Goodness. I have not seen them since…

That was the last thought Adon overheard from Rosslyn before he cut off Telepathy again.

When did I get this additional power? he wondered.

He had not been trying to spy on his friends’ thoughts when he returned, but it seemed that without him doing much of anything, his Telepathy Adaptation had grown more powerful. Perhaps it was linked to the fact that he had consumed the Golden Eagle, strengthening his every attribute permanently.

Would his Transformation be easier to use now, too?

Now that I think back, I remember I accidentally overheard Rosslyn’s thoughts once before I left on the trip. It was nothing like this, though.

The last few minutes had felt almost as if Adon was having two separate conversations with the Princess, the King, Goldie, and Samson, one out loud and one based on the thoughts inside their heads.

He did not accidentally overhear everything those around him were thinking—in fact, Adon had been doing a pretty good job of repeatedly activating and deactivating Telepathy when he wanted to speak or did not want to overhear people’s thoughts respectively. It also seemed likely that Rosslyn and Alistair had some technique for shielding their thoughts or keeping them at a layer of their minds where he did not accidentally overhear them.

Otherwise, he imagined that he would have been subjected to a constant inner monologue, like what someone would have suffered if they could read all of his thoughts.

Instead, the leakage was limited, but he imagined some things were bound to get through.

Goldie was slightly less controlled than them, Adon guessed, but had some handle on releasing or not releasing her thoughts from her long experience dealing with a telepathic Adon. Either that, or she was simply giving everyone exactly what she thought all the time. That explanation would not be entirely inconsistent with the Goldie that he knew, but he thought she must be blocking some of her inner monologue. There was no way that she was as kind and understanding as he had experienced without having some cruel thoughts about other people.

Unlike Rosslyn, Alistair, and probably Goldie, Samson in particular clearly had no filter for his inner monologue. Adon had already learned things about his brother from accidentally reading his mind that he had never expected or wanted to know.

For instance, Samson thought that his relationship with Adon was rather poor, and he wanted to repair it. And he was also jealous of Adon’s magical talent—and of the attention that Samson thought Rosslyn paid to Adon because of that talent.

Adon had to exert careful self-control not to continue reading Samson’s mind, given that he was receiving tidbits like those.

My peace of mind is worth it, though, he told himself. Oh, and Samson’s privacy. That’s important too.

Adon’s eyes gazed up at the Princess thoughtfully as the servants scurried back and forth, preparing everything for the meeting between the young lords and the Claustrian Royal Family—and bringing Adon, Goldie and Samson’s pillows, of course. Such distinguished guests could not be left out of a noteworthy occasion like this one.

Goldie’s children were to be looked after in the room, it was explained, by two maids who were good with children and had at least read up on spiders and been instructed as to how important these particular hatchlings were.

I need to tell Rosslyn that I just figured out I can do this, he thought. I need to know the protocols for how much mind-reading is acceptable in a situation like this—whether she wants me to keep it shut off as much as I can, or to take note of everything the Duke’s kids think during this meeting. I’m on Claustria’s side in any interactions by default, because I’m from here and they clearly value me. But I don’t really understand the relationship between these two families. I’m guessing they’re at least somewhat friendly, or there probably wouldn’t be a state visit happening when Claustria is worried about a war coming up.

As he stared at the preoccupied Princess, another thought struck him.

Princess, do you mind if I take a shot at healing your eye? Adon asked suddenly.

“What?!”

The normally poised Rosslyn’s mouth shot open, and she sat there gaping at him for a few seconds. A bird could have begun making a nest in her mouth.

“Um, Adon, we appreciate the thought,” Alistair said. He sounded slightly nervous. “You know that all of the members of our family are trained in healing magic, right? In addition to the mages who worked on Rosslyn when she was under the influence of the assassins’ poison. I do not know if—”

I know it probably won’t work, but there’s no harm in trying, right? Adon quickly sent, cutting the King off before Rosslyn’s mind could be swayed. Adon could see from her face that he had just given her a fresh infusion of hope.

Adon had no real expectation that he could really do something about the blindness that the palace’s healers had tried and failed to fix, but he suddenly badly wanted to try. Having heard her thoughts as she came into the room, he knew that Rosslyn was far more insecure about her missing eye than she had let on to either Adon or her father.

If I could make that better, it would make a big difference, he thought to himself. It would be crazy not to at least give it a try.

“I am willing to sit still for the experiment,” Rosslyn said, trying and failing to play it cool.

She sat down on the bed beside Adon and the spiders, and Adon fluttered up onto her shoulder, just inches away from her blind—missing?—eye. Even sitting still in that position, he could feel the beating of her pounding heart.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Gosh, I really hope I don’t disappoint her now…

But there was nothing to do but try his best.

Adon reached inside himself and found the place where he accessed the healing affinity. Then he pulled Mana from his core, pushing it from the center of his body up to his antennae. He reached out with those two sensory organs and touched Rosslyn’s eyelid. The scarred flesh looked even sadder up close.

Green energy moved from Adon’s body to Rosslyn’s eye, and the butterfly stood waiting to see what would happen.

He pushed out power for a few seconds, then half a minute. A full minute passed, with Mana continuing to flow out of Adon’s core and into Rosslyn.

By now, the Princess’s shoulders had sagged.

She knew as well as Adon did that nothing was going to happen.

“Thank you for trying,” she whispered, so quietly that Adon thought that only he could likely hear it.

I have to make this happen, he thought to himself. This is the thing about herself that makes her feel the most insecure. It’s so painful. I know what that feels like. If I can just fix her eye…

But try as he might, the dead flesh under the scar did not regenerate.

No… His last, silently screamed, thought on the subject was an awareness of the futility of his effort.

Mana stopped pouring out of his antennae, and Adon pulled the two delicate appendages back from Rosslyn’s eyelid.

The Princess reached up with two firm but delicate hands and gently took Adon down from her shoulder.

“Thank you again for trying,” she said gently, cradling him in her palms, her fingers gently stroking the back of his exoskeleton. “It shows how much you care.”

Just as delicately as she had picked him up, she set him down on the bed beside the spiders.

“Now, I must go and prepare for our first meeting with Duke Pruford’s sons,” she said, speaking through an obvious lump in her throat.

Adon looked at her more carefully and noticed that she was dressed in what must have been a relatively casual outfit—a simple, streamlined dress without the expensive-looking fabric, ribbons, and other ornaments that would give away the fact that she was royalty. The clothing was far from cheap, but it was perhaps not what a princess would wear to greet guests.

He also thought he saw droplets forming at the corners of her eyes, but she turned away too quickly for him to be sure. Then, before he could have a better look at her, she had slipped out of the room and was walking off somewhere down the hall—to change clothes, presumably.

Adon was left slightly stunned.

Did I just make the Princess cry? he wondered. She left so quickly… I didn’t even have the chance to say anything to her about my Telepathy—or to apologize for the garbage attempt to heal her eye. Oh Goddess…

The King turned, stepped toward the doorway, and looked down the hall after Rosslyn. His brow was furrowed as if he was troubled. Adon heard him thinking about going after her and trying to comfort her—but then he shook his head.

No time for that now, Alistair thought. She will be all right for the moment. She is strong. I raised her strong. She can get through the next few hours. I will go and talk to her after the young lords have gone to their quarters…

The King stepped back inside the room and twisted his face into a sort of apologetic smile—or a very poor attempt at one, at least. Adon really hoped that the King did not play poker—or if he did, that he did not bet with significant stakes.

“My daughter is correct, as usual,” Alistair said. “She is probably going to change into another outfit, and I should do the same. In the meantime, perhaps a quick primer on our conventions at these meetings would be in order, since all of you will be in attendance for this first encounter—assuming that you are all still willing to.”

Whatever would be of help to you and your family, I’m sure we’re willing to do, Your Majesty, Samson sent.

I am ready to meet new people, Goldie agreed. We will listen to your instructions carefully, Alistair.

I apologize for getting her and your hopes up, Your Majesty, Adon sent, his wings slumping in defeat. I still don’t understand what went wrong—why it did not work.

“Well, Adon, I feel almost certain that it would have worked if you had tried your healing on another insect—or probably any arthropod. I have seen the amazing natural healing that creatures similar to you or Goldie are capable of. Healing magic, as we understand it, only performs the same healing tasks that the body could theoretically accomplish on its own. I do not know if a human being is capable of growing a new eye, even with incredibly advanced healing magic applied by an archmage. I have never heard of such a feat successfully accomplished.

“Rosslyn’s situation was even more complicated, because the poison used by the assassins who blinded her is well known to us and incredibly potent. It caused more extensive and profound damage than a mere knife cut would have. Even if Rosslyn’s body, owing to our family’s, er, unusual fortitude, was able to grow a new eye with healing magic, the poison that spoiled the tissue around the affected area would likely have still given her some trouble. Her stepmother, for the same reason, still suffers some lasting effects from that fight. It is the Empire’s underhanded tactics that are to blame, not any failure of yours.”

Still, I shouldn’t have assumed I could do something that I knew you and your mages must have tried and failed at, Adon transmitted. The image of Rosslyn’s face was still stuck in his mind. Two images, in fact. The defiantly hopeful one, from before he made his attempt—and the brought-back-to-reality face, from after.

It was far from the greatest failure in his life—even if he only counted this specific lifetime—but for some reason, it bothered Adon more than most of the others.

Maybe it was because normally, in the lives when he had been a loser—or in other words, in essentially all of his incarnations except this one and maybe one or two others—the people around him didn’t especially believe in him.

Rosslyn did—or she had, at least.

Yeah, he thought to himself. Rosslyn and Goldie are the only people who have had any kind of faith in me in this life—and I guess Red, Samson, and Alistair by extension. It hurts to think of disappointing any of them.

You did your best, Adon, Goldie protested.

Neither of us could have done anything, Samson added. At least you had the power and the willingness to make an attempt. You have a big heart.

“You are only dearer to our hearts for having tried,” the King agreed. “I did not believe it was possible, so I could not be disappointed in the unsuccessful attempt. As for the Princess, Rosslyn understands that you did your utmost. She will undoubtedly forget about this momentary hope before the day is out, given the excitement of this afternoon—that is, the arrival of our new guests.”

Adon nodded slowly. Thank you, Your Majesty.

But of course, none of what the King or the spiders had said could make him feel any better.

“Now, I will go over some of the formalities you will see observed in this meeting…”