Healer to the Ash King (Dark Rulers, #5)

by Rebecca F. Kenney

“Me? No.” I shake my head soberly, blinking innocently at him. “Just a few questions, like how does your magic work? Where does the fire come from? Why haven’t you Muted yourself so you don’t have to buy new bedroom furniture every month or so?” He slams a palm against the doorpost. “You think I haven’t tried to Mute myself? Do you honestly believe that wasn’t the first thing I did after it happened?” He doesn’t have to explain what “it” is. He’s talking about the massacre in the Ashlands. “But everyone thinks you didn’t try a Muting, that you don’t care about what happened.” I frown. “I let them think that. A king who is powerful and fearsome is much more secure on his throne than one who is helpless, captive to his own uncontrollable magic. I want everyone to believe that I choose to keep my enormous power. The truth is, I would have stifled it long ago if I could. My skin simply won’t accept the Muting tattoo. I’m impervious to my own fire, as you know, and while I’m not invincible, my flesh is difficult to damage. A tattoo won’t hold. It vanishes within hours.”