“We’ll just take it one day at a time, okay?” He offered me a forced smile.
I nodded. “Okay.”
Standing from my interrogation chair I turned and gasped a little when I saw Yanric perched on the desk.
‘You were supposed to stay outside!’
‘I felt you in pain. I wasn’t going to let that evil hag hurt you, queen or not.’
I groaned and Master Clarke looked at the black raven. “He is protective of you,” he mused.
I nodded. “You have no idea.”
Yanric flew from his perch and landed on my shoulder, glaring Master Clarke down with his beady little eyes.
“Do you want a cracker?” Master Clarke asked and Yanric immediately softened.
‘Tell him yes.’
I grinned—the way to my familiar’s heart was definitely through his stomach.
“He would love one.”
Master Clarke walked over to his desk and opened the drawers, producing a small package of crackers. I crushed them up and fed them to Yanric.
I’d just learned a lot of heavy stuff. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about all of it.
Clarke seemed to pick up on my mood and gave me a weak smile. “We can’t help what we are born into, Fallon. Only the choices we make each day.”
“You and my father must be reading the same books,” I said, which was obviously a joke because my father couldn’t read but it did elicit a chuckle out of the master teacher. “Make good choices. Got it.” Also known as don’t burn down the school in a fit of rage.
He opened his mouth again, but the bell rang.
“I gotta go,” I told him, brushing the remnants of cracker crumbs off on my pants.
He stepped over to the staircase and walked me out. “You need a note to take the day off? How are you feeling?”
My skin felt like it had been lit on fire but after Ariyon’s healing I was going to manage. I’d need a cool bath at the end of the day, though.
“I’ll be fine.” I left out the door and went back into the courtyard. Yanric flew off to perch in a tree somewhere since I had convinced him that being in classes with me was killing my social life.
I crossed the courtyard and passed between two buildings, making my way to my Pyro class.
The second I stepped between the two buildings, I was grabbed by the arm and hauled into a small broom closet.
I knew from the fact that he had grabbed me by the bare arm, and there was no pain, that it was Ariyon.
“Hey!” I scowled at him. “Go easy, I feel like I just got burned alive.”
He let go of my arm quickly, looking shaken. His hair was a wild mess and the small amount of light that filtered through the closet onto his face highlighted all of his beautiful features. Strong jaw, sharp nose like his aunt’s, half-lidded steel-grey eyes. Though I would never tell him he was so good looking. I was quite sure he knew.
“Are you okay?” he breathed, his wild gaze running over me as if looking for injuries.
I stared at him for a moment, making sure it was longer-haired Ariyon Iwas dealing with, because he was acting like Ayden. Like he cared. “I’ll live. Is Ayden okay? What happened last night? Was he stabbed or bitten?”
He swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair, seemingly calmed now that he knew I was okay. “Stabbed in the ribcage, collapsed a lung. Also tore a tendon in his ankle. He’ll be fine but the bastard won’t let me heal him. Tinctures only.”
I frowned, wondering why that was when it dawned on me: Ayden didn’t want to take even a day off of his brother’s life. That very thought had a lump forming in my throat. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more tragedy this morning.
