She was breathtakingly beautiful: Blonde hair that hung to her waist in glossy waves. Her plump lips, the perfect shade of pink. Her sharp nose and pointed chin made her the quintessential beauty. But there was something unnerving about her, a rage she carried just under the surface that felt like it could come out at any moment. I supposed you had to have something like that to rule an entire kingdom, some force to be reckoned with. I just wished it didn’t feel aimed at me all the time.
I sat in the chair and looked up at Ariyon, hoping he would say something in my defense if I were about to be accused.
He just stared forward, stone cold, and I knew he would be of no help. Whatever friendly feelings had started between us in the library died last night when Marissa attacked his party and called me her daughter.
“Since my other nephew is recovering from his injuries, Ariyon will act as your witness to corroborate your story,” the queen announced and then stood before me, looming over me in her bright yellow pantsuit. “He will also be your healer.”
“Healer?” Ariyon and I both said at the same time.
The queen looked down at me quizzically. “Do you know the extent of my powers?”
I swallowed hard. Was she going to torture me? That wasn’t necessary. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Please don’t hurt me.”
Ariyon relaxed, as if understanding what his aunt was saying.
“I can tell if a person is telling the truth with a single touch of their skin,” she said.
Touch.Oh.
She knew of my curse and that her touch would hurt me. I didn’t know whether to think she was thoughtful by having a healer on hand or just doing it so that I would be able to speak afterward.
“I see.” I wrung my fingers together nervously. “Is this about last night?”
She scowled at me. “Yes, Fallon, it’s about the first Nightling attack inside The Gilded City gates in seventeen years.”
I winced. “And you think I had anything to do with that? I didn’t.”
She pulled her hand up and let it hover over my exposed upper arm. I was wearing long gloves today and a short-sleeved blouse. “Are you ready to prove that?” she asked.
My chest heaved and I pulled off my glove, giving her my upturned palm.
“Only the lightest touch, please. It hurts like the burn of a thousand suns,” I begged her and there was a flash of humanity in her eyes. She looked conflicted for a moment, like causing a young girl pain wasn’t something she wanted to do.
Ariyon took a knee beside me, and the healer marks on his hand started to spin as he prepared to touch me. I glanced up at Master Clarke and he looked away, shame cloaking his features. He couldn’t even watch.
The queen hovered her palm over her mouth. “Reveal all truth to me, all that is hidden will be seen,” she breathed over her palm and a golden light emanated from her breath onto her skin.
I gasped, not accustomed to magic as the others were. Then she reached out with her hand and grabbed my forearm.
I burned my hand once on the wood stove when I was seven and cooking with my father. I gasped a little but otherwise hadn’t cried. It blistered and I’d needed a salve for it. Later, my father had asked me why I hadn’t cried, and I told him it felt like being touched, something I had gotten used to. I’d never forgotten the look on his face. It was the same look of horror Ariyon gave me now. Although the queen let go as soon as she’d grabbed me, she had grabbed me with herentirehand, leaving a magic golden handprint on my arm. It was too much skin to skin. I screamed in pain as if being burned alive. That feeling wasn’t just on my arm—it was all over me. This stupid curse consumed all of me when activated, no matter where I was touched.
The queen leapt backward at my cries and dizziness washed over me. I slumped in the chair, trying to stay conscious. Tears ran down my cheeks as my body shook with agonizing discomfort. I much preferred the deep throb of a headache than the sharp burning of this pain.
“Heal her!” Master Clarke bellowed, and Ariyon snapped out of it.
He took both hands and hovered them over my chest, careful not to touch me. He clearly didn’t want his aunt or Master Clarke knowing our secret.
Silver light flooded from his palms into my chest, and it was again a balm over my wounds. The burning in my skin lessened and the shakes stopped.
I sighed in relief, looking up at him. I didn’t want to take any time off of his life, but I wasn’t sure I would stay conscious without his help just now.
I didn’t expect to see a venomous wrath in his gaze. “She said touch her aslightlyas possible. You grabbed her arm with your entire hand!” he snapped at his aunt.
The queen.
She glared at her nephew. “I touched her the lightest I have ever touched anyone in order to imprint my magic.”
While they fought, I felt a weightlessness enter my mind, making me calm and mellow. Any fears or inhibitions I experienced fled my system.
