“Why not? I’m not afraid of death. The moment my Maven healing magic presented itself at age five, I knew what I was signed up for.”
I turned to face him, and he reached out and wiped the tear from my cheek with his bare hand, causing me to shake my head. “Do you have any idea how casual you are with touching me?” I chuckled. “My father is scared to get within a foot of me and you just…”
His eyes burned from grey to blue in that moment. “Oh, it’s very intentional, I assure you, Fallon.”
I licked my lips and swallowed hard, just as the class bell rang. I needed to get out of here. “I should go. This studio is amazing.”
He nodded, reaching down to pick up a small, flat, rectangular object wrapped in brown paper. “Something to last forever. Happy birthday, Fallon.”
Something to last forever? He got me a present?
I grabbed the present, shoving it in my bag as I juggled my roses and left his studio at a sprint.
To say my mind was confused was an understatement. I liked Ariyon a lot more when he seemed to hate me. Because this new Ariyon was a whole lot more confusing.
* * *
That nightafter dinner when I was alone in my room and Yanric was out hunting, I pulled out the gift Ariyon had given me. Unwrapping the brown paper, I smiled at the painting of red roses, nearly identical to the ones his brother had given me that were currently in a glass of water on my nightstand.
Something to last forever. Now it made sense. Roses in a painting would never die.
I barely slept that night.
FIFTEEN
The next day after work, Eden and I showed up to Ayden and Ariyon’s place for whatever this cookie-baking thing was. As we entered the front garden, I was reminded of what had happened in the backyard just a week prior. The night the Nightlings attacked.
I blew air through my teeth, pulling my gloves up over my elbows. Eden knocked on the door and we waited until Ayden opened it, hobbling on one crutch. “Sorry, the butler has gone for the day,” he wheezed.
Eden scoffed. “And you had to open your own front door? Tragic.”
I grinned at that and even Ayden smiled at Eden’s jab.
“I’ll probably have to do dishes after we bake since the maid is on leave with child.Thatwill be tragic,” Ayden added.
I shook my head—at least they knew how privileged they were.
We stepped inside and I took in the luxurious space, not for the first time. We’d been over to visit with Ayden in this front room, but the lush cream sofas and rich tile with gold accents still amazed me.
“You and Ariyon live here alone?” I asked him as he hobbled towards the sound of voices in the kitchen.
“Yep. Our palace nanny, Ilana, who raised us, retired when we turned eighteen last year.”
Wow, this whole big house to themselves. I couldn’t imagine. I also couldn’t imagine being raised by a “palace nanny” and somehow it felt like my fault since it was Marissa who had made them both orphans.
“Did you have a good birthday?” Ayden slowed in order to slide next to me and Eden walked briskly ahead and into the kitchen.
I nodded. “My dad made his famous sourdough bread bowl soup.”
Ayden grinned and my stomach flipped over. “That sounds great.”
“So what’s with the cookies? Are we celebrating something?”
Ayden stopped, his face falling a little. “Okay, so fair warning, this might be slightly weird for you…”
I froze, bracing myself for something awful.
“You know how yesterday was your birthday? The night your dad found you at the gates of Isariah?”
