“The queen needs to get this stick out of her butt. You saved her life at the midterm exams!” Eden roared.
I had saved her. It was one of the scenes Ariyon had painted of me. When Nightlings had taken over the cannons at the midterm exam. Instead of using the cardboard our teachers had fired at us to test our skills, they’d filled the cannons with metal discs. I had been able to hover the tower as it fell with the queen in it, saving her, though not the guard who had been with her, unfortunately.
A few passersby glanced our way, and I gave a bark of nervous laughter.
“E, listen. It sounds like she’s making this cage for me whether I comply or not. Following her rules will keep me in her good graces and keep those I love safe. I gotta do it.”
She reached out and grasped my hand. “You’re right.”
The headache slammed into me again, and I winced, but this time, I envisioned the well of magic inside me, Ariyon’s magic, flowing toward the source of the pain in my head and taking it away.
My hands heated inside my gloves, no doubt those wheels spinning, and the headache vanished.
Eden gave a sigh of relief. “Hey, thanks for that.”
I dipped my chin in response. “I just wish I knew if I was pulling days off my life or Ariyon’s when I heal people.”
That topic put an even bigger damper on the mood, and we walked the rest of the way to class in silence.
Energy sensingwith Master Hart was awkward. I sat at the back of the class and avoided him at all costs. I made a mental note to try to find out what Marissa had done to him because at this rate, I wasn’t going to learn anything from him. He still couldn’t even make eye contact with me.
My next hour was with Mrs. Reebus. She was a stout woman with curly red hair and a large bust. Other than casting me a few nervous glances when I entered, she didn’t seem bothered by my presence, so I was taking that as a win.
There were only four other students in my class, and when I inquired about the low number, I was told that healers were so rare that there weren’t enough to fill a regular class. It made me feel even more guilty that Ariyon was gone. They needed him and his healing, and instead they were stuck with me. They were teaching a newbie healer from scratch, even though I had advanced healing marks on my hands.
“Depending on your manifested healing ability, you might want to heal a cut, bruise, or headache differently than a fellow student would. Some might infuse their magic into a tincture, while others might want to try a direct hands-on healing approach. Learning your magic’s ability and what it is capable of will be of the most use to the school and The Gilded City at large,” Mrs. Reebus said.
Interesting. Kind of like how Avis infused her powers into tinctures and salves but Ariyon and Hayes went for a direct hands-on healing approach.
I jotted that down in my notebook.
“In Practical Applications, you will get the chance to try out what feels most natural. If you are a hands-on healer, you willreceive marks on the tops of your hands.” She indicated one male student with black hair, who waved shyly. Sure enough, there were two circles on the backs of his hands with one tiny symbol in the center.
“If you are more inclined to infuse your magic, like I am,” she continued, gesturing to a desk full of dried herbs and jars, “you do not get the visible marks.”
Another interesting thing to note that explained why Avis didn’t have healer marks.
A girl with short-cropped blond hair and black-rimmed glasses shot her hand into the air.
Mrs. Reebus nodded. “Azalea?”
“Is it true the queen only takes you on her healing staff if you can hands-on heal?”
The teacher nodded. “That’s true, but she purchases hundreds of healing remedies from a long list of local apothecarists for her staff and Royal Guard each month, so there is a strong possibility you will still be in service to her.”
That reminded me of when Queen Solana ordered all those tinctures that day she came into Avis’s shop.
The girl, Azalea, looked relieved at that.
Mrs. Reebus spent the rest of the class teaching the basics of mending swelling through both infusing and a hands-on approach. It all felt like a foreign language to me at this point, but I was hoping something would pop out that would help me get Ariyon back.
In Practical Applications, I was surprised to see that Hayes was in charge of the student-run clinic. I hadn’t forgiven the bastard for ditching Eden before the dance, and he still blamed me for Ariyon’s disappearance, so this was going to be an interesting hour.
It got even more interesting when Blair walked in with two black eyes and a crooked nose and, sure enough, missing half of an eyebrow.
It took every ounce of willpower I had not to grin when she made eye contact with me. I didn’t relish hurting someone, but she had been trying to kill me, so I had zero regrets about breaking her nose.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” Hayes walked right up to her, and she glared at me.
