryn had laid awake listening to Thea tell her stories of him, of his teasing jokes at her expense and his delight when Thea turned them around on him.
Times when they’d been sparring and Thea had gotten the best of him.
Or moments when they’d been in danger and having him at her back had saved her life.
“She needs to focus on that, then we'll worry about my magic," Aaryn told her.
She couldn't distract Thea during such an important time.
Not when Thea was so determined to save him.
Carissa hugged her, sudden and tight. Aaryn held her close.
"Once you feel it, you'll hate that you waited.
But I thank you for sacrificing even another few days for his sake.
" She pulled away and kept Aaryn at arm's length.
"Rolim told me Thea is the best fighter.
That she's cunning. That Vaelen trusts her like no one else.
If anyone can save him, I believe he would want it to be Thea. "
"Oh," Aaryn said intelligently, and at Carissa's words, a tenseness in her shoulders eased that she hadn't even realized she was carrying.
How did this turn into comforting Aaryn? Carissa was the one with a husband who was to be executed. She was the one who just had magic awakened within her so violently.
And yet here she was, next to Aaryn, shoulders bumping and dragons tousling.
"I think we're both going to be okay," Aaryn decided, and Carissa nodded.
"I think you're right," she said, and hugged her once again. That odd, heavy weight in her chest eased for just a moment.