Page 27 of Burn Her They Said
I shift to the side to keep him from becoming the first being I ever share a kiss with, while also saving him from being executed should anyone report a tryst between myself and one of the Emperor’s most prized Generals.
Hendry steps forward, closing the gap between our bodies as he effectively hides our movement. “Move slowly and make sure I can see everything you are doing.”
Sal rears back to stare up at my Lead Guard’s lethal expression before releasing a breath and reaching behind him. He brings his hand around the side closest to the railing, making eye contact with Hendry before pressing what seems to be a small cloth-bound book to my front.
Hendry nods to me, though his gaze is locked where Sal’s fingers brush over mine as I pry the treasonous item from his grasp. Stifling a smile, I lift my skirts while Hendry angles himself to prevent Sal from seeing even an inch of my bare skin when I slide the coarse binding within my waistband. Retracting my hand, I confirm the book is resting securely against my stomach while my skirts flow to the ground as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.
Hendry maintains his proximity, though he straightens, no longer acting as a buffer between Sal and me. Yet my pulse pounds heavier in my ears as the General stares down at my mouth. I turn to observe the Eternal Flame and narrowly avoid the brush of Sal’s own.
Heat crawls up my chest, and I freeze in place, not daring to turn and check. Not wanting it to be true, for if Varic saw what just transpired?—
Someone clears their throat from behind us, drawing our collective attention, as Hendry steps back to survey the situation. My magic detects a high level of agitation rippling from the body of my co-conspirator as he releases a breath.
“Yes, Varic?” Sal asks, refusing to use the title for the sorcerer who has apparently interrupted us.
Chapter Eleven
Spark
“Your presence is required inside,” Varic commands, before adding, “Sal.”
“Who would send you as their messenger?” Sal asks, eyes narrowed.
Varic’s perfect pout rises in one corner of his mouth. “The Emperor does as he pleases.”
Sal deflates, and all the color drains from his face as he speeds past my Guards to disappear past the slowly closing doors without so much as a fleeting glance in my direction.
Varic stares at me, unfurling some sense of panic which courses through my veins the closer he moves in my direction, acting as if he intends to join me, when I should be following Sal’s lead to return indoors, to stay along the wall where I was commanded to remain.
Instead, I freeze as each of my Guards swivels their attention between Varic and me, though not in the way they had with Sal, aware that Varic would never do anything to harm me. Or not intentionally.
Every movement of Varic’s body registers within my own, and I attempt to swallow as my throat dries. His eyes flick over to Hendry, where they share an unspoken missive, nodding to each other as he passes by my Lead Guard.
My heart lurches as he nears, yet his pacing is measured, neither rushed nor hesitant—proving I am the only one affected by the closeness of our proximity—while that distinct heat crawls up from the center of my chest to bloom even hotter beneath my cheeks.
“Liar.” My accusation earns a mirthful chuckle from him, while the sensation of Deicra moths flutters within my stomach. “You cannot expect me to believe the Emperor sent you.”
He closes the distance, and I pull in a sharp breath when he mirrors my posture to lean and brace his arms over the cold marble railing. The heat from his body is a comfort against the chill, though it shouldn’t be. It should be heeded as a warning. One screaming at me to return inside to do as I was bid by the Emperor. Especially now that I risk being discovered in possession of the book Sal found the longer I remain here. Risking even worse consequences were I to be noticed so close to the sorcerer pressing his shoulder to my own.
Hendry and Malin draw nearer, wearing neutral expressions, though it doesn’t take my magic to recognize their curiosity is piqued. I shake my head at them, meaning to turn and stare over the treetops when Varic’s gaze ensnares my own, his smile deepening along with the lines branching out from the edge of his eyes.
“Beautiful,” he remarks, with his attention never straying from my being.
“Mm,” I agree, tearing away to gaze over the city.
His shoulders shake with mirthful laughter, drawing me in like a tether pulled taut, commanding my attention to study the firelight glinting off the peaks of his cheekbones in an array of amber and gold—the same that mesmerize me every time I stare into his irises—with shadows accentuating the distinct outline of his plush lips, which remain widened in a grin, transferring his amusement through our strangely innate connection.
It’s a reminder of what we once shared. Moments where all else is forgotten and it seems as if we are the only two who exist. Another I wish to freeze in time, to hoard with other precious memories I might call upon when despair takes over.
He breaks the spell, peering out over our glittering city. “I wasn’t referring to our surroundings.” His expression is intense in its sincerity when he turns back to pin my gaze with his own. The ever-present heat felt in his company spills down to where I squeeze my thighs together, ruing the sorcerer who sees through me immediately and always.
“Before we are inevitably interrupted—” He tilts his head, indicating the doors behind us. “I want to make sure to tell you…” He pauses, turning to face me while leaning to the side, my heart quirking with the way he’s looking through what others see, straight to the witch I’ve long buried—forcing me to face her, while he remains—staying with me as I contend with the discomfort. “Happy birthday, Tasch.” His voice is so soft as it forms my name.
I scoff and turn away. “You, of all beings, know how I feel to have been born.” My heart thrums to the beat I tap with the toe of my boot, distracting me from the sense of urgency I should be heeding to return to my post, exactly where His Majesty expects me to be.
“Allow me to clarify—it is I who feels happy enough for the both of us that you exist.”
“No. You are an incorrigible flirt, and a distracting one at that.”
