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When they reached the bed, Arianna laid her hands over his abdomen and Rion sucked in a breath at her touch. Her hands still shook.

When she’d finished, Arianna backed away and wrapped herself in her thin blanket before tending to the fireplace. The heat from the flames chased away the cold in her bones and her fear along with it.

“Why don’t you heal yourself?” His voice had gone back to that deep whisper. The one she enjoyed, but it didn’t stop her heart from picking up again.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“The magic doesn’t work that way. I can only heal others.”

“That seems counterproductive.”

“I think it keeps balance. If I could heal myself endlessly, it would make things a little unfair, don’t you think?”

He grunted and Arianna took that as a sign to leave him alone. She walked into the kitchen and returned to heat up some leftover stew from the previous night. Once she’d finished, Arianna placed a bowl beside him and his eyes snapped open.

“Sorry.” She backed away, fear running through her body anew. He ignored her reaction and the food at his bedside.

“How long have you been away from home?”

Arianna settled herself beside the fire again. “Just over a year.”

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen.” His brows shot up and before she could stop herself, Arianna asked. “And you?”

“Ninety-three. The oldest cursed with this magic in centuries.”

Arianna remembered the stories from her mother and teachers. Brónach’s people killed those with Rion’s magic at a young age, right when they first showed signs of it. It’d always made her uneasy. How could someone stomach to kill a child for nothing more than being born different?

“You’re not just close to royalty, are you?”

Her heart pounded. “No.” It wasn’t a secret at this point. Only direct descendants could inherit the powers of The Divine.

“Do your parents know about your gift?”

“No. I didn’t even tell my sister or Talon.”

“Talon?”

Arianna could have sworn he bristled at the name. “He’s my… friend.”

“You mean your mate.”

It was her turn to bristle. “No, at least, I don’t think so, though it would certainly please my father if we were.”

“And your mother?”

Arianna hesitated. “She died a long time ago.”

She saw Rion’s jaw clench from her peripherals. “How?”

She shrugged. “Illness as far as I know, but father never talks about it.”

Silence echoed between them again and just when Arianna thought he might be asleep, he spoke. “Why did you stay a slave? You could have easily run from the humans.”

Arianna held up her scarred wrists and his eyes seemed to harden again. “Not shackled I couldn’t. I tried once and the slavers killed three females right in front of me. They claimed they’d kill the others if I didn’t behave.” Why was she telling him this?