“Cool. I’ve always wanted tele powers. I’ll walk you.”
I stood, only having my little paper class schedule. No backpack or books.
“Bye, Fallon.” Ayden smiled at me again, and it was so weird trying to separate him from his evil twin.
“Bye.” I waved shyly.
As I passed the teacher, she held out a large book to me. “Yours for the year. My office hours are listed on the board if you need help to catch up on what you’ve missed,” she said with slight trepidation in her voice, indicating the board. It was like she was begging me not to use her office hours and I was suddenly reminded of what my father had said about the people being scared of me. I nodded, taking the book, not even reading the title, and followed Eden out. I was already overwhelmed.
“I have an old backpack you can have. I totally forgot,” Eden said. “I’ll give it to you today after school when we get home.”
I just dipped my chin gratefully and followed her down a hallway and away from the crowds.
When we got to a stretch of hallway where we were alone, Eden leaned in close to me and I tensed, hoping she wouldn’t brush up against my exposed upper arm.
“Okay, so I think I need to fill you in on our princes,” she warned.
I stopped, turning to face her with a slack jaw.
“Don’t tell me Ariyon is a prince.”
She winced. “He is. Nephew of Queen Solana. She had no children, so he’s next in line to the throne. Five minutes older than Ayden, his sweeter, more sensible half.”
Holy Fae!
I rode on a horse with the prince of The Gilded City? The prince of The Gilded City saved my father’s life?
“You look like you might be sick,” she observed.
Ariyon Madden? As in the royal Madden family?PrinceMadden. That’s why the guards at the gate knew him and let him out of the city so easily. That’s why the soldiers came for me in the tavern. He told his aunt. The queen!
“Okay…” I said, and we started to walk down the hall. This was a lot. I was already exhausted, and I’d only been to one class.
“Ariyon is the healer. Ayden is the warrior. Yet their personalities seem opposite to their powers,” she mused.
I grinned at that and her face fell.
“But you can’t really blame Ariyon. With everything he has to deal with as a Maven Healer and his life expectancy, he might only rule for a few years before his brother takes over for a lifetime.”
My brows knotted together in confusion. “What life expectancy?”
We stepped out into a courtyard now, crossing over to another building.
“Oh right, you don’t know anything about our world. That’s going to take some getting used to for me.”
I nodded. “I’ve grown up with the magicless, we have no need of magical knowledge and your way of life here.”
Eden looked sad at that but continued. “So, it’s kind of tragic, but Ariyon is a Maven Healer, which is averyrare type of healer. When he heals someone, he takes their injury into his body, and it takes days or years off of his life. Maven Healers don’t usually live past thirty. Very sad.”
I stopped walking, suddenly overcome with shock. “What did you just say?”
She frowned. “Everyone has a soul clock, yours and mine have loads of time, but whenever Ariyon heals, he gives away some of the time he has left in order to save that person from pain or sickness. A regular healer can make tinctures and heal cuts, but only a Maven can save a life like what he did for your father. But there is a cost.”
Tears filled my eyes knowing that he’d given away a chunk of his life to save my dad. Probably a larger chunk than was allowed, judging from his reaction when he thought he might get in trouble for getting master marks. I had no idea.
“Why doesn’t he just stop healing?” I asked, still shocked at this news. I never thought there was a cost associated with healing magic—or any magic, for that matter.
Eden nodded. “Maven Healers live by the Great Code of Honor. If someone is sick, and they can help, they will not turn away a single soul. They have a sort of empathic feeling that causes them to feel others’ pain and they can’t live with themselves until they’ve taken it away.”
