Page 111 of Burn Her They Said
His shield trills up my skin, and the warmth soothes my sore muscles as he tenses his fingers to urge me forward. Even with his shield supporting my legs, I grit my teeth the moment I step down. Panic engulfs me with fear that the Emperor or his Guards may see how Varic attends to me while my heart hammers so hard against my ribs he must feel it.
“I could carry you,” Varic says.
“No.” My voice comes out gruff, though I know he’s joking.
“What feels different from the last time I used my shield to help you walk?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s your magic. I think it’s my muscles.” Alarm prickles in my veins with the realization of what he might try next. “Do not use your healing—we do not know if any other telekinetics can sense you using it and Cirrin will be able to help me.”
He looks ahead. “We’re far enough away, I doubt?—”
I shake my head and he nods. “Then I will support you all the way to Cirrin, and if his healing doesn’t help, then we will find a way to distract His Majesty.” Varic tightens his hold, and my heart lurches, scanning for any sign of our captor.
Malin jogs over, expression filled with concern. “Are you unwell?”
I shake my head while Varic nods, and I glare up at him while he shrugs.
“My legs are just sore from being held in the same position for so long.”
Malin looks at Varic. “Why isn’t your shield helping?”
“That’s what I’m trying to determine.”
“Your power seems just as strong as every other time you’ve helped her,” Malin confirms.
“I think I’m too weak.”
“She needs to hydrate and eat,” Varic says, as we reach where Brea has landed.
My heart hammers as I scan the area, expecting to see our ruler ambling over as I send out my magic to connect with him, and a mix of excitement and annoyance grows the closer we move toward the Palace.
“Cirrin, please—” Varic begs, as Cirrin rushes around his blue Dragon to take hold of my arm.
His kind brown eyes pin me with a sense of deep concentration.
“Your fatigue is excessive,” Cirrin says.
“Heal her as much as you can,” Varic commands, as if that wasn’t his plan.
Cirrin nods then leans in to whisper, “I can spare the magic.”
I smile beneath stray locks of my hair blowing in my face as the frigid breeze casts over us, and I can’t help but groan at how rough Drusilla will be when she disentangles each knot formed by the wind.
Lars speeds over to join us as my pain abates enough that I pull out of Varic’s hold to stand on my own.
“What in the fuck is the Emperor doing here with a whole horde of onlookers?” Lars asks, glaring over his shoulder.
“Behaving as expected,” Varic says, before turning to me and asking, “Think you can walk?”
I nod and take a step with his shield rippling over my skin.
“There’s my little witch!” Emperor Aldritch cries with outstretched arms, bringing attention to the death grip he holds around the stem of an empty wine goblet.
We bow as his guests gape and whisper from where they stand off to the side of his Guards.
“What took you so long?” His Majesty inquires. “We’ve been waiting in this frigid air all morning.”
“We followed protocol, and ensured it was safe to leave our location,” Varic says. “Then took the proper precautions to prepare Imperial Grand Witch Tasch for her first flight on a Dragon.”
